Reading Western Esotericism: George Gurdjieff and His “Cunning” Esotericism

Twentieth-century scholars proposed universal characteristics of Western esotericism, notably Antoine Faivre's intrinsic and extrinsic traits and Wouter Hanegraaff's typology. This article examines George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1949), a Russian spiritual teacher who developed a personal perfection method, and whose place in esoteric history is debated. Analyzing Gurdjieff's teachings and his handling of esoteric subjects, the article suggests Faivre's and Hanegraaff's frameworks are partly applicable. It argues that the uncertainty stems from both the specifics of Gurdjieff's system, which are crucial to defining his esotericism, and limitations of the empirical historical approach.

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Abstract

Studies of western esotericism in the twentieth century proposed a certain number of characteristics as fundamental and universal to esotericism. This article first reviews Antoine Faivre’s intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics and Wouter J. Hanegraaff’s typology of esotericism, constituting the so-called empirical historical method. Next, it considers the case of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1949), a prominent Russian-speaking spiritual teacher who developed his own method of personal perfection and whose place in the history of western esoteric thought is not indisputable. Through a discussion of some main points of Gurdjieff’s teachings and the ways he dealt with esoteric subjects, it is suggested that Faivre’s and Hanegraaff’s material can partly be applicable to his system. It finally argues that this uncertainty can be explained by specifics of Gurdjieff’s teachings, which should be considered as crucial in formulating his esotericism, as well as by limitations of the above-mentioned approach.