Arthur Melzer on the History, Analysis, and Significance of Esotericism

Arthur Melzer is the author of the landmark book Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing (University of Chicago Press, 2014). A chapter of the book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Esoteric Reading,” on techniques and devices used in esoteric writing, was republished in the May 2015 issue of EJW. The conversation, however, takes up Melzer’s entire book. The conversation is long and covers most of the important ideas of the book, and is divided into two parts.