Principles of magic and the mechanical philosophy - Essay Example

?Running head: Principles of magic and the mechanical philosophy Principles of magic and the mechanical philosophy Principles of magic and the mechanical philosophy There are many views that were developed by 16th and 17 century philosophers on nature and science. All of the associations and correspondences were developed with the thought that there was a universe with a hell and heaven as the polar opposites. These viewpoints were basically cultural, psychological and even biological. However, there were many weaknesses that resulted from these viewpoints. This paper is not aimed at focusing on the weaknesses of those views but rather on the concepts that resulted from these weaknesses. There was a general consensus that the philosophy of nature be in two orientations. The first was the mechanical philosophy that was advanced Gassendi and Descartes and the other is the magical philosophy that had its development attributed to alchemists, Neo-Platonist and hermeticists that were considered to be adherents of the prisca theologia. The principal difference between the two philosophies was the view of nature. Mechanical philosophers mainly characterized nature in terms of what they could see like shape, motion and position and not on the sensory attributes which they viewed as illusory. The magical philosophy was more on the presence of an anima mundi that was responsible for the governance of the material world. The mechanical philosophy was stronger in its focus on the manipulation of the non-human part of nature and utilizing it for human benefit. The consequence of this was the industrial revolution. The magical philosophy emphasized on the reverence of nature and focused more on circumspection in the way that she was exploited and possessed. Giordano Bruno referred the earth to as the perpetual mother and nurse of the universe and as such argues that the earth must move. The reason for this is that the earth is alive and will always be since she is eternal and has a precise method of self-renewal. Bruno’s magic was in form of memory and phantasmic imagery. Additionally there was enchaining or bonding. The images that he presents are very detailed with various planetary natures that are always in action. The central point of these images is to communicate to the pneuma which is the astral body of the human beings and also the spirit. The soul of the person who views these images is attracted by them and thus apprehends them thus giving the person knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, the emphases for Bruno is on the fact that there are always chains and bonds formed that are capable of communicating to the human soul. The chains and bonds that are supreme he referred to as vincula in his magic. He further goes on to say that: “There are three gates through which the hunter of souls [animarum venator] ventures to bind: vision, hearing and mind or imagination. If it happens that someone passes through all three of these gates, he binds most powerfully and ties down most tightly” (Bruno, 1997, p.155). In her book, the death of nature, Carolyn Merchant attempts to document the ecological and economic changes that were ongoing in Western Europe in the late 16th and early 17th century. Sweeping changes in both ecology and technology made it possible for there to be material conditions which facilitated the existence of new ideas. Although she cautions that her argument does not wholly support that material changes did not necessarily lead to ideological changes, she says that there are some ideas that appear more prevalent than others in a given period in time. Furthermore, she claims that some ideas like those associated with magic and an organic view of the world become less compelling whereas the mechanical approaches are developed and adopted. There seems to be a back and forth argument in The Death of Nature between the social conditions as well as material conditions associated with nature and science. The strongest ideas are however those that are in support of the material and ecological conditions. The history of the environment is paused as the most relevant to the history of science. The material history of the changes that occur in the environment partly points towards an ecological history of the relationships between culture, material and social settings. Here nature does not become universal as advanced by the magical philosophy but rather multiplies to become many. The characterization of nature as being feminine does not necessarily depict its universality. Rather, nature follows a whole range of laws key among them the laws of energy and thermodynamics that are responsible for influencing the abiotic and biotic components of nature itself in the different ecosystems. All the components of the ecosystems are the major actors in the determination of environmental history as they continue to interact and also form the ecological history. The movers of change are however largely material including human beings, insects, plants and, other microorganisms. Additionally, the drivers of change can also be characterized as being economic including capital, colonization, markets and explorations of new ideas. This takes into consideration that the influence of groups, nations and the society in general have the capacity to generate, support and advance new ideas that may become legitimate in the long run. The death of nature has extensively touched on the scientific revolution. The book challenged the mechanistic approaches that were advanced by the history fathers of yesteryears. More profoundly, the statement that the mechanistic approaches taken by many historians have largely been the causes of problems that are predominant today is the most telling of why Carolyn Merchant does not get the accolades that other mechanical philosophy drivers did. The grand narrative of the scientific revolution does not give women as much praise as they deserve. There is a belief by this author that women of the day were as much beneficiaries and victims as much as men were. The advances in western European culture including capitalism, science and technology have made were as a result of the attempt by the scientific revolution to master nature and its operations. There has been an unconscious socialization by the study of the scientific revolution that has made human beings the major actors in the changes that have been realized. The role that women, nature, indigenous people and minorities have played in the changes that occurred to western European culture has been largely obscured by the demotion of the scientific revolution as being a mere nomer and the assumption that it does not explain modern science. In conclusion, The Death of Nature invoked a science that is largely mechanistic that played in the destruction of nature as it was being seen as a mere end and for use for human satisfaction. Authors like Francis Bacon suggested that there is a scientific method that has power over nature has been disputed by Merchant. In fact this theory has played a major role in the destruction and torture of nature. Reference Bruno, G. (1997). Cause, Principle and Unity, ed. Blackwell & Lucca. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Read More