Kocku von Stuckrad – författare

The soul, which dominated many intellectual debates at the beginning of the twentieth century, has virtually disappeared from the sciences and the humanities. Yet it is everywhere in popular culture—from holistic therapies and new spiritual practices to literature and film to ecological and political ideologies. Ignored by scholars, it is hiding in plain sight in a plethora of religious, psychological, environmental, and scientific movements.This book uncovers the history of the concept of the soul in twentieth-century Europe and North America. Beginning in fin de siècle Germany, Kocku von Stuckrad examines a fascination spanning philosophy, the sciences, the arts, and the study of religion, as well as occultism and spiritualism, against the backdrop of the emergence of experimental psychology. He then explores how and why the United States witnessed a flowering of ideas about the soul in popular culture and spirituality in the latter half of the century.Von Stuckrad examines an astonishingly wide range of figures and movements—ranging from Ernest Renan, Martin Buber, and Carl Gustav Jung to the Esalen Institute, deep ecology, and revivals of shamanism, animism, and paganism to Rachel Carson, Ursula K. Le Guin, and the Harry Potter franchise. Revealing how the soul remains central to a culture that is only seemingly secular, this book casts new light on the place of spirituality, religion, and metaphysics in Europe and North America today.

The soul, which dominated many intellectual debates at the beginning of the twentieth century, has virtually disappeared from the sciences and the humanities. Yet it is everywhere in popular culture—from holistic therapies and new spiritual practices to literature and film to ecological and political ideologies. Ignored by scholars, it is hiding in plain sight in a plethora of religious, psychological, environmental, and scientific movements.This book uncovers the history of the concept of the soul in twentieth-century Europe and North America. Beginning in fin de siècle Germany, Kocku von Stuckrad examines a fascination spanning philosophy, the sciences, the arts, and the study of religion, as well as occultism and spiritualism, against the backdrop of the emergence of experimental psychology. He then explores how and why the United States witnessed a flowering of ideas about the soul in popular culture and spirituality in the latter half of the century.Von Stuckrad examines an astonishingly wide range of figures and movements—ranging from Ernest Renan, Martin Buber, and Carl Gustav Jung to the Esalen Institute, deep ecology, and revivals of shamanism, animism, and paganism to Rachel Carson, Ursula K. Le Guin, and the Harry Potter franchise. Revealing how the soul remains central to a culture that is only seemingly secular, this book casts new light on the place of spirituality, religion, and metaphysics in Europe and North America today.

The enigmatic relation between religion and science still presents a challenge to European societies and to ideas about what it means to be ‘modern.’ This book argues that European secularism, rather than pushing back religious truth claims, in fact has been religiously productive itself. The institutional establishment of new disciplines in the nineteenth century, such as religious studies, anthropology, psychology, classical studies, and the study of various religious traditions, led to a professionalization of knowledge about religion that in turn attributed new meanings to religion. This attribution of meaning resulted in the emergence of new religious identities and practices. In a dynamic that is closely linked to this discursive change, the natural sciences adopted religious and metaphysical claims and integrated them in their framework of meaning, resulting in a special form of scientific religiosity that has gained much influence in the twentieth century. Applying methods that come from historical discourse analysis, the book demonstrates that religious semantics have been reconfigured in the secular sciences. Ultimately, the scientification of religion perpetuated religious truth claims under conditions of secularism.

The enigmatic relation between religion and science still presents a challenge to European societies and to ideas about what it means to be ‘modern.’ This book argues that European secularism, rather than pushing back religious truth claims, in fact has been religiously productive itself. The institutional establishment of new disciplines in the nineteenth century, such as religious studies, anthropology, psychology, classical studies, and the study of various religious traditions, led to a professionalization of knowledge about religion that in turn attributed new meanings to religion. This attribution of meaning resulted in the emergence of new religious identities and practices. In a dynamic that is closely linked to this discursive change, the natural sciences adopted religious and metaphysical claims and integrated them in their framework of meaning, resulting in a special form of scientific religiosity that has gained much influence in the twentieth century. Applying methods that come from historical discourse analysis, the book demonstrates that religious semantics have been reconfigured in the secular sciences. Ultimately, the scientification of religion perpetuated religious truth claims under conditions of secularism.

A revolution is taking place in the sciences and the arts, but the general public is barely aware of it.In his new book, Kocku von Stuckrad describes this revolution as a “relational turn” that no longer sees humans as masters of the world, but rather integrates them into a complex network of relationships with the nonhuman world.Instead of perpetuating the separation of culture from nature, subject from object, and mind from matter—a separation that stems from the European tradition—von Stuckrad moves beyond understandings of umwelt (German for “the world around us”) and develops the outlines of a mitwelt ethics (literally, an ethics for the “world we’re with”) that considers human and nonhuman beings as equals in their knowledge and relations to the world. Only in this way can we break out of what the author calls the “exploitation regimes” of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism that have brought the planet to the brink of collapse.The book formulates concrete future perspectives for a flourishing and respectful human relationship with the earth, in which scientific, artistic, and political-legal innovations come together consistently and programmatically. In overcoming the colonial plundering of the planet, non-European and Indigenous traditions of world relations take on special significance, as do holistic European traditions, such as Romanticism, which reject human fantasies of domination and advocate a relational approach to the nonhuman world. The important role of art, literature, and spirituality in shaping a world ‘after exploitation’ is also conveyed in other elements of the book: von Stuckrad uses personal vignettes and poetic mitwelt words to create ways of communicating that go beyond factual information and support readers on their journey through the relational turn.Originally published in German in 2024 (Nach der Ausbeutung/Europa Verlag), this book has already proven itself essential reading for all those interested in explanations and solutions to climate change, human relationships with the more-than-human world, the role of art and literature in scientific and social transformation, and global and environmental justice in general. The English translation will surely find a place on course reading lists as well as on the shelves of activists and policy-makers.

A revolution is taking place in the sciences and the arts, but the general public is barely aware of it.In his new book, Kocku von Stuckrad describes this revolution as a “relational turn” that no longer sees humans as masters of the world, but rather integrates them into a complex network of relationships with the nonhuman world.Instead of perpetuating the separation of culture from nature, subject from object, and mind from matter—a separation that stems from the European tradition—von Stuckrad moves beyond understandings of umwelt (German for “the world around us”) and develops the outlines of a mitwelt ethics (literally, an ethics for the “world we’re with”) that considers human and nonhuman beings as equals in their knowledge and relations to the world. Only in this way can we break out of what the author calls the “exploitation regimes” of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism that have brought the planet to the brink of collapse.The book formulates concrete future perspectives for a flourishing and respectful human relationship with the earth, in which scientific, artistic, and political-legal innovations come together consistently and programmatically. In overcoming the colonial plundering of the planet, non-European and Indigenous traditions of world relations take on special significance, as do holistic European traditions, such as Romanticism, which reject human fantasies of domination and advocate a relational approach to the nonhuman world. The important role of art, literature, and spirituality in shaping a world ‘after exploitation’ is also conveyed in other elements of the book: von Stuckrad uses personal vignettes and poetic mitwelt words to create ways of communicating that go beyond factual information and support readers on their journey through the relational turn.Originally published in German in 2024 (Nach der Ausbeutung/Europa Verlag), this book has already proven itself essential reading for all those interested in explanations and solutions to climate change, human relationships with the more-than-human world, the role of art and literature in scientific and social transformation, and global and environmental justice in general. The English translation will surely find a place on course reading lists as well as on the shelves of activists and policy-makers.

Esotericism is the search for an absolute but hidden knowledge accessed through mystical vision, the mediation of higher beings, or personal experience. In Western cultural history esoteric approaches to religion have often been in conflict with - and suffered at the hands of - more established forms of religious belief and practice. 'Western Esotericism' presents a very broad and engaging history of the people and ideas which have shaped occult history from antiquity to today. Throughout the history of esotericism the dynamic of concealment and revelation has characterized the search for secret knowledge. Pursued both publically and privately, esotericism has come to influence more mainstream religious practice and culture and has significantly shaped our understanding of modernity. Today, esotericism continues to be practised by a range of both established and new religious movements. 'Western Esotericism' presents the essential guide to one of the most fascinating, provocative, and sustained of religious traditions.

Für diesen Band haben sich Freunde, Kolleginnen und Kollegen zusammengetan, um Hans G. Kippenberg zu ehren, seine Ideen kreativ aufzugreifen und kritisch fortzuschreiben. Die 32 Beiträge in deutscher und englischer Sprache befassen sich mit Themengebieten, zu denen Hans G. Kippenberg in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt gearbeitet hat: Geschichte der Religionswissenschaft · Methodische Reflexionen · Europäische Religionsgeschichte · Religion und Moderne · Religion und Gewalt · Religion und Recht.

This volume examines the specific role of horoscopic astrology in Western culture from antiquity to the nineteenth century. Focusing on the public appearance of astrological rhetoric, the essays break new ground for a better understanding of the function of horoscopes in public discourse. The volume's three parts address the use of imperial horoscopes in late antiquity, the transformation of doctrines and rhetorics in Islamic medieval contexts, and the important status of astrology in early modern Europe. The combination of in-depth historical studies and methodological considerations results in an important contribution to religious and cultural studies.

The discursive study of religion is a growing field that attracts increasing numbers of students and researchers from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. This volume is the first systematic presentation of the research into religion and discourse. Written by experts from various disciplines, each chapter offers an integrative overview of theory, method, and contextual studies by focusing on a specific approach, interdisciplinary relationship, controversy, or theme in the field. Taking the discursive dimension in the production of knowledge seriously, the book also provides a critical analysis of academic practice and explores new forms of scholarly communication, including open peer-review. The collected volume will appeal to scholars and postgraduate students across a variety of disciplines, including religious studies, history of religion, sociology of religion, discourse studies, cultural studies, and area studies.

The discursive study of religion is a growing field that attracts increasing numbers of students and researchers from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. This volume is the first systematic presentation of the research into religion and discourse. Written by experts from various disciplines, each chapter offers an integrative overview of theory, method, and contextual studies by focusing on a specific approach, interdisciplinary relationship, controversy, or theme in the field. Taking the discursive dimension in the production of knowledge seriously, the book also provides a critical analysis of academic practice and explores new forms of scholarly communication, including open peer-review. The collected volume will appeal to scholars and postgraduate students across a variety of disciplines, including religious studies, history of religion, sociology of religion, discourse studies, cultural studies, and area studies.

In its historical development from late antiquity to the present, western esotericism has repeatedly been the issue of polemical discourse. This volume engages the polemical structures that underlie both the identities within and the controversy about esoteric currents in European history. From Jewish and Christian kabbalah through heretical discourse and interconfessional polemics in early modernity to the legitimization of esoteric identity in modern culture, the 12 chapters, accompanied by an editors’ introduction, provide a cornucopia of relevant cases that are interpreted in a framework of polemical discourse and ‘Othering’. This volume sheds new light on the ultimately polemical structure of western esotericism and thus opens new vistas for further research into esoteric discourse.