The vegetarian diet as an expression of ecological concern in the esoteric discourse at the turn of the twentieth century Cover Image

Dieta jarska jako wyraz ekologicznej troski w dyskursie ezoterycznym przełomu XIX i XX wieku
The vegetarian diet as an expression of ecological concern in the esoteric discourse at the turn of the twentieth century

Author(s): Agata Świerzowska
Subject(s): Social Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: vegetarian diet; ecology; nature; Western esotericism; Stanisław Breyer; Konstanty Moes-Oskragiełło; Błażej Włodarz; Andrzej Podżorski;

Summary/Abstract: The vegetarian diet was seen by esotericists at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the only diet fully compliant with the laws of Nature. Adopting it was therefore treated not only as a way of staying healthy (i.e. maintaining a psycho-physical and spiritual balance) and progressing spiritually, but also as a duty towards Nature and a way to preserve its original, pure and therefore beneficial character. The aim of this paper is to analyse pro-vegetarian and – as the author claims – at the same time pro-ecological discourse developed within the Polish esoteric milieu at the turn of the twentieth century. Based on the example of Polish esoteric vegetarians, the specificity of argumentation and characteristic depiction will be presented as well as the practical implementation of the proclaimed postulates.

  • Issue Year: 56/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 65 - 78
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish