Gnósis

Gnósis, or gnosis, from the Greek gnōsis meaning knowledge, is a term used in philosophy and religion to denote knowledge—often of a mystical or esoteric kind. In ordinary use it refers to direct, experiential knowledge rather than mediated or theoretical understanding. Etymologically it derives from the Greek verb ginōskō “to know.” In classical Greek philosophy the term gnosis sometimes appears as a general synonym of knowledge, but scholars typically distinguish gnosis from epistēmē (scientific knowledge) and from doxa (opinion).

In ancient religious contexts, gnosis is associated with certain sects and movements. In Gnosticism, gnosis denotes salvific, experiential knowledge of the divine spark within the human being and of the true nature of reality. This knowledge is believed to awaken and liberate an inner divine element from the constraints of the material world, which in many traditions is viewed as created by a lesser divinity or demiurge. Gnostic groups, such as Sethian and Valentian currents, taught that salvation comes through acquiring such knowledge, rather than through faith alone or ritual acts. The exact content and emphasis varied among sects, but the core idea is inner recognition of the divine realms and the soul’s origin and destination.

Outside explicitly Gnostic contexts, gnosis also appears in later Hermetic, Neoplatonic, and mystical currents as a term for experiential or intuitive knowledge about the divine. In modern usage, gnosis is often used to describe esoteric knowledge claimed by various spiritual movements or as a scholarly term for knowledge of religious traditions that claim direct inner insight.