'My Veil No Mortal Has Yet Uncovered': The Image of Isis and the Ambiguities of Rationality in Classical German Philosophy.
The veil of Isis is a central image in the history of western esotericism, used by the Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Theosophists. At the turn of the nineteenth century, there was an uptick in interest in the veil from German philosophers, especially in its aesthetic dimension: with the veil, Schille...
| Publicado en: | Aries Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 249 - 275 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Brill Academic Publishers
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=195832250&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 195832250 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 15679896 ED7 jtl: Aries issn: 15679896 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2026 vid: 26 iid: 2 pid: 639 pub: Brill Academic Publishers artinfo: ui: 195832250 10.1163/15700593-02602005 ppf: 249 ppct: 26 formats: tig: atl: 'My Veil No Mortal Has Yet Uncovered': The Image of Isis and the Ambiguities of Rationality in Classical German Philosophy. aug: au: von Orelli, James affil: King's College London, London, UK su: German philosophy Rationalism Esotericism Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804 Signs & symbols Philosophers Schiller, Friedrich, 1759-1805 sug: subj: German philosophy Rationalism Esotericism Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804 Signs & symbols Philosophers Schiller, Friedrich, 1759-1805 keyword: Goethe Isis Kant Novalis reason Schiller ab: The veil of Isis is a central image in the history of western esotericism, used by the Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Theosophists. At the turn of the nineteenth century, there was an uptick in interest in the veil from German philosophers, especially in its aesthetic dimension: with the veil, Schiller poetically considers the limits of subjectivity, Goethe explores the representation of nature, Kant exemplifies the sublime and Novalis constructs a syncretic narrative. This paper analyses these philosophers and argues that their recurring invocation of the veil of Isis reflects a fraught relationship between reason and its limits, offering an intriguing insight into the precarious status of rationality. I contend that the aesthetic figure of the veil serves a philosophical role as the site where reason grapples with its own boundaries, both critiquing and redefining the limits of reason at the emergence of modern European philosophy, suggesting that the irrational is not an impediment to thought but its very condition. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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