Max Weber, Rudolf Steiner, and Modern Western Esotericism

"In this thoroughly researched and well-written book, Aaron French dares the unthinkable: He presents Max Weber as strongly influenced by spiritual and esoteric ideas and practices, and Rudolf Steiner as a participant in rational philosophical debate. By comparing and linking these two exponents of seemingly contradictory intellectual traditions, French demonstrates the flaws of simple narratives of secularization, rationalization, and disenchantment in 'European modernity'; moreover, he makes a compelling case for the importance of esoteric discourses in the formation of contemporary global philosophies."

Kocku von Stuckrad, University of Groningen

"French’s book is clear, erudite, and ambitious. An important addition to the literature on early-twentieth-century European intellectual history, it strides far beyond simplistic binaries to map a complex ecosystem of cultural and intellectual influences."

Donovan O. Schaefer, University of Pennsylvania

"Although Max Weber and Rudolf Steiner are rarely examined together, by situating both within a shared intellectual milieu, Aaron French exposes fractures in the binary logics of traditional accounts of rationality and irrationality. This work unearths the submerged currents—esotericism, disenchantment, and spiritualism—that traverse and disrupt the ostensibly coherent fabric of European intellectual history. A thought-provoking work, it invites readers to reconsider the complexities of 'modernity' and the often-overlooked ideas that shaped it."

Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm, Williams College