The Power of the Sacred: An Alternative to the Narrative of Disenchantment

Disenchantment is one of the key concepts in the self-understanding of “modernity.” It was introduced by Max Weber, but its precise meaning in his writings and in the discourse of modernity is quite controversial. This lecture is based on a new book in which Hans Joas traces this concept through Weber’s writings, criticizes it in fundamental respects, and develops an alternative understanding of the connections between the history of power and the processes of sacralization.