This volume contains a series of bold philosophical lectures attacking the New Age movement that has penetrated the academic world and society at large. These arguments demonstrate the dangers of a merely empathic approach to life, the pitfalls of religion, and the function of religion in social repression. Drawing eye-opening comparisons between New Age spirituality, Western thought and religion, and Indian...

This volume contains a series of bold philosophical lectures attacking the New Age movement that has penetrated the academic world and society at large. These arguments demonstrate the dangers of a merely empathic approach to life, the pitfalls of religion, and the function of religion in social repression. Drawing eye-opening comparisons between New Age spirituality, Western thought and religion, and Indian philosophy, the work concludes that there is no religious liberation in abstraction from the social dimension--there is no equivalent word for "enlightenment" in traditional Indian philosophy.