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In Mystical Society Philip Wexler, a well-known critical theorist with a background in social psychology and a special interest in spirituality, examines the revitalization of spirituality manifesting itself in society and in education. Describing what he calls "cultural changes toward the sacred," he documents a cultural shift, brought about by technological and societal changes, toward a new mysticism. Wexler explores the meaning for this new spirituality for our daily lives, for social theory, and for education. From the pervasiveness of a spiritual vernacular to the integration of spiritual practices into our highly individualized and technologized lives, Wexler lays out the evidence for a growing movement, and then draws parallels to periods of mystical revitalization from the past. In the course of this discussion, he draws on the work of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, as well as from contemporary social theory.
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The Mystical Society This page intentionally left blank The Mystical Society An Emerging Social Vision Philip Wexler r IP * i i I ^ - Y - ^ A Member of the Perseus Books Group Permission has been granted to reprint portions of the following: Philip Wexler and Paul Stein. 1998. "Durkheim, Social Revitalization, Education and Religion," pp. 203-226 in Geoffrey Walford and W.S.F. Pickering, editors, Durkheim and Modem Education. Courtesy of Routledge Press. Heinz-Hermann Kruger. 1998. "Sozialforschung in der Erziehung—Ethnographic des Setns," in Josef Kueffer, Heinz-Hermann Kruger, Sibylle Reinhardt, Elkc Weise, and Harrmut Wenzel, editors, Schulkultur ah Gestaltungsaufgabe. Courtesy of Dr. HeinzHermann Kruger. Philip Wexler. 1998. "Reselling After Postmodern Culture: Sacred Social Psychology," in Current Perspectives in Social Theory. Courtesy of JA1 Press. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © 2000 by Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group Published in 2000 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ Find us on the World Wide Web at www.vvestviewpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wexler, Philip, 1943The mystical society : an emerging social vision / by Philip Wexler. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8133-9143-1 I. Religion and sociology. 2. Mysticism—Social aspects. 1. Title. BL60 .W48 2000 306.6—dc21 00-063304 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments i Prologue: A New Society Religion, Sociology, Education, 3 Interaction: Structure, Discourse, and Being, 10 Mysticism: Analysis and Utopia, 12 2 Society: Informationalism, Mysticism, Revitalizatio Informational Society, 18 Religion and Mysticism, 22 Revitalization, 27 Examples, 31 3 Self: Reselfing Immortal Self, 33 Eliade and- Hasidism, 35 Reselfing, 39 Classical Sociology: Religion, Power, and Self, 41 Postmodern Self in Society: Meiucci and Foucault, 46 A Typology of Reselfing, 49 Self and Structure, 55 4 Criticism: From Culture to Being Lasch: Social Criticism and the Sacred, 60 Gnosticism and the New Age, 62 Social Ethic of Being, 66 Frankfurt School, 68 Embodied Criticis