Thursday, March 26, 7:00 p.m. CT
Join us in person or online!
In contemporary science and philosophy, the esoteric and occult are often dismissed as irrational, anachronistic, and even gullible. Professor Stephen Asma will mount a new defense of esoterica, drawing on emerging perspectives in philosophy and neuroscience that emphasize an embodied view of the mind.
This lens can be used to reassess the value of occult theory and practice, showing how esoteric symbols, myths, and rituals can help us manage emotions, create mythopoetic meaning and purpose, and achieve embodied forms of knowledge.
In this illustrated talk, Asma will trace the Golden Thread of mysticism and magic from Neo-Platonism through Swedenborg, Blavatsky, and Merton up to the contemporary resurgence of esoterica among Millennials and Gen Z.
No registration is necessary. To watch, join us in person at 1926 N. Main Street in Wheaton, IL or view the livestream on YouTube.
Stephen T. Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago and Senior Fellow of its Research Group in Mind, Science, and Culture. He is the author of ten books, including The Evolution of Imagination, The Emotional Mind: Affective Roots of Culture and Cognition with Rami Gabriel, On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, and The Gods Drink Whiskey. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Skeptic magazine, and numerous other publications, with his work translated into multiple languages. Asma has taught and researched extensively throughout Asia including Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Laos—and was a Fulbright Scholar in Beijing. He has lectured at institutions such as Harvard, Brown, the Field Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Fudan University, and Xi’an Jiaotong University. In addition to his scholarly work, Asma is also a blues/jazz musician who has performed with artists including Bo Diddley and Buddy Guy.