Materializm kontra ezoteryka
Materialism versus Esotericism

The Second Generation of Polish Positivists and the Otherworldly

Author(s): Ksenia Olkusz
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Ośrodek Badawczy Facta Ficta
Keywords: esoteric; esotericism; mediumism; positivism; teosophy; Bolesław Prus; Gabriela Zapolska; Julian Ochorowicz; Teodor Jeske-Choiński; Eusapia Palladino; Polish literary culture; Polish nineteenth-century literature;
Summary/Abstract: Materialism versus esoteric. The second generation of positivists towards "out of this world" is the first full monograph in Poland of spiritualist, mediumistic and esoteric themes in the prose and cultural life of late positivism. The author, Ksenia Olkusz, draws with an erudite momentum the panorama of the artistic and philosophical scene of nineteenth-century Poland, facing the challenge of confronting positivist rationalism with the amazing case of "spinning tables" and the career of Eusapia Palladino, the fashion for spiritual sessions, growing interest in magnetism, and also magnetism and hypnotism seeing the aura or black magic. As a result, the monograph becomes a good complement to the curriculum of historical and literary knowledge bordering on positivism and modernism, nuancing the borders sometimes too vividly drawn sometimes between the two eras - and also allowing you to become acquainted with the less-commented works of Polish artists of that time.

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