From Academic Anthropology to Esoteric Religion

Summary

This article examines Carlos Castaneda's individual philosophy and religious system as presented in his written works, proposing a threefold classification into early, transitional, and late periods. It shows how Castaneda shifted from a scholarly style to narrative emphasis and finally to full religious texts, paralleling his personal journey from academic ambition to public scandal and the formation of a new religious movement where he served as a charismatic leader. Unlike most analyses focusing on his early writings, this study seriously considers his late works, arguing that Castaneda fully developed as a religious thinker and guru in this later period.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Carlos Castaneda has been studied mostly as a fraud anthropologist, novelist/philosopher and a contributor to the emerging phenomenon of neo-shamanism. Instead, this article focuses on Castaneda’s individual philosophy and religious system as developed in his written works. A threefold classification is proposed—early, transitional, and late works, complete with chief characteristics of each. The analysis shows how Castaneda slowly drifted from the scholarly style through stress on the narrative to full-fledged religious texts. These changes also reflect on Castaneda’s personal life; from academic ambition through public scandal ‘debunking’ his counterfeit works to the formation of a little new religious movement, of which Castaneda was a charismatic leader. Unlike most scholarly analyses of Castaneda that focus mainly on the early writings, this article takes into serious consideration his late works and shows that it was here that the author fully developed as a religious thinker and guru.

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