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Science and Mysticism
Wissenschaft und Mystik
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:29:06
Abstract
Mysticism and science appear to be the greatest possible opposites: mysticism is based on the abandonment of knowledge, science on the overcoming of mysticism. Yet in fact, there are far-reaching connections between the two: skepticism, language criticism, experience, subjectivity, ecstasy, anarchy. We want to examine these using texts from medieval as well as modern neo-mysticism.
Objective
At first glance, mysticism and science appear to be the greatest possible opposites: mysticism is based precisely on the abandonment of knowledge, whereas science is based on overcoming mysticism. However, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that there are different and far-reaching mediations between the two. Because what characterizes the mysticism developed in different religions in the Middle Ages (if it can even be defined in general terms) is the criticism of a certain, namely dogmatic, knowledge, in contrast to which something that seems surprisingly modern is emphasized: subjective experience. The emphatic theory of experience, the subject (and its dissolution), but also language (and its criticism) are among the reasons for the rediscovery of mysticism in modern times around 1900 in philosophy and literature, in science and politics. In the MAGPW seminar we will examine the complex relationship between mysticism and science using theoretical problems, including “negative theology” and anti-science (ignorance), (radical) skepticism, language criticism, experience, subject dissolution, ecstasy, anarchy. We start from concrete texts, on the one hand from the interreligious spectrum of medieval mysticism (such as Eckhart, Abulafia, Al-Gazali), and on the other hand and above all from modern neo-mysticism around 1900 (such as Gustav Landauer, Martin Buber, Wittgenstein, Robert Musil , Hermann Broch).
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar | Wissenschaft und Mystik |
|
2 h weekly |