Max Weber, Rudolf Steiner, and Modern Western Esotericism: A Transcultural Approach

This book challenges previous definitions of modernity by comparing Max Weber (1864-1920), often considered the most important sociologist of the 20th century, and Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), founder of Waldorfpädagogik and the esoteric social reform movement of anthroposophy.

While acknowledging that Weber and Steiner were different in several respects, this research illustrates that the individual histories of these two thinkers are more entangled than previously recognized. This includes the influence of esotericism on their thinking, as well as their profound concern with science and technological change and an openness to the religious and philosophical concepts of the civilizations of South and East Asia.

Demonstrating the importance of non-European influences for a full understanding of modernity, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Asian and European philosophy, social theory, and Asian society.

Aaron French is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Erfurt, Germany, and at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.