Gnosis, science, and mysticism: a history of self-referential theory designs

Abstract

In this paper, we understand the advent of a “scientific spirit” as a revival of Gnosticism, which proclaims the superiority of man over his creator and considers knowledge (gnosis) to be the key to salvation. Salvation is here understood as a form of “emancipation”. Empirically, we see our interpretation confirmed in the tremendous influence of the Corpus Hermeticum and the Lurianic Cabala on all the Renaissance scientists. In the second part of this essay, we continue a line of research inaugurated by Ferdinand Christian Baur in the 19th century, and look for Gnostic outlooks in contemporary philosophy and social science. By reading Niklas Luhmann's systems theory as a modern version of Gnostic mysticism, we do not intend to dismiss the relevance of his work. For if Gnosticism defines “modernity”, we should not be surprised to find a speculative, Gnostic system among society's self-descriptions.

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