Mistyka i dialektyka. Zarys filozofii Jakuba Böhmego i jej recepcja
Leszek Kleszcz
Studia Philosophica Wratislaviensia May 12, 2026 DOI: 10.19195/1895-8001.21.1.6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Jacob Bohme's wide influence on European philosophy, religion, art, and science stems from his mystical experience and the metaphorical, paradoxical language in which he expressed it, organized around the dialectic of light and dark, good and evil, spirit and matter. The author proposes reflections on the sources of this influence, which the text describes as an open question. |
Abstract
The impact that Jacob Bohme — a simple, uneducated “shoemaker from Zgorzelec” — had on the shape of European thought and culture is astonishing. Hegel not only called him the first “Teutonic philosopher,” but also, alongside F. Bacon, considered him one of the main creators of modern philosophy. The source of Bohme’s thought was a mystical experience, which he tried to present using a metaphorical language, and one dotted with paradoxes. The key position in these attempts to describe his experience was occupied by the dialectic of light and dark, good and evil, spirit and matter. Bohme’s philosophy was comprehensive in nature, his thoughts intertwined: theosophy, cosmosophy, anthroposophy, and Christosophy. Bohme’s message had a major influence, the scope of which was not limited the development of philosophy and religious movements, but also extended to many artists, poets, and scientists inspired by his works. The question of the sources of this enormous power of influence of his thoughts remains an open one. In my article I offer certain reflections on these sources.