Overview

This volume offers the first systematic philosophical study of esotericism and late modern philosophy. It addresses fundamental philosophical questions related to esotericism and reveals that esoteric ideas have had decisive impact on countless important philosophers, even if this fact has been neglected in contemporary philosophy. The first part of the book is dedicated to substantial and methodological questions. What is philosophy, what is esotericism, and how should we think about their relationship? The second section is more historically oriented, and it is divided in two parts. Part I is concerned with German romanticism and idealism, with a specific focus on the influence of esotericism on Hegel and Schelling, as well as the connection between romanticism and Kabbalah in the work of Gershom Scholem. Part II explores esotericism in phenomenology, pragmatism, and post-idealism, specifically in the work of William James, Martin Heidegger, Henri Bergson, and Roy Bhaskar. Philosophical Perspectives on Esotericism will appeal to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of religion, history of philosophy, and religious studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. Funded by: Kone Foundation

Full Product Details

Author:   Olli Pitkänen (University of Helsinki, Finland)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
ISBN:  

9781032599731

ISBN 10:   1032599731
Pages:   366
Publication Date:   21 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Editor’s Introduction Olli Pitkänen Section 1: Substantial and Methodological Questions 1. Esoteric Endeavours in Philosophy Zsuzsanna Kondor 2. Philosophical Askesis as an Esoteric-Mystical Exercise Marina Christodoulou 3. Mystical Ensemble: (Re)Defining Mysticism Antti Piilola 4. (Meta-)Reflecting the Other: Peter Hamilton-Giles’s Occult Philosophy Adas Diržys 5. The Intensification of Myth: Esotericism and Literature in Furio Jesi Emanuele Curcio Section 2: Historical Perspectives German Romanticism and Idealism 6. Kabbalah and Romanticism James Clow 7. Schelling, Hegel, and Esotericism Glenn Alexander Magee 8. Hegel and Levinas on the Notion of Esoteric Thought Stavros S. Panayiotou Post-Idealism, Phenomenology, Pragmatism 9. Gnosis and the Aporetic Notion of Truth: Heidegger and Meister Eckhart Erik Kuravsky 10. Cosmic Harmony and an Unseen Order: On Mysticism, Panpsychism, and Philosophical Temperaments in William James Sami Pihlström 11. The Starry Heavens Within: Roy Bhaskar and the Theosophical Depths of Critical Realism Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm 12. Materializing the Occult: Matter, Spirit, and Image in the Two Bergsons John Ó Maoilearca 13. A Phenomenology of the Esoteric: On “Soul” and “Time” Tareq Ayoub

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Author Information

Olli Pitkänen is a postdoctoral researcher (Academy of Finland, “Esoteric Thought in Philosophy from the 19th Century to the Present” 2022–2025) at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has authored several articles on German idealism, evil, and esotericism.

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