Gnostic Fools

Agnes Horvath is a political anthropologist and sociologist, is the founding editor of the journal International Political Anthropology, and served as its chief editor from 2012 to 2022.

'Horvath’s book is not merely an exploration in the history of Gnostic fools but also an extremely significant tool for understanding the present. From the magic-like unification through digital virtuality and artificial intelligence to the various authoritarian-totalitarian regimes worldwide, from globalization and modern science to the dystopian projects of modern humanism and trans-humanism, from total surveillance and control to security, health or cosmic space, the specter of the Gnostic One seems to press on our minds like the ghost of an old demon or a new god.'Camil Roman, Lecturer in Political Science at John Cabot University, Rome, Italy.'With this new book, Horvath continues her inspired exploration of our contemporary condition by tracing today’s political and social predicaments to historical and anthropological developments long forgotten. After debunking the received wisdom surrounding the relationship between magic and science the author brilliantly examines processes as seemingly disparate as the commercialization of life, transhumanism, and the rise of influencers, as part of the return – indeed, the coronation – of an ancient spiritual movement, that of Gnosticism. Horvath’s latest work is not merely a book, but a dark prophecy: "nothing remains after this generation, just the void".'Elisabetta Brighi, Assistant Head, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, UK.'This book is bound to provoke, but for all the right reasons. It asks a radical question: what if our world of today is governed by gnostic fools? Building on Horvath’s pioneering work on trickster power and alchemical logic, this book takes one step further, providing a highly original reading of how the fool appeared as a major actor in history, linked to the history of the occult. The result is a strikingly new, if deeply worrisome, account of the rise of the modern world. It will leave no reader unaffected. It is not only a recommended read. It is a necessary read.'Bjørn Thomassen, Professor in Global Political Sociology, Roskilde University, Denmark.'In Gnostic Fools, Horvath continues her excavation of occult notions and machinations, discerning their continuing ubiquity, detailing magic’s infiltration into philosophy, theology, and science since antiquity. In modernity, occult influences are invisibly embedded in our environs and agendas. Ideological commitments fool us into thinking ourselves something we’re not, believing we’ll become something we can’t be, transforming us into something else for the empowerment of others. Experts employed like priests wield strange words and techniques to feign knowledge and manipulate morals, subjecting people unwittingly to enthrallment, depersonalization, and sacrifice. Who is more the fool: the Fool, or the fools who follow him? Join Horvath on a journey through underappreciated sources to find out.'Travis D. Smith, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Concordia University, Canada.'Variations in the descriptions of second realities and accounts of their genesis that human beings can imaginatively adopt are limitless. In the mid-twentieth century Eric Voegelin argued, as had been done a century earlier, that the ancient category of gnosis and the suitability of the term gnostic to describe its practitioners, also applied to the ideological politics of the modern world. Agnes Horvath has delimited a specific and particular shape of today’s gnostic, whom she described as the fool, (and of his cousins, the charlatan and the magician) for focussed attention. Once one grasps the subtleties and complexities of her argument, the evidence –from the widespread government response to the COVID-19 event to the opening “ceremony” of the Paris Olympics—falls into place. This is a major addition to contemporary political science.'Barry Cooper, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, Canada.'In her inimitable and incisive style, Agnes Horvath yet again turns political anthropology into the mirror that our troubled age so desperately needs. Gnosticism is not a long bygone way of life but feeds endless transformations, hybrids, and magical tricks that dominate our contemporary lives. The message that fools often appear in the guise of the wise, bright, and elegant may be somber. Still, Horvath's matchless scholarship pursues the ultimate aim - as always - of recovering the soul at the centre of being.'Harald Wydra, Professor of Politics, St Catharine's College, Cambridge, UK.

• Introduction: ‘The “what” of a Thing’ 1. The Prince of Lies: Fools and Philo 2. Impulsive Daydreams: Time and Space Suspension 3. Remodelled fooling Trickster: Fusing occult into Philosophy and Religion 4. Barbarian recklessness – foreign fables 5. Incorporation into the One and the birth of the Foolish Evil 6. The One is Running Over the Top: Medieval Foolery 7. Ecclesia and the elimination of the individual household 8. Mystic union into public entities: priestly kingship in the people of God 9. No difference between the wise and the fool: Return to the One 10. Gnostic Fools running amok 11. Fools’ Triumph: the recurrent idea of the One Conclusion