Mircea Eliade

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Stamp issue for the 100th birthday of Mircea Eliade (Republic of Moldova 2007)

Mircea Eliade [ mirtʃa eliade (* February 24] jul. / 9. March  1907 greg. In Bucharest ; † 22. April 1986 in Chicago ) was a Romanian theologian , philosopher and writer .

Life

Eliades apartment in Bucharest (1934–1940)

Mircea Eliade was born in Bucharest in 1907 and studied philosophy from 1925 at the university there under Nae Ionescu until graduation in 1928. He traveled to India at the age of 21 and studied Indian philosophy there from 1928 to 1931 at the University of Calcutta . The result of his stay in India was a thesis on yoga , which he submitted as a dissertation on his return to Bucharest.

From 1934 to 1938 Eliade worked at the University of Bucharest as an assistant to Ionescus. From 1937 onwards, after a phase that had hitherto been more of a nationalist, he sympathized with the anti-Semitic and fascist Iron Guard (Legionnaires' Movement, "Legion of Archangel Michael") in Romania. Here he was influenced by his doctoral supervisor Nae Ionescu - just as in many of the main features of his work . In 1937 he actively supported the guard in the election campaign for the parliamentary elections. From 1940 he worked as a propaganda officer at the Romanian embassy in London and from 1941 to 1945 in Lisbon for the pro-fascist government in Bucharest.

From 1945 he lived and taught in Paris and wrote his most important religious studies here. From 1957 he taught as a professor of religious studies at the University of Chicago . After 1945 he published a few articles in magazines of the legionary movement. He later approached the New Right in France and kept in touch with legionary friends until his death. Together with Ernst Jünger he gave the magazine Antaios . Magazine for a free world , which appeared every two months from 1959 to 1971 by Klett-Verlag. In 1966 Eliade was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1970 to the British Academy .

His literary work includes novels ( Maitreyi Girl ), fantastic stories ( Nights in Serampore , The Secret of Doctor Honigberger ) and travelogues ( Indian Diary ). He also wrote for the avant-garde literary magazine Contimporanul .

Scientific work

Eliade was one of the religious phenomenologists . He tried to understand the deeper meaning of religious phenomena. He took the view that this was only possible through an understanding from 'inside out': through grasping belief on the level of feelings. He thus continued a direction of religious studies that was essentially founded by Rudolf Otto and further differentiated by Gustav Mensching , in which the comparison and understanding of religious experience was brought to the fore. Eliade also considered the systematic aspect of religious studies to be quite important, but 'as soon as it comes to spiritual values, it cannot exhaust the wealth of the subject'. In favor of this phenomenological research, he mostly refrained from taking a closer look at historical contexts. He was concerned with the supra-historical significance and universality of religious phenomena, whose archetypes (in the sense of exemplary models) he wanted to represent. In his considerations, Eliade always started from the verifiable reality of religious phenomena. He leaves it largely open whether he actually believed in her.

Significance for research on shamanism

→ Main article: Shamanism as an archaic ecstasy technique

Eliade is considered to be the pioneer and founder of the first spiritual shamanism concept. He conceived shamanism as the primal phenomenon of human religiosity that is widespread worldwide and raised the (passive) ecstatic trance with the “flight of the soul into the world of spirits” as the central feature of all shamanic phenomena.

With his work Shamanism and Archaic Ecstasy Technique (first edition in French 1957) Eliade sparked enthusiasm for a topic in intellectual circles when it was published in the USA in 1964. For a long time his work was considered the standard work on shamanism. Eliade counteracted the opinion, which was widespread in specialist circles at the time, that shamanic experiences were pathological states and shamans were mentally ill or charlatans. Eliade attributed the same value to tribal forms of spirituality as to historical religions, because, in his opinion, tribal forms of spirituality are closer to the original approach to the sacred. He expanded the term shamanism universally, insofar as it no longer only refers to the worldview and practice of some Siberian ethnic groups.

Since the 1990s, however, Eliade's work has been criticized more and more within ethnology. In particular Eliade's assumption of the universality of a three-worlds teaching of shamanism is considered refuted; many of his statements were attributed to his literary imagination. However, only art historians, literary scholars and esoteric , neo-shamanistic and popular science authors still refer to him, although the criticisms largely dismantle his thesis.

Philosophical meaning

Philosophically, he advocated an upgrading of myth , religion and experience - that is, against history and science - and was still looking for remnants of religious behavior in a modern world that had been disenchanted for him. He emphasized that the superiority of modern humans over the "primitive" is only apparent, and that in many parts the opposite is the case. It describes the necessary metaphysical meaning of archaic ontology . For Eliade, the sacred comes to the fore in myth ; this forms the real basis of the world. The myth not only describes how the cosmos as a whole, but also every single part of nature came into being. The man-made and the origin of the ruling dynasties are explained and justified by answering the why question. According to Eliade, myths and rituals provide the cosmogonic legitimation for traditional society and thus the spatial center for its cosmic classification. Eliade takes the pairs of opposites order - chaos and profane - sacred as the starting point for his comparative considerations of ancient high cultures and “primitive” societies. The creation of the world must be repeated and order renewed in periodic rituals in order not to fall back into chaos. The separation from the realm of the sacred has been completed; it can only be overcome by shamans using mythological auxiliary constructions (heavenly ladder, world tree ).

Works

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Scientific work

  • Yoga, essai sur les origines de la mystique indienne , Bucarest-Paris, P. Geuthner, Fundatia pentru literatură, “Bibliothèque de philosophie roumaine”, 1936.
  • Technique du Yoga , Paris, Gallimard, 1948.
  • Le chamanisme et les techniques archaïques de l'extase , Paris, Payot, “Bibliothèque scientifique”, 1950; 2e édition revue et augmentée, 1968; "Payothèque", 1978. ISBN 2-228-50101-8 .
    • German edition: Shamanism and archaic ecstasy technique . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-518-27726-X .
  • Images and symbols. Essais sur le symbolisme magico-religieux , Paris, Gallimard, "Les Essais", 1952; rééd. avec une nouvelle préface, "Tel", 1979, ISBN 2-07-028665-7 ; avec un avant propos de Georges Dumézil, "Tel", 1980, ISBN 2-07-028665-7 .
    • German edition: Eternal images and symbols. About the magical-religious symbolism . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1998, ISBN 3-458-34212-5 .
  • Sur l'érotique mystique indienne , Paris, L'Herne, 1956. Réédition en poche 2008, ISBN 978-2851976529 .
  • Mythes, rêves et mystères , Paris, Gallimard, "Les Essais", 1957; rééd. «Idées», 1972.
    • German edition: Myths, Dreams and Mysteries . O. Müller, Salzburg 1961.
  • Techniques du yoga , Paris, Gallimard, "Les Essais", Paris, 1959; nouvelle édition revue et augmentée, “Idées”, 1975, ISBN 2-07-035328-1 .
  • Le yoga. Immortalité et liberté , Paris, Payot, “Bibliothèque scientifique”, 1954; nouvelle édition revue et corrigée, “Petite bibliothèque Payot”, 1968; "Payothèque", 1972; "Petite bibliothèque Payot"; nouvelle édition revue et corrigée, 1977, ISBN 2-228-33250-X ; 1983, ISBN 2-228-13360-4 ; 1991, { ISBN 2-228-88350-6 .
    • German edition: Yoga . Immortality and freedom . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2004, ISBN 3-458-34701-1 .
  • Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses .
    • De l'Âge de la pierre aux mystères d'Eleusis. Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses , t. 1, Paris, Payot, "Bibliothèque historique", 1976. ISBN 2-228-11670-X  ; rééd. 1983, ISBN 2-228-11674-2 ; rééd. 1996, ISBN 2-228-88158-9 .
    • De Gautama Bouddha au triomphe du christianisme. Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses , t. 2, Payot, Bibliothèque historique, Paris, 1978; rééd. 1983, ISBN 2-228-12162-2 ; 1989, ISBN 2-228-12160-6 .
    • De Mahomet à l'âge des Réformes. Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses , t. 3, Payot, "Bibliothèque historique", Paris 1983, ISBN | 2-228-13160-1; rééd. 1989, ISBN 2-228-88160-0 .
    • German edition: History of religious ideas. In four volumes . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau / Basel / Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-451-05274-1 .
      • From the Stone Age to the Mysteries of Eleusis (Volume 1) .
      • From Gautama Buddha to the beginnings of Christianity (Volume 2) .
      • From Mohammed to the beginning of modern times (Volume 3) .
      • From the Age of Discovery to the Present (Volume 4) .
  • Encyclopedia of Religion (editor-in-chief). Macmillan, New York 1987.
  • with Ioan Petru Culianu : Handbuch der Religionen (=  paperback . Volume 14 ). Verlag der Weltreligionen, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-458-72014-0 ( table of contents ).
  • The sacred and the profane. On the essence of the religious . Anaconda Verlag (first Rowohlt 1957), Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-86647-213-6 .
  • with Sergius Golowin and Joseph Campbell : The great myths of humanity . Hohe, Erftstadt 2007, ISBN 978-3-86756-072-6 .
  • Cosmos and history. The myth of the eternal return . Verlag der Welteligionen, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-72004-1 .
  • Hans-Joachim Simm (Ed.): On the essence of the religious. Writings and memories . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-17346-5 .
  • The creation myths . Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96063-0 .
  • The occult and the modern world. Current trends in the view of the history of religion . AAGW, Sinzheim 2000.
  • Mephistopheles and the androgynous . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1999, ISBN 3-458-16945-8 .
  • The religions and the sacred. Elements of the history of religion . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1998, ISBN 3-458-33887-X .
  • The mystery of rebirth. Try some initiation types . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 1997, ISBN 3-458-33810-1 .
  • The creation myths. Egyptians, Sumerians, Hurrites, Hittites, Canaanites and Israelites . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1993.
  • Blacksmiths and alchemists. Myth and magic of feasibility . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau / Basel / Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-451-04175-8 .
  • Shamans, gods and mysteries. The world of the ancient Greeks . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau / Basel / Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-451-04108-1 .
  • Memoirs 1907–1937 . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-518-38377-9 .
  • From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan. Religion and Popular Culture in Southeast Europe . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-458-16115-5 .
  • The longing for the origin. From the sources of humanity . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-518-01408-0 .
  • Hans Peter Duerr (ed.): Alcheringa or the beginning time. Studies in mythology, shamanism and religion . Athenaeum, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-610-04724-0 .
  • Myth and Reality . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-458-14635-0 .
  • Exile's Odyssey. Autobiography Vol. II 1937-1960 . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1988.
  • with Claude-Henri Rocquet: The Trial of the Labyrinth. Conversations with Claude-Henri Rocquet . Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-458-14588-5 .
  • In the centre. Fragments of a diary . Europaverlag, Vienna / Munich / Zurich 1977, ISBN 3-203-50631-9 .
  • Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa (ed.): Basic questions in religious studies. 8 studies . O. Müller, Salzburg 1963.

Fiction

literature

  • Paul Barié: Mircea Eliade. The sacred in the profane or how real is reality? Sonnenberg, Annweiler 2002, ISBN 3-933264-21-9 .
  • Wolfgang Heller:  Mircea Eliade. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , Sp. 317-319.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Marcello De Martino: Mircea Eliade esoterico . Settimo Sigillo, Roma 2008, ISBN 88-6148-042-X .
  • Ulrich Berner: Mircea Eliade, In: Classics of Religious Studies, From Friedrich Schleiermacher to Mircea Eliade, Ed. Axel Michaels . CH Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42813-4 , p. 341-353 .
  • Hannelore Müller: The early Mircea Eliade. His Romanian background and the beginnings of his universalistic religious philosophy . Lit, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7525-3 .
  • Claudio Mutti: Mircea Eliade and the Iron Guard. Romanian intellectuals associated with the Archangel Michael Legion . Regin, Preetz 2009, ISBN 978-3-941247-11-6 .
  • Richard Reschika : Mircea Eliade as an introduction . Junius, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-88506-960-1 .
  • Richard Reschika: Mircea Eliade read intercultural. (Intercultural Library Volume 47) . Traugott Bautz, Nordhausen 2006, ISBN 3-88309-192-8 .
  • Mark Sedgwick: Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-515297-2 .
  • William Totok: The generation of Mircea Eliade under the spell of Romanian fascism . In: Half-yearly publication for Southeast European history, literature and politics . 7th year, no. 1 , 1995, p. 42-55 .
  • Florin Turcanu: Mircea Eliade. The philosopher of the saint or in the prison of history. A biography . Edition Antaios , Schnellroda 2006, ISBN 978-3-935063-27-2 .
  • Christian Wachtmann: The concept of religion in Mircea Eliade . Lang, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Bern / New York / Paris / Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-631-49843-8 .
  • Steven M. Wasserstrom: Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem , Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1999, ISBN 0-691-00540-0 .
  • Moshe Idel: Mircea Eliade. From Magic to Myth. (= After spirituality: studies in mystical traditions. 3). Peter Lang Publishing, New York 2014, ISBN 978-1-4331-2012-1 .

Movies

Web links

Commons : Mircea Eliade  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ On the other hand March 13th: Bryan Rennie: Mircea Eliade. www.westminster.edu
  2. ↑ Müller 2004, Turcanu of 2006.
  3. ↑ Alexandra Laignel-Lavastine: Cioran, Eliade, Ionesco: L'oubli du fascisme. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 2002, pp. 275–328.
  4. ↑ Hannelore Müller: The early Mircea Eliade. His Romanian background and the beginnings of his universalistic religious philosophy. Lit, Münster 2004, pp. 94, 89, 103.
  5. ↑ Alexandra Laignel-Lavastine: Cioran, Eliade, Ionesco: L'oubli du fascisme. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 2002, pp. 461 f., 485-490.
  6. ^ Deceased Fellows. British Academy, accessed May 24, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Haringke Fugmann: This world and the other world: Theological analysis of “shamanic” metaphysics in the context of postmodernism (PDF), p. 11.
  8. ↑ Karin Riedl: artist shamans. On the appropriation of the shaman concept with Jim Morrison and Joseph Beuys. transcript, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-8376-2683-4 , pp. 91-98.
personal data
SURNAME Eliade, Mircea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian religious scholar, philosopher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Bucharest
DATE OF DEATH April 22, 1986
Place of death Chicago