Emanuel Swedenborg : visionary savant in the age of reason / by Ernst Benz ; introduced and translated by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Benz, Ernst, 1907-1978.

Series:

Swedenborg studies ; no. 14.

Swedenborg studies ; no. 14

Standardized Title:

Emanuel Swedenborg. English

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688-1772.

Swedenborg, Emanuel.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxi, 536 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

West Chester, Pa. : Swedenborg Foundation, [2002]

Summary:

The great German scholar Ernst Benz documents the rich and fascinating life of Emanuel Swedenborg, who claims an exceptional place in history as both a scientist and a visionary. An active statesman, Swedenborg accomplished major engineering feats, contributed numerous groundbreaking studies in a variety of scientific fields, and played a prominent role in Swedish public institutions concerned with mining, finance, and politics. Traveling widely throughout the continent and living in London during certain periods of his life, he consorted and corresponded with many leading intellectual figures of the day such as Newton, Halley, and Flamsteed.

In 1744, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual experience that changed the direction of his life toward religious issues and theology, biblical exegesis, and the fulfillment of what he understood to be his divine commission. He set out to document what he was shown in his visions and travels in the nonmaterial realms of the afterlife, preparing the way for the advent of a spiritual community that would supersede the all-too-worldly and dogmatic Christian Churches of his day. Through the grandeur of his intelligence and the integrity of his commitment to this mission, he left an enduring legacy of written works that have appealed to artistic, literary, and spiritual giants such as Dostoevsky, Strindberg, Blake, Yeats, Emerson, D.T. Suzuki, and Helen Keller, as well as to innumerable spiritual seekers from a great diversity of backgrounds.

Contents:

Part 1 The Path to Science

1 The Father's House 3

2 Schooldays and University Years 20

3 Study Years in England 27

4 Encounter with Continental Science in Holland and France 47

5 Technical Inventions 57

6 Homecoming and Disappointment 68

7 Meeting with Charles XII 73

8 After the Death of Charles XII 89

9 The Assessor of Mines: Career and Research Travels 95

10 The Development of a Religious Worldview 103

11 The Development of a Scientific Worldview 118

12 Scientific and Intuitive Knowledge 138

Part 2 The Vocation

13 Visionary Experiences before the Vocational Vision 151

14 The Religious Crisis 162

15 The Vision of Vocation 193

16 The Development of Religious Self-Consciousness 201

17 The Consequences of Vocation 213

Part 3 The Visionary

18 Swedenborg's Private Life 221

19 Swedenborg's Public Life 231

20 The Prelude to a New Work 241

21 Early Visionary Writings 258

22 Swedenborg's Visions 275

23 The Heavenly Mirror 326

Part 4 The Doctrine

24 The Doctrine of Correspondences 351

25 The Metaphysics of Life 363

26 The Doctrine of the Spiritual World 385

27 Marriages in Heaven 406

28 The Doctrine of the Planets and Their Inhabitants 425

29 Ideas on the History of Humankind 447

30 Critique of the Confessions 457

Part 5 Swedenborg and the Church of His Time

31 The Visionary and the Church 487

32 Conflicts in London 492

33 Conflicts with the Swedish Church 498.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0877851956

OCLC:

48920937