Spirituality and the occult : from the Renaissance to the modern age

Gibbons makes a clear and convincing argument for a reappraisal of the marginal status of occult spiritualities in relation to western intellectual and cultural history. He shows the esoteric tradition to have contributed much to the development of many diverse branches of European culture from the Renaissance onwards. Spirituality and the Occult argues against the widely held view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. Showing that the esoteric tradition is unfairly neglected in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives at least in part from this tradition, it casts a fresh, intriguing and persuasive perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West. Brian Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements in disciplines such as: * medicine * science * philosophy * Freudian and Jungian psychology * radical political movements * imaginative literature. Spirituality and the Occult argues against the widely held view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. Showing that the esoteric tradition is unfairly neglected in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives at least in part from this tradition, it casts a fresh, intriguing and persuasive perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West. Brian Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements in disciplines such as: * medicine * science * philosophy * Freudian and Jungian psychology * radical political movements * imaginative literature

Spirituality and the Occult argues against the widely held view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. Showing that the esoteric tradition is unfairly neglected in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives at least in part from this tradition, it casts a fresh, intriguing and persuasive perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West. Brian Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements in disciplines such as:
* medicine
* science
* philosophy
* Freudian and Jungian psychology
* radical political movements
* imaginative literature.

Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgements......Page 7 Introduction......Page 8 Nature in occult thought......Page 26 Science, magic and the occult......Page 45 The body in occult thought......Page 63 The body in health and death......Page 78 The mind in occult thought......Page 95 Occultism and analytical psychology......Page 110 Society, religion and history in occult thought......Page 119 The occult and Western culture......Page 142 Notes......Page 152 Index......Page 197 "Against the widely held view occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture, Spirituality and the Occult argues that the esoteric tradition has played a major role in European intellectual and cultural history. Among the disciplines in which B.J. Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements are: medicine; science; philosophy; Freudian and Jungian psychology; radical political movements; and imaginative literature." "Showing that the esoteric tradition is an unfairly neglected area in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives, at least in part, from this tradition, Spirituality and the Occult casts a perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West that is fresh, intriguing and persuasive."--Jacket This volume argues against the view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. It shows that the influence of the esoteric tradition is neglected and that much of what we take to be modern derives, at least in part, from this The term 'occult spiritualities' may be misleading to the modern reader.