Introduction to Western Esotericism
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- Опубликовано: 18 мар 2020
- An introduction to the relatively new field of western esotericism focusing on
the scope of field including magic, mysticism, alchemy, theosophy, and more; several of the dominant academic approaches to the field; where to study western esotericism at the university level
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Recommended Readings:
Antoine Faivre - Western Esotericism: A Concise History - ISBN-13: 978-1438433783
Arthur Versluis - Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions - ISBN-13: 978-0742558366
Kocku Von Stuckrad - Western Esotericism - A Brief History of Secret Knowledge - ISBN-13: 978-1844657476
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke - The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction - ISBN-13: 978-0195320992
Wouter J. Hanegraaff - Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed - ISBN-13: 978-1441136466
#esotericism #occultism #hermeticism
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Materialist reductive mechanistic scientism is yet another allegory of the uni-verse, the one song:
Earth revolves around thee, sonne.
What is the name of the song you use at the start of your videos please? X
I had never heard of any of this up until stumbling on your channel through a search concerning the key of Solomon. I belong to a spiritual fellowship, have had a lifelong interest in philosophy and am a multidisciplinary artist/writer. Seems I've struck something that addresses it all!
I considered a donation but the link/s try to rush you through to paying without even informing you the amount you would be committing yourself to. I am sure this is not what you intend but there is some glitch in the process as currently set up.
8:23
_"Scholars are hanging out with, and learning from witches."_
say no more, fam. 🏃
That’s why I fuck with Goth chicks
And about time too!
Do you think this means it's evil?
This immediately made me think of Dr. Angela Puca!
Dr. Sledge, you are a genuine hero of your field. Not only for popularizing a fascinating subject and breaking down the stigma it has so long been stained with, but for the genuine passion and curiosity you bring. Hopefully your students appreciate just how lucky they are to get to learn from you.
This year im doing a minor in western esotericism in Amsterdam, and then the master track in the field. I study antropology and would love to study the occult. Very excited!
Great to hear it! I studied there too and it was an amazing time. Hope you enjoy it!
Super cool. I read Theology in Amsterdam and used to visit the Ritman Library back in the day. I remember they where trying to set something up back in the day. I share your excitement! :-)
I did a movie in Amsterdam and fell in love with it - would love to study - how did you find studying there as a person with English is first ( and only ) language?
Currently I'm a senior in high school, but going into college with the goal of studying belief systems such as myths, folklore, religions, legends and hopefully, the occult/the esoteric. How did your experience go in your schooling career? What kind of classes did you take and how did you feel about it? If youd want to discuss it with me in a less public forum, I'm comfortable sharing my snapchat with you! Hope to hear back soon!
u still alive? how cheesy was/is it?
Man, I've been searching for a channel that delves into religion from a scientific/secular/unbiased angel and I think I finally found it! If I'm right then you've got a new student, Dr. Sledge!
I found this absolute gem of a channel today. I love learning about ancient cultures, philosophy, and belief systems. It's a FASCINATING field and I am so glad to see it here. God Speed.
Finally a scholarly approach to this subject matter available on RUclips! Thank you Dr. Sledge! I will be watching every single video you produce!
Excellent stuff! Glad to see more educational content in the field here on RUclips! It's a plus when it is this well-produced and presented.
Western Esotericism is such a fascinating subject, looking forward to following this channel.
Thanks! Ditto on your channel as well, especially on the Mandaean video. Awesome stuff!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Thanks a lot!
@@LetsTalkReligion Have you read the exceptional 'The Physics of G-d' by Joseph Selbie on String theory, M-theory, quantum iology,. quantuim,m physics, shadow integration, Ecstatic/ Meditative Kabbalah,and 'Practical Hermetic Qabbalah' concentrating on proof that i've found in the supernatural ie 'Shadow Magick' by Rven Digitalis worked scarily for me and 'Real Magic Ancient wisdom, modern science and a guide to power in the universe DMT, Psyilocibin, Ayahuasca and Ibogaine explain away allliving entities universal connection maybe consciousness is 'HaShem.'
As an agnostic, rationalist, I think I've finally found a channel where I can enter this subject!
The University of Copenhagen also opens Western Esoteric Tradition this year both to Bachelor and Master degree. Anyway this is an excellent lecture and concisely conclude the main points of esoterism study. Thank you!
I'm studying esotericism at Copenhagen
@@Mrm3t21 Are you Danish? Do you speak the language?
Shalom to all of you:
This is one of the greatest and best channels about esoteric and metaphysical subjects.
Thank you very 🌹
Thank you gazillion times, the topic of esotericism and the occult is truly fascinating, the academic approach to this is especially interesting to understand so you're doing a great job for online community!
This is fantastic, i love your project
Thanks - ditto yours. Great talks on Kabbalah. At some point at I want to do a video - maybe we could collaborate together - on the, now mostly forgotten kabbalah of Israel Sarug. At any rate- would be great to work together thanks for the support!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Thank you. Ya, that sounds like a great idea. I quite interested in Sarugian Kabbalah and his students, particularity Herrera. Their perennial, philosophical and inclusive style really appeals to me, and they're definitely under appreciated and under exposed to the public. Drop me an email, would love to see what we could do together. seekersofu@gmail.com Much love, Zevi
I stopped by to get a cool shirt, and I stayed for the awesomely scholarly conversation!!!
Nice one Doc. I'm a Theosophist myself so everything you said really resonates with me already, your video just serves to cement my decision to accept my mantle as a mystic. Looking forward to learning a lot on your channel. Thank you Brother. Shalom
Mystics unite 🔥
So excited to have found this channel. I’ll definitely be binge-watching the back catalogue! 😀👍🙌
Much needed channel Dr Sledge. Splendid delivery and only 2yrs in. Well done.
Loving this channel!
I am so glad I found this channel. I am going through each video in order. I will be checking out the books mentioned as well.
That was a beautiful and concise description of methodological agnosticism - a very pleasing balance to have as your aim!
What an interesting channel. Thank you for all the recommended books.
This is my new favorite channel. Thank you for sharing this wealth of information.
Great Channel, thank you very much. Next time I will watch all your great Videos, best regards from Frankfurt in Germany 👍
YES YES YES SLEDGE! Esoteric everything!!!! Funny, I was planning on emailing you asking for recommendations on all things esoteric. Look at that, manifested. Also, this platform is super fitting for you. Best of luck with the channel! Stay badass.
Glad i found ya doc..havent a clue what your on about but il be glued to it
Just found your channel, want to say I very much appreciate having such high quality scholarship on this subject available. I feel like you are really using the platform effectively to communicate your knowledge, which is exactly what a professor should be good at. I look forward to watching the rest of your videos!
Thanks so much and welcome aboard!
This is the message I've been looking for!
The video that started it all:) I had to stop being a patreon this month after 2 or something years of patronage and didn’t have the time to send this through there. Anyways I wanted to come and wish you well on this project and thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing this content. Knowledge truly does set us free, thanks:)
This was very interesting, fascinating to be honest. My interest in part comes from me taking first steps in learning Tarot and cartomancy plus studying history. I appreciated that you included some book recommendations at the end including the strength of a book and what it may lack. Made notes and added to my #TBR list. Look forward to learning more. Keep up this great work. Paz y amor.
I can't wait to check out more on your channel!!!
Glad you like my content - thanks for watching!
Excellent introduction.
From 3 years in the future watching this - Mazeltov! You've honed your delivery and let your brilliant sense of humour shine through. I'm no scholar, and a lot goes way above my pay grade, but I love your work!
Thank you so much for this video! I've sent you an email some days ago asking about a recommended place to study Western Esotericism in Europe for my MA, and now I know it's either Amsterdam or Exeter. Thank you!!! Promise to support your Patreon once I stop being poor.
I am enjoying this channel soooo much. Im waiting on my copy of the guide for the perplexed and Goodrick-clarkes western esoteric traditions. I would love to know about your experience studying in amsterdam as I’m considering going through the very same programme you underwent there at some point in the near future:) Thank you for pointing in the(what I feel like) right direction on this topic and thank you for the book recommendations! Cant wait to start cracking at those books!
Thanks for your video!!
Thank you for sharing you excellent scholarship, it is expansive of thought provoking options that question ... self beliefs.
Idle comfort, know more.
Brett.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO; as someone who’s been trying to learn about this stuff for years, my foundational understanding of the term esotericism itself has always been shaky, as different sources seem to define the term by entirely different means, so this overview of the field from an epistemological perspective is game changing
Thanks so much for this. I sent you an email a while ago because I somehow missed this - it answers all of my questions.
Love this channel. 💛
I am so happy I've found this channel. You're the best, Dr. Sledge. The world is a better place with your special talent of clarity in teaching. May you never become bored of sharing what fascinates you with the world!
I've watched a few of your videos and although I don't hold any explicitly supernatural beliefs, I love the study and I've found all the subjects and manner in which you discuss them to be very fascinating and enjoyable.
The small jokes also played a big part in the enjoyment.
So, like with most things, it's better to start from the beginning.
I have for a long time wanted to develop an in-depth knowledge of Western occultism from a perspective that hasn't been filtered through some kind of "pop culture" lens (eg cryptozoologists and ufologists who interpret their field of study as an occult phenomenon, rock groups who mine esoteric traditions for lyrical inspiration) which is how I usually have come into contact with the subject but have had a difficult time finding accessible introductions to the subject. This channel is exactly what I have been looking for!
Hi Dr. Sledge! I want to thank you for the amazing, scholarly content you provide on this channel. I'm very interested in hearing about your experience with the WE program at UvA, as I'm considering taking it in the future; if you'd ever make a video on that, it would be greatly appreciated (:
YES!! I have asked so many about esoteric religion per say and how it draws me...I am a teacher and wanting to get a second degree in ethics although it doesn’t quite satisfy what I’m really looking for...the truth behind the truth aka the description you gave for what esotericism is...thank you....I plan to delve in and learn a lot from here!!
I´m so glad and happy this channel exists as it does a smart and easily comprehensible way to approaching this type of philosophy which indeed is very underrated and ostracized by academic philosophical circles, instead of doing a proper critical but open-minded scientific-like approach quoting both the good things they have actually acheived aside of their mistakes, instead of focusing too much just on the latter ones. Occult "science" and esotheric tradition aren´t totally a waste of time as many people think, they have some reasons to exist in the very first place and why are still relevant as an existential meaning sense for others too, henceforth pretty much as the philosophical tradicion on mythologies and religions, they ought be studied with the same proper respect and dignity finding out what they actually got right in their own aside from their mistakes alone indeed.
I dig your introduction,, and the tune, opening the videos,, lol . Ty much
This is great stuff. Amazing
great job! you are one of the very best teachers of truth.
Was this is the first video? Amazing quality especially for the first go at it. Thank you appreciate what you are doing.
Yep, first one written and shot for the channel - going to redo it this year I think !
Thank you so much i love this video has clarified alot of stuff thanks 👍👍👍
Awesome man!! Keep it up!! 😁👍
Esoterica, good addition to RUclips!
Thanks!
Informative and well spoken. I agree that western esotericism is exciting and worth the research. I literally sifted through hordes of books during my initial studies because of a few gems. Luckily I found a path that led to greener pastures. Glad to see I have two of your recommended books. Will be watching more of your videos. :)
what path did you find that led to greener pastures?
Happy Chanukka Dr Sledge. 🕎
Very much interested in this. I’d love to study at the grad level. Short of that possibility, I’m watching! Wrote a book series that is very much on these lines. So excited!
Thank you, thank you , thank you
Your so open minded that the knowledge is just spilling out! 🤯
3 videos down a whole lot to go!! God bless!!
It is interesting the parallel's and total and utter differences between this channel, an academic scholarly investigation and foolish fish, an actual modern western esoteric practitioner who has genuine faith in his practice, to see a contemporary true believer investigating this subject from his angle head on over to his channel, he is far from some hard nosed fanatic and his work is fascinating.
May I justt say, the intro is beautifully done.
Thanks, Friend! Hope you enjoy the content!
@@TheEsotericaChannel What is the name of the music piece in the intro?
Just stumbled upon this channel. Great stuff!
lol, I can't believe I'm watching the 'Intro' video so late down my venture into the ESOTERICA rabbit hole. Perhaps I feel a bit ashamed? 😅
Regardless, an excellent Intro video! A huge 'thank you' to your brother for encouraging you! Your style already started off very strong, but watching this now, I can clearly see how much your format has been tweaked, sanded, and further refined. Well done! 😊✨ Looking forward to more edutaining content!
Thanks!
As a scholar of History and Comparative Religion at the University of Karlstad I'm looking forward to learning more about a topic that I've never heard our students or the faculty ever discuss. Furthermore, I'm an ordained Zen Buddhist priests, and although I understand that it is not your specific area of expertise, I would love to hear your take on East-Asian esotericism as well.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks - I know a bit about Buddhism but it would be so far outside my expertise that I would be wary of stepping that far outside my lane. Perhaps I can bring on some academic experts on the topics for future interviews of episodes. Thanks for the advice!
Was always fascinated by esoterics, which ironically led me to doing an undergraduate in physics! Just discovered this channel thanks to Let's Talk Religion and am looking forward to seeing what's in store for me.
'Esoteric Grand Scholar' RUclips
thank you sm for this!! i had hoped to myself that western esotericism was some sort of field of study but hadnt found too much evidence outside of work such as joseph peterson is doing, and im super into this shit on the whole. "scholars are hanging out and learning from witches" god i love that
Yep it's a whole academic field and the whole purpose of this channel!
Excellent recommendations! I’m currently in research of Western Esoterica and want to study for it in a doctoral level. However, there’s not many choices where I am ( currently in the US). I’m considering to study for a PH.D in Humanities.
Good luck! It's hard out there to find a program. I'm going to do an episode on studying WE in the academy at some point soon as well.
@@TheEsotericaChannel To be honest, there is not much here (yet) in the States. I am a graduate student working in History and incorporating Western Esotericism studies into your work is the route to go. Even addressing it in my department raises eye brows but my advisors have been supportive. The appeal and support for Western Esotericism needs to arise from within the various disciplines. My thesis works on looking at the Masonic Esoteric works of the late 19th century and early 20th century and how it relates to the membership trends of the time and how it influenced the new generation of Freemasons in the 21st century. We have to do our part within our own respective disciplines.
Wow! Thank you!!
Hello Dr Sledge, found my way here via Chris Brennan and the Astrology podcast.
Dear Esoterica, I am a Doctoral candidate working on Schelling's late philosophy and I believe he was influenced greatly by Western Esotericism, along with Spiritual Pietism. I was wondering if you will be doing any episodes on Jakob Boehme and or Meister Eckhart?
These side eye vids are hard on the eyes, glad you notice that.
And about time too!!!
Just like my hommie Plato..putting the Soul in Soul.
Nice video.
I smashed the subscribe button so fast.
Cant thank enough to the people who encouraged you to make this channel
Hello Dr. Justin Sludge, I appreciate so much your channel and your work. It can be such a valuable resource for my path and work. I was wondering if you are also providing some wisdom and knowledge for those who seek actually to practice Magick, Alchemy, Hermetics or at least guide to the right direction?
Nope, this is an academic channel
I'm studying at the University of California Davis as a religious studies major with an eye to eventually transfer to a university that offers a master's program in Western Esotericism
Dr. Sledge is always educational, responsible, comprehensive and clear in his thinking. His agnostic position and his own Emic traditional roots are consistent with the best source material I've seen in eclectic surveys such as Donald Tyson's annotation of Agrippa and Fraser's Golden Bough, or the Egyptology of E. Wallis Budge. To disconnect any of this from mathematics, anthropology or psychology on the basis of some "tradition" crafted by some bored British aristocratic nudist like Gerald Gardiner is to consign great portions of the population to mental illness, such as the self-mutilating, Thorazine-saturated bulimic teenager I just viewed, who has sexual encounters with ethereal "vampires."
As the "stainless abode" of "adepts" aspiring to publishing immortality, such as the soccer mom and weekend crafter of the "spell" using "kitty litter" expands exponentially, the value of Dr. Sledge's field will expand exponentially as well. And, as the suppressed historical facts reveal to the green haired, tackle-box-faced BDSM dropout sacrificing "their" house pet on the "horny star" to the corpse-painted Neo-Nazi cross-dresser of the week in exchange for fame and fortune, that the authors of the source material of the butchered grimoire from which "they" got "their" poorly-translated incantation actually thought themselves to be good Christians or Jews, then we might actually begin to see the benefit of religion again, beyond pissing off one's parents.
The reason I bring this up is that Dr. Sledge used a term in this video that no sane necromancer would want to deploy in conjunction with a name that will bring a well-organized inquisition upon the would-be Gnostic; that is to say that he uttered the name of Michael Foucault and invited "postmodernism" into Esoterica.
Thus the conjurer, though she carefully craft the Enochian sign of Edward Kelley on the floor with a rare correctly drawn pentacle, might see within her Tetragrammaton, the visage of a bewildered looking Dr. Jordan Peterson, holding Jung's Red Book, looking for a break in the chalk, and an opportunity to release a lecture on phenomenology into the aether.
If anyone feels "triggered" by this post, read Robert Anton Wilson's Illuminatus trillogy---and stop taking yourself so seriously. If G-d has no sense of humor, we're all in trouble!
Thanks
Yo... thank you Jonathan!
Western Esotericism is the hidden study of Religion and Spirituality.
The Emic Approach
- the study of esotericism from within a tradition 2:24
- Often marked by an appeal to a perennial philosophy which unites all philoaophical 2:38
- non academic 2:58
- Approach 1: All esoterical philosophies share common motives 3:31
Antoine Faivre 3:54
- Correspondences
- Living Nature
- Imagination and Meditations
- experience of transmutation
- transmission
- corcordance
Approach ll we must study them in our own terms 5:22
Approach lll - Historical and Critical - A Fully Academic Method 6:16
University of Amsterdam and Rice University, University of Exeter, University of Copenhagen ( Places to Study Esotericism in an Academic Based 7:58 )
Recommended Books
Western Esotericism - 9:57
Western Esoteric Traditions - 10:34
Western Esotericism - A Guide for the Pergtlyxed 11:04
Hi Dr. Sledge, have you read works by contemporary practitioners of magic such as Gordon White or John Michael Greer? Within the realm of esoteric studies, where or more precisely what can someone with a combined practitioner and scholarly approach contribute? Thank you
Hi Rob, I have only a cursory knowledge of the folks you mentioned (can't know it all!) but I think it's wholly possible to be both a practitioner and a scholar. I would just suggest that both fields have certain standards and expectations that don't always overlap. There are also interesting examples - I am thinking of Tanya Luhrmann here - of scholars who actually become practitioners to better understand the material itself. So I think there is plenty of room for very fruitful cross-pollination, so to speak. Hope this answer helps!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Thank you Dr. Sledge. Tanya Luhrmann's Persuasions of the Witch's Craft is a helpful starting point.
just found this channel by way of ReligionForBreakfast and im looking forward to checking it out.
Hello all. I dont know what would be the appropriate video to ask this questions so I will ask here.
If you have not all ready made one, will you make a video on the Idea that words have power or a spirt. It seams that most cultures have an Idea that words can control or have a spirt. Example in Japanese Shinto the idea of Kotodama. Are their any such ideas in the west?
I love your channel. Keep up the good work.
great video. I was totally new to the concept of esotericism, and this video was exactly what i was looking for. thanks!
Do people in this field tend to actually believe in things like alchemy and magic or do they just study it?
Glad it was helpful. I think there is a range of pure academics and some significant adjunct of practitioners as well. I'm sure the same is true, for instance, for people who study theology, religious history, etc.
@@TheEsotericaChannel that's true but religion exists on such a large scale that i could still understand why a scientifically literate person could still believe in it. Also, the most important claim in traditional monotheistic religions is the existence of a god, which is a claim that is simply not falsifiable (yet). Whereas with alchemy, magic or astrology, it's a little different. The claims by such fields contradict the scientific method so strongly that it surprises me that anyone who practices science would believe in them.
@@Guidus125 As a chemist I naturally do not believe in alchemy. What alchemy got right turned into chemistry. That does not mean that alchemical philosophy is useless!
@@Cabbagesvensen That's very true! I'm in psychology and I would say something similar is true for Freudian schools of psychology. Alot of Freud's work is not considered scientifically valid anymore, but he nonetheless introduced a lot of concepts that are still part of modern psychology but have taken on different shapes.
@@Guidus125 The kind of god described in the bible and lots of other claims therein are pretty much falsified. But modern believers simply move the goalpost to ever smaller and smaller claims. The same is true for modern "believers" in witchcraft, whose spells get less and less impressive. I think way more often there is a belief in belief, ie a belief that believing in certain kinds of bullshit is good, rather than an actual belief in the stuff people say they believe.
I find this topic fascinating, largely due to my familiarity with Buddhism and Buddhist esotericism.
(Apple doesn't think s Esotericism is a word LOL)
In that tradition there are esoteric literary traditions, but also there are schools which hold that certain knowledge can only be transmitted from teacher to pupil.
There are endless metaphors that are employed to say why.
In most cases this is not forbidden necromancy, but simply higher degrees of attainment for monks and nuns. The thinking was that it must be hidden from general consumption so that people do not skip the lower steps and go right to trying to perceive reality directly with an unquiet mind.
As an aside, there really is a big difference between guided meditation, and doing the exact same practice while holding a book in one hand.
This all changed with China's seizure of Tibet. The Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhists then decided that the knowledge of their tradition was in danger of being snuffed out, so they deliberately published books in English, German, Spanish etc to share these previously esoteric methods of mindfulness, prayers and other knowledge.
Who knows what this will mean in a hundred years in regard to what is orthodox lay Buddhism and what is 'hidden'.
Suffice it to say, I'm not a believer in an Abrahamic (again Apple spellcheck?) monotheism. But I see a lot of interesting parallels.
Hi Dr. Sledge, did you ever end up doing videos on the specific approaches to Western esotericism you mention in this video? or any other videos on theory and method in the field? I've browsed your videos but can't seem to find anything.
So much respect for your cause here, professor. I am particularly interested in your experience and "best practice" in deciphering medieval manuscripts, because although my Latin and Old English are increasingly proficient, I feel as though I am making less headway in approaching the Western magickal tradition in its material, historical context.
Thanks for your support - I'll be creating that translation video sometime this summer!
Does this mean we esoteric types arn`t crazy anymore? Probs not.....Love your channel. Real quality content.
excellent, what is the symbol you use for your 'brand'? for want of a better of word.
Interesting take on compartmentalizing faith and "neutral academic" research--like changing hats. Surely, modern faith has evolved from an historical background. But, as that background remains indistinct and cloudy, it's perhaps wise to maintain the divide. A load of half-truths can't equal the Truth.
An interesting question here. Back then people wrote letters and we know what they thought in them. But now people communicate by email or on forums or even by texting. If people today communicated with each other over the internet about esoteric things, would future historians have any way of preserving the ideas?
@8:26 "...and scholars are hanging out with and learning from witches..." feels like Harry Potter.
what university would you say would be good to study this at in the united kingdom? I'm tempted to do a Master's in this field
Sadly the main place was Exeter but with the passing of Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke that program has imploded. I think the university of Leeds may also do some work here. The person to ask would be Angela Puca over at Angela's Symposium. Take a look at her page and see if you can ask her there. Good luck with your studies!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Thank you! do you have twitter so I can follow you?
Hey Dr. Justin Sledge, I was wondering what video was it where you discussed permissable and non permissable magic use in Islam?
Great question for let's talk religion
Ευχαριστούμε!
Found my way here via Chris Brennan and the Astrology podcast.
There exists on the path of the seeker or scholar, where erudition, contemplation, and synchronicity all testify to prisca theologial, suggesting a Causmic Brotherhood and ultimately leading to knowledge of Oneself.
Will pursuing this education help me get a job as a wizard or a court astrologer?
I would suggest with all due modesty that we employ the term “phenomenological approach” in the sense given under the term “religionists approach.” And I am actually quite sure you already do so apologies if I missed that. But this term allows one to be a practitioner or a scholar with out such a commitment and still be engaged to the fullest extent with the arts.
Nice suggestion. The literature uses 'religionist' hence me using but I also find it a clumsy and somewhat biased term.
It's just transparently bullshitting yourself and asking others not to question you. It makes no sense to think you understand the history of Nazism better by actually being a Nazi. Even if you don't have a horse in the race it can be super easy to deceive yourself. Your "phenomenological approach" begins and ends with self deception.