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Western Esotericism: The Next Generation

Wouter J. Hanegraaff

UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) May 2, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19978312 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Citations 2
Key points Argues that esotericism and mysticism are distinct phenomena—esotericism as a hierarchical system of secret knowledge and mysticism as direct, unmediated experience—and that their conflation hinders accurate scholarly analysis.

Abstract

in: Sergey Pakhomov (ed.), Mystic and Esoteric Movements in Theory and Practice, Fifth International Conference: History and Discourse, Historical and Philosophical Aspects of the Study of Esotericism and Mysticism, Russian Christian Academy for Humanities: St. Petersburg 2012, 113-129.