Whither Natural Magic? Science, Witchcraft, and the Decline of Magic in Henry More
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3263201 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacques Joseph (0000-0002-3325-4723, Charles University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 114 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 299-316 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Isis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-1753 • E-ISSN: 1545-6994 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/724810 |
| OpenAlex | W4376870202 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 21 |
For Henry More, witchcraft served as an empirical confirmation of the existence of immaterial substances. Yet while he takes great care to make his reports as trustworthy as possible and argues against the claim that the effects of witchcraft are only the illusions of people suffering from melancholy, he almost completely ignores the possibility that such effects may be caused by natural magic. In More's natural philosophical writings, discussions of magic are very much downplayed, as well. This may seem surprising, as a crucial component of More's metaphysical system is his doctrine of the Spirit of Nature, a sort of world-soul whose action is nonmechanical, vital, and magical. The essay argues that this deeply ambivalent approach to natural magic is due to the fact that More uses traditional magical notions to supplement the shortcomings of mechanicism and at the same time tries to divorce these notions from the potentially problematic background from which they originated. In the end, the essay suggests, More's ambivalence toward magic is only one manifestation of a much deeper problem wherein he adopts an immanentist position while trying to avoid its more problematic, potentially pantheistic, consequences
Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Doctrine · Epistemology · Illusion · MAGIC (telescope · Metaphysics · Natural (archaeology · Physics · Psychoanalysis · Soul · Theology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
The Problem of Disenchantment
Newton on action at a distance and the cause of gravity
The Nature of the Early Royal Society Part II
The Nature of the Early Royal Society
Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science
Henry More and Robert Boyle on the Spirit of Nature
The Fragmentation of Renaissance Occultism and the Decline of Magic
Miracles, Experiments, and the Ordinary Course of Nature
The Devil in Restoration Science
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |