Post-Esotericism: Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Phenomenology of Contemporary Russian Web-Mysticism
TL;DR
This study provides a foundation for further development of the analyzed issues within the framework of object-oriented cultural analytics, employing an ontographic approach, while highlighting the existing conceptual intersections within the subject and object of study.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to establish and analyze the qualitative characteristics of Russian-speaking mystical-esoteric online discourse in its metaphysical, epistemological, and phenomenological aspects. The research employs a methodological composite consisting of content analysis, discourse analysis, conceptual engineering, and imagological analysis. The research material comprises a corpus of mystical texts, including contemporary examples of online esoteric discourse as well as computer games. As a result, a number of key stable characteristics can be identified, which include: epistemological democratization and decentralization; the psychologization of esoteric knowledge; memeticity and multiple withdrawal as fundamental ontological characteristics; the primacy of aesthetics; horrorization; retromania; and the absence of ethical neutrality. This study provides a foundation for further development of the analyzed issues within the framework of object-oriented cultural analytics, employing an ontographic approach, while highlighting the existing conceptual intersections within the subject and object of study.