Jaap Kloosterman: Secret Societies - a history

By Dilip -

Attempts to circumscribe our topic are naturally hampered by the fact that secrecy is a many-sided thing. The expression "secret societies" evokes a Wittgensteinian family resemblance of a great variety of organisations with all sorts of similarities, yet not a single feature common to all. As a result, most existing definitions are accompanied by abundant provisos, qualifications, and exceptions. For a historical survey, the easiest way to get a grasp of the subject is first to trace the history of the term. Then we shall look in turn at the two sides of the secret society: Its bringing together of men who are hiding something...

Birth of a Concept: Secret Societies During the 18th Century

This contribution will approach its elusive subject by first looking at the emergence of the expression "secret societies" in publications of the 18th century. This will then allow us to discuss the different social phenomena the term referred to at the time, in order to move on to their functions and development up to the 20th century. The expression "secret societies" in its alliterative and often plural form – also found in French (sociétés secrètes) and German (geheime Gesellschaften) – dates back to the final quarter of the European 18th century....

http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/european-networks/secret-societies/jaap-kloosterman-secret-societies

CITATION: Kloosterman, Jaap: Secret Societies, in: European History Online (EGO), published by the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), Mainz 2013-06-19. URL: http://www.ieg-ego.eu/kloostermanj-2013-en URN: urn:nbn:de:0159-2013061019 [YYYY-MM-DD].

Alexandre Koyré The Political Function of the Modern Lie

EGO | European History Online

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