oa Sophia, Androgyny and the Feminine in Franz von Baader’s Christian Theosophy

Although he is not well known today, Franz von Baader (1765-1841) had a profound influence on philosophy. He introduced Hegel to the mystical ideas of Meister Eckhart, and he introduced Schelling to the theosophical ideas of Jakob Boehme. Baader’s Christian theosophy has sometimes been called a “Philosophy of Love”. It stresses the importance of love within the Godhead, of love from God to humans, of love of humans towards each other, and of love from humans towards temporal reality. With respect to relations between men and women, Baader aims at a true reciprocity between the two sexes, with the ultimate goal of restoring the original androgyny. Anyone who reads Baader will be immediately struck by the complexity of his thought and the difficulty of his language. This article seeks to present his ideas in a simplified way.