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"Esoteric" redirects here. For other uses, see Esoteric (disambiguation).
"Arcane" redirects here. For other uses, see Arcanum.

Esotericism refers to the doctrines or practices of esoteric knowledge, or otherwise the quality or state of being described as esoteric, or obscure. Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Obscurantism (from the Latin obscurans, "darkening" is the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known [1] Esoteric knowledge is that which is specialized or advanced in nature, available only to a narrow circle of "enlightened", "initiated", or highly educated people. [2] Items pertaining to esotericism may be known as esoterica. [3] Some interpretations of esotericism are very broad and include even unconventional and non-scientific belief systems, typically as contrasted with the "scientific" or "traditional religious" beliefs of the society without or "at large". In contrast, exoteric knowledge is knowledge that is well-known or public; or perceived as informally canonic in society at large. Exotericism is the opposite of Esotericism in any application

Contents

Etymology

Esoteric is an adjective originating in Greece; it comes from the Greek ἐσωτερικός esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of ἔσω esô: "within". In Grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a Noun or Pronoun, giving more information about the Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία In Grammar, the comparative is the form of an Adjective or Adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person thing or other entity has a property Esoteric refers to anything that is inner. Its antonym is exoteric, from the Greek ἐξωτερικός eksôterikos, from eksôtero, the comparative form of ἔξω eksô: "outside". Exoteric refers to knowledge that is outside of and independent from anyone's experience and can be ascertained by anyone Plato, in his dialogue Alcibíades (circa 390 BC), uses the expression ta esô meaning «normal activities», and in his dialogue Theaetetus (circa 360 BC) he uses ta eksô meaning «the outside things». Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The probable first appearance of the Greek adjective esôterikos is in Lucian of Samosata's "The Auction of Lives", § 26 (also called "The Auction of the Philosophical Schools"), written around AD 166. In Grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a Noun or Pronoun, giving more information about the Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανός ὁ Σαμοσατεύς Lucianus c [1]

The term esoteric first appeared in English in the 1701 History of Philosophy by Thomas Stanley, in his description of the "Auditors of Pythagoras. Thomas Stanley (1625 &ndash April 12, 1678) was an English author and translator "Pythagoras of Samos" redirects here For the Samian statuary of the same name see Pythagoras (sculptor. " The Pythagoreans were divided into "exoteric", which were under review, and "esoteric", which had performed well enough to be admitted into the "inner" circle.

Connotations

"Esotericism" in current usage

In Western, English-speaking societies today, the term "esotericism" has come to informally mean any perception or knowledge that is difficult to understand or remember, such as theoretical physics, or that which pertains to the minutiae of a particular discipline, such as "esoteric" baseball statistics. Theoretical physics employs Mathematical models and Abstractions of Physics in an attempt to explain experimental data taken of the natural world Minutiae, in Fingerprinting terms are the points of interest in a fingerprint such as bifurcations (a ridge splitting into two and ridge endings Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each

The term "esoteric" does not necessarily refer to "esotericism" per se in the sense of "inner" knowledge, disciplines, or practices.

A variety of past traditions could be classified as forms of "esotericism" due to their "inner" focus as well as their "selective" and "secretive" nature. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of

Nuances

Esotericism largely overlaps with "hidden knowledge. " Some overlap exists as well between esotericism and mysticism. Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity However, many mystical traditions do not attempt to introduce additional spiritual knowledge, but rather seek to focus the believer's attention or prayers more strongly upon the object of devotion. A mystic is thus not necessarily an esotericist.

Scope

"Esotericism" sometimes suggests an additional element of initiation, for example the requirement that one be tested before learning the higher truth. Note however that most "esoteric" teachings are widely available, and indeed often actively promoted.

Another possibility is that such knowledge may be kept secret not by the intention of its protectors, but by its very nature—for example, if it is accessible only to those with the proper intellectual background.

The religiously minded have sometimes used "esotericism" to refer to their belief-systems. For this reason a brief survey of some religious traditions follows. This is not necessarily the meaning of esotericism. Academic esotericism constitutes the modern academic disciplines - looked at in articles under the relevant headings.

History

Esotericism is not a single tradition but a vast array of often unrelated figures and movements. Nevertheless, the following may be helpful.

The Roman Empire gave birth not only to Christianity but also to a group of mystery religions which emphasized initiation. Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman Some see Christianity, with its ritual of baptism, as a mystery religion:

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "Acts 2:38

After Christianity became the state religion of Rome, dissident Christian groups became persecuted as traitors to the state. Pagan groups came to be suppressed as well. The terms "Gnosticism" and "Gnosis" have been challenged as coherent categories, but refer to a family of ancient Jewish, Christian, and pagan religious movements which often claimed to possess secret teachings relating to the spirit world (although in the Gnostic Tradition this "secret knowledge" was available to all), as opposed to the ordinary world which they tended to denigrate. Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Gnosis (from one of the Greek words for Knowledge, γνώσις is the spiritual knowledge of a Saint or mystically enlightened human being Another important movement from the ancient world was Hermeticism, sometimes called Hermetism to distinguish it from post-Renaissance appropriations of it. Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a Separately, ancient Babylon provided the basis for Western astrology. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems .

The dichotomy between the esoteric and exoteric also plays an important part in Islam, particularly the beliefs of the Ismaili Muslims. For the Egyptian city see Ismaïlia. The Ismāʿīlī ( Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون It is believed that spiritual salvation is attained by receiving the 'Nur' (light) of Allah through the esoteric, that is, spiritual search for enlightenment. Neither the exoteric nor the esoteric obliterates the other. The inner, spiritual life remains in harmony with the exoteric, and is a dimension of the faith that finds acceptance among many communities in both branches of Islam. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

During the Middle Ages such things as astrology, alchemy, and magic were not distinct from the standard subjects of the curriculum of an educated man. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of While some people assume esotericism to be opposed to the Bible or Christianity, as a historical matter this tension did not arise until later. Indeed, Christianity contributed its own esoteric imagery, notably the Holy Grail from Arthurian literature. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders

While many esoteric subjects have a history reaching back thousands of years, these have generally not survived as continuous traditions. Rather, they have benefited from various antiquarian revival movements. During the Italian Renaissance, for example, translators such as Ficino and Pico della Mirandola turned their attention to the classical literature of neo-Platonism, and what was thought to be the pre-Mosaic tradition of Hermeticism. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola ( February 24, 1463 - November 17, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance Philosopher. Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a

European esotericism was reformulated in the 17th century as Rosicrucianism, and later entered various strands of Freemasonry. The term Rosicrucian (symbol the Rose Cross) describes a secret society of mystics allegedly formed in late mediaeval Germany, holding a doctrine "built on In the 19th century a notable French revival in turn gave way to the theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky. This article is about the philosophy introduced by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Elena Petrovna Gan (Елена Петровна Ган also Hélène, Yekaterinoslav, Ukraine, Russian Empire — May 8 1891 London) better In the 20th century Theosophy was reformulated by Annie Besant, C. W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey, Rudolf Steiner and many others. Annie Wood Besant (ˈbɛsənt Clapham London October 1 1847 &ndash September 20 1933 in Adyar, India) was a prominent Theosophist, CW Leadbeater ( Feb 16, 1854 Stockport, Cheshire, England - March 1, 1934 Perth, Western Alice Ann Bailey ( June 16, 1880 &ndash December 15, 1949) known as Alice A Rudolf Steiner ( 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher literary scholar educator artist playwright Theosophy is also considered a major influence on the many current varieties of esotericism in metaphysical organizations, "Ascended Master Activities", and within the New Age groups. Yet another notable esoteric strain stems from the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky. George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Գեորգի Գյուրջիև Γιώργος Γεωργιάδης Георгий Иванович Гюрджиев (or Gurdjiev) January Peter D Ouspensky ( March 4, 1878 – October 2, 1947) ( Pyotr Demianovich Ouspenskii, also Uspenskii or Uspensky

Anthroposophy, a synthesis of Western esoteric traditions and Theosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner in the early part of the nineteenth century, stimulated important developments in education, agriculture, medicine and numerous other areas;[4] as a result it has been called the "most important esoteric society in European history. Anthroposophy is a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner (25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925 which postulates the existence of an objective intellectually This article is about the philosophy introduced by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Rudolf Steiner ( 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher literary scholar educator artist playwright The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Waldorf education (also known as Steiner or Steiner-Waldorf education is a Pedagogy based upon the Educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder Biodynamic agriculture, a method of Organic farming that has its basis in a spiritual world-view ( Anthroposophy, first propounded by Rudolf Steiner) treats Anthroposophical medicine is a Complementary medicine founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Dr Ita Wegman. "[5]

References

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary : esotericism
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary : esoteric
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary : esoterica
  4. ^ Robert McDermott, The Essential Steiner, ISBN 0-06-065345-0, pp. 3-11
  5. ^ Tom Grote, "Kosmische Wirkkräfte", German Radio interview 08/08/2007

See also

External links

An artist formerly known as Esotericism. http://esotericism.deviantart.com/

Dictionary

esotericism

-noun

  1. The tendency to promote or desire the esoteric.
  2. Doctrines or practices of esoteric knowledge.
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