On the Rejection of Rejected Knowledge (Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Esotericism in Western Culture: Counter-Normativity and Rejected Knowledge, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2025)
On the Rejection of Rejected Knowledge (Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Esotericism in Western Culture: Counter-Normativity and Rejected Knowledge, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2025)

Summary/Abstract: This work is a critical review of Wouter J. Hanegraaff's book Esotericism in Western Culture: Counter-Normativity and Rejected Knowledge, exploring its theoretical novelties, methodological framework, and implications for the study of history, philosophy, and religion. The review examines Hanegraaff's approach to esotericism as a historical category of excluded knowledge, his critique of internal Eurocentrism, and his challenge to the normative foundations of academic disciplines. Additionally, it highlights the book's contributions to epistemology, the periodization of gnosis, reason, and faith, and its overarching call for a more comprehensive understanding of cultural history.

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