Few people are aware that from 1933 and for a period of almost
seventy years, many of the world's leading intellectuals met
annually at Ascona on Lake Maggiore to give scholarly lectures
about their latest insights in the fields of religion, philosophy,
history, art and science, and in particular to explore religion
with an emphasis on its mystical and symbolic aspects. Known as the
Eranos meetings (Eranos in Ancient Greek meant banquet),
participants over the years comprised a galaxy of illustrious names
in many branches of the humanities and sciences: Carl Gustav Jung,
Erich Neumann, Mircea Eliade, Martin Buber, Walter F. Otto, Paul
Tillich, Gershom Scholem, Sir Herbert Read, Joseph Campbell, Erwin
Schrodinger, Karl Kereyni, D.T. Suzuki, Adolph Portmann and many
others. Based on archival material, printed sources, private
letters and interviews with Eranos presenters and participants,
Hakl presents the only complete study of what is arguably the
single most important gathering of scholars in the twentieth
century. With a masterful hand, Hakl skillfully weaves together
portraits of the exceptional people involved, their significance in
the world of learning, the way they interacted with each other as
well as the manifold influences that the meetings exerted. While in
general sympathetic to the Eranos spirit, the author does not try
to hide the negative aspects of the concern with esotericism, such
as the Islamicist Henry Corbin's sympathy for the reign of the
Shah, nor the Eranos patron (and OSS member) Paul Mellons' massive
holdings in Iranian Oil. The final chapter concerns itself with an
exploration of the political implications of the Eranos phenomenon
and the tendency amongesotericists towards authoritarian
standpoints. The vignettes it offers of the lives and lively
debates of leading twentieth century intellectuals will attract
readers interested in the history of ideas, psychology, religious
and cultural studies, Jewish and Islamic studies, the history of
science, mysticism and the development of the new age religions.
General
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