A Philosophical Happy Hour on the allure of secret knowledge—as found in esotericism, gnosticism, the occult, and secret societies. of every kind
Spend enough time on the internet—and “enough” is not very long—and you will encounter either an individual or a group proposing to know something that you do not. They will intimate that this knowledge is eminently desirable and that it explains things about which you have long wondered. Entry into the mysteries promises a certain elevation of your status.
How and why do these individuals or movements capture attention, gain an audience, and what are the consequences of their esoteric and gnostic claims?
The Allure of Knowledge
Knowledge always appeals to us. The reasons for this are twofold: first, we desire it by nature. We as human beings are knowing beings. Second, knowledge extends into power—as famously asserted by Francis Bacon in his 1620 New Organon. We commonly acknowledge that the powerful possess knowledge: as political rulers and their agents, for instance, or investment bankers who know the market, or big data, pharmaceutical companies, or accreditation and credentialing agencies. The possession of knowledge seems to go hand in hand with being powerful.
Moreover, the possession of knowledge distinguishes the possessor. Much knowledge is not easy to acquire, and by having it, one attains a kind of relative superiority to those who do not. Even the most egalitarian of societies cannot pretend otherwise. We may be equal in our socially-recognized dignity, in our rights as human beings; but if I know something you do not, that gives me a kind of superiority relative to you in precisely that matter. This superiority appears most evident in the case that it translates somehow into power.
Thus, the ability to acquire knowledge seems, perhaps more than anything else, to open the doors of possibility for realizing human capacities. The more we know, the more we can do: not only with respect to technical action, but perhaps especially with regard to our social relationships. We become more, somehow, by knowledge. To attain a secret knowledge makes us more in a way that elevates us farther above others, giving us a certain power over them.
The Allure of Secrecy
Secrecy is a funny thing. The most secret of secrets, of course, is the one no one even knows is secret. To signify the existence of secrecy, in some sense, already betrays that secrecy. If I signify my possession of a secret, it may make you curious, interested in inquiry. In fact, many people are far more likely to be interested in knowledge presented as secret than knowledge given freely—even if the content of the knowledge differs not a whit.
But the known unknown—the known-to-exist secret with its mysteries as yet unrevealed—tends to exercise a certain power over the minds of the curious. The secret object (what the mind renders for itself of the unknown) has a way of growing larger that the secret thing (what it is independent of the mind’s consideration). So too, then, does the possessor of the secret appear as more than he or she is in reality. The allure of the sage consists not in what he is, typically, but what he is thought to be.
Thus, the one in possession of a secret, and one especially promised to increase power, appears to have something more to offer. And it is for precisely this reason that the possessor of secrets speaks obscurely. The promise of extraordinary insight, of a knowledge not many can attain, is itself a powerful thing.
Of course, this veil of secrecy upon which charlatans premise their scams works only because knowledge often does prove difficult to acquire. And it does have a certain relation to power and its increase. And it does have the capacity to elevate people—not above their fellow men, but above their own lower habits and desires. Obscure and difficult language does sometimes reflect obscure and difficult thinking that further attempts to grasp and convey difficult-to-articulate truths. One can pick up the works of Martin Heidegger and Jacques Derrida and find them equally opaque on first reading. But the dense writing of the one indicates his own struggle to understand; the turgid prose of the other, his own lack of any true insight.
How do we distinguish between the meaningfully difficult and the superficially obscure? Is there a genuine value in esoteric writing? Is there any truth to the methods of gnosticism? Does the occult realize some secret knowledge, or garb itself in secrecy for the sake of gaining power over others?
The Lure of Superiority
Join us this Wednesday (10/29/24) to discuss secret knowledge and why it captures the attention of so many. The discussion starts at 5:45pm ET and runs through 7:15pm—or later! Drop in any time.
philosophical happy hour
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Come join us for drinks (adult or otherwise) and a meaningful conversation. Open to the public! Held every Wednesday from 5:45–7:15pm ET.
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