Esotericism

The term Esotericism stems from the Classical Greek word esoterikós, which means "within" or "inwards". It originally meant secret lore. Today's meaning is for the most part identical to the more modern New Age or New Occult. The term Esotericism used to apply to rites and customs within closed societies, that were hidden from outsiders and kept secret from them. Today it stands for a big number of very different doctrines and convictions, that are based on assumptions, according to which a scientific, rational description of the world is impossible. Consequently all esoteric doctrines share a common property: They are not testable and can not be falsified, but are represented with the claim of absoluteness. There is no commonly accepted single esoteric lore, and no such lore is desired by the esoteric scene.

General

Terms like Esotericism, New Age and Occultism embrace certain non-religious paths to insight and forms of action. In them the role of the individual, subjective and often out-of-the-ordinary experience is emphasized. Especially if it avoids rational communicability and intersubjective scrutiny. Esotericism assumes certain spiritual properties of the individual, which can typically not be falsified scientifically. Nonetheless followers of esoteric beliefs claim scientific testability for certain aspects of their lore occasionally, leading to pseudo-scientific arguments. A conspicuous feature of Esotericism is the inconsiderate "borrowing" of words and concepts from other fields of knowledge, often that of natural science.

A uniting element of many esoteric tenets is the claim of having the final answer to humanities key questions. They assert to have knowledge of "higher powers", of the past and future of mankind, and make promises of ascent to higher domains or higher forms of knowledge, that are denied to the uninitiated. This restriction of knowledge to insiders is the exact opposite of an important principle in science: Any good idea is accessible to all mankind, and not just to a circle of a selected few.

A part of the seductive power of Esotericism stems from narcissistic needs: Who wants to be a mere letter in the big book of evolution? A "nano-particle" in an inconceivable and infinite universe, if one can instead interpret one's own birth as being inspired by cosmic fate and meaning. Worries about a fundamentally uncertain future call for a higher power that guides us. Another source of its appeal may be the complexity of the world that makes it hard to understand it, and the fact that getting into the established sciences is tedious and complicated. Engagement in Esotericism can lead to the flattering impression of being able to understand and add meaning to everything.

The human soul is often portrayed as eternal, the fate of each individual predetermined. Esoteric practices and lores focus the craving for the mysterious, that supposedly is veiled behind the mundane material world. Communication with other people, and even "higher beings" or the deceased is possible according to esoteric understanding, requiring "channels" in addition to our five senses. Such phenomenons present no logical problem to esoteric thinkers, since according to their understanding the known laws of nature are too restricted to explain the world.

All in all the esoteric scene shows a weak institutionalization.

Substitute religion

Evidence based scientific thinking as well as common religions are insufficient to explain the world in the eye of Esotericism. Esoteric lores have been seen as "substitute religions" or "secular substitute religions" in the past.

Subjectivisation of nature

The personification or subjectivisation of nature as Mother Earth or Gaia is another typical trait of many esoteric conceptions.

The language of Esotericism

Esotericism uses its own lexicon. There are terms such as Cosmic Consciousness, Paradigm-change, Transformation or the Age of Aquarius. These terms however lack a clear definition. The avoidance of clear definitions can even be seen as a typical sign of Esotericism. Some of these words are borrowed from various fields of science and converted to new, ambiguous meanings. It usually is not defined what quantum, energy or vibration and frequencies mean in the esoteric sense. And if there is a definition or explanation, it is typically kept vague and diffuse, which often leads to esoteric points of view being accused of consisting of drivel.

The fuzzy vocabulary of Esotericism hinders the understanding of esoteric context, but it enables followers to immunize their doctrine from critique and from "the outside" in general. It is also welcome to them, because it creates to pleasant feeling of being understood by like-minded people. It is often observed that consumers of esoteric products are rather uncritical in this context. Demanding explanations would disturb the pleasant feeling, because it outs oneself as not belonging to the circle of those "in the know".

Present

Todays flavor of Esotericism had its first big wave at the end of the 19th century and then especially in the 1970s. It has a big economic impact (see: esoteric market) and reaches far beyond the initial audience. Contrary to the past, todays Esotericism views everyone as a potential customer of esoteric products and services. Esoteric lore is no longer secret, but the appearance of a "higher" knowledge with which one can set oneself apart from the masses is still a big part of its appeal.

A huge number of esoteric authors, advisors and healers create billions in revenue every year in Germany alone. Millions of people look for esoteric solutions for everyday problems as well as severe crisis, even though the effectiveness of the offered products and services is typically unknown at best. Providers themselves often don't know about the details and history of their esoteric doctrine. It has become a product much like other consumer goods. The preference of followers changes accordingly. If a given practice fails or gets boring it will simply be replaced by another.

Esotericism offers an individual way to separate oneself from the masses, to view oneself as a keeper of a "higher knowledge", while at the same time ridding oneself of personal responsibility. Followers can be taught in accordance with the lore, to view all events in the world as right and a given, including social inequity and racism. That way esoteric irrationalness can work to protect and shield a system of oppression. Under the fuzzy reign of the holistic concept as understood by Esotericism, people can be robbed of their individual freedoms. They can be made to accept their situation, or that of other people, as being cosmically predetermined and intended (see: Karma).

National Socialism and right wing groups today

A special chapter is Esotericism in National Socialism and modern day "Brown Esotericism". Connections between Esotericism and the extreme right are indeed visible today, in Germany as well as in other countries. According to Barth the esoteric movement has helped to get positions accepted by a broad public that would not have been tolerated ten years ago. Especially the belittlement of the crimes of German Fascism. It is not unusual in those groups to explain the holocaust as the inevitable result of Jewish karma.

There are also intersections between Esotericism and the left wing alternative milieu, for example in Veganism and Environmentalism.

Examples of esoteric lore

Typical examples of esoteric lore and ideology are Astrology, neopagan interpretations of Shamanism, Theosophy and Anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner. Further examples of currently popular esoteric ideas are Breatharianism(Light fasting) and Indigene Spirituality.

Esotericism in health care

Many products of the alternative medicine are esoterically influenced. A typical exponent of that scene is Rüdiker Dahlke, who himself claims to practice "esoteric medicine". Esoteric axioms appear to be essential, when proof of effectiveness is lacking, to make a product more appealing and separate and protect it from conventional therapies. The ambiguous and differing terminology of todays Esotericism seems to let rational critique of those medical practices simply bounce off.

The transition to alternative medicine that claims to be based on science is blurry: Esoteric elements can be found in the descriptions of pseudo-medicinal methods like Energy-medicine, Quantum-medicine, Bioresonance and so on. This applies for example to the avoidance of a well defined terminology.

The market for esoterically influenced medicine often not only makes unsustainable promises about health, the methods are often even a potential danger for clients or patients: Critical thinking, necessary for survival, is in danger of being neglected. Competent help from actual experts can be missed or declined. A notion of anti scientific bias is common. Prejudices and reservation are fostered by esoteric literature as well as websites and TV-channels. A typical example of that is the esoterically influenced anti-vaccination attitude that is common among many esoteric doctrines, such as Anthroposophy.

Literature

• Antoine Faivre / Wouter J. Hanegraaff (Hrsg.): Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion. Leuven 1998
• Wouter J. Hanegraaff: Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism, Bd. 1, Leiden / Boston 2005