Paracelsus, Paracelsianism, and the Secularization of the Worldview

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4516508
AutoresCharles Webster (autor de correspondencia)
Año2002
Volumen15
Número1
Páginas9-27
Fecha de publicación2002-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889702000340
PMID12227380
OpenAlexW2120374719
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12

This paper examines Paracelsus and Paracelsianism in the light of the ideas of Max Weber concerning the social consequences of the Reformation, with special reference to his theories of Entzauberung and secularization. He linked these tendencies both to the rise of capitalism and the growth of experimental science. The detailed case study of Paracelsus' account of diseases linked with saints, in common with his interpretation of many other conditions, demonstrates that he self-consciously extended the boundaries of medicine and eroded the role of magic and witchcraft associated with the church. On the other hand, Paracelsus adopted the Neoplatonic worldview, was immersed in popular magic, and evolved a system of medicine that self-consciously revolved around magic. These factors seem to place a distinct limit on his role in the demystification of knowledge. However, the magic of Paracelsus entailed a decisive break with the entrenched elitist and esoteric tradition of the occultists and hermeticists. It is argued that this reconstructed magic re-establishes the credentials of Paracelsus as a significant contributor to the disenchantment and secularization of the worldview

Capitalism · Disenchantment · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · MAGIC (telescope · Political science · Politics · Secularization · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory