The study deals with esotericism from a philosophical perspective. By esotericism I refer to thought currents such as alchemy, theosophy, and hermeticism, which cannot be considered purely scientific, philosophical, or theological in any traditional sense. From a religious perspective esoteric ideas have been traditionally judged as heresy, from the viewpoint of science they have been deemed as pseudoscience, and philosophers have seen them as confused speculation. In fact, esotericism has yet influenced significantly to all these fields of thought and institutions. During the last three decades esotericism has finally gained increasing academic attention. My study takes up the significance of esoteric influences in the history of philosophy from the 19th century to the present, explores the relationship of philosophy and esotericism in general, and points out ways to further utilize esoteric ideas within different contemporary philosophical discourses.

2022

2025