Magic in Western Culture
From Antiquity to the Enlightenment

This richly illustrated and groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with foundations that were distinctly philosophical.

Brian P. Copenhaver (Author)

9781107070523, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 September 2015

612 pages, 108 b/w illus.
23.6 x 16.1 x 3.8 cm, 0.97 kg

'Brian P. Copenhaver is an eminence grise in the history of magic especially as it relates to the history and philosophy of science in the Renaissance; he has been grounding, clarifying, and revising the scholarly understanding of early modern magic and its philosophical-cosmological underpinnings for some four decades now … Magic in Western Culture remains a book filled with intellectual treasures; it is also a handy updated collection of some of Copenhaver's best work on the history of magic in a package that both scholars and students will take pleasure in reading.' Claire Fanger, Metascience

The story of the beliefs and practices called 'magic' starts in ancient Iran, Greece, and Rome, before entering its crucial Christian phase in the Middle Ages. Centering on the Renaissance and Marsilio Ficino - whose work on magic was the most influential account written in premodern times - this groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with foundations that were distinctly philosophical. Besides Ficino, the premodern story of magic also features Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, Aquinas, Agrippa, Pomponazzi, Porta, Bruno, Campanella, Descartes, Boyle, Leibniz, and Newton, to name only a few of the prominent thinkers discussed in this book. Because pictures play a key role in the story of magic, this book is richly illustrated.

Part I. Introduction: 1. The scruples of J. G. Frazer
2. Magic as a classical tradition and its philosophical foundations
Part II. Mageia: 3. Ancient philosophy in Ficino's magic I: Plotinus
4. Ancient philosophy in Ficinio's magic II: Neoplatonism and the Chaldaean Oracles
5. Ancient philosophy in Ficino's magic III: Hermes and Proclus
6. Scholastic philosophy in Ficino's magic
7. Data: a tale of two fish
Part III. Hermetica: 8. Hermes the theologian
9. Hermes domesticated
10. Hermes on parade
Part IV. Magic Revived and Rejected: 11. How to do magic, and why
12. Nature, magic, and the art of picturing
13. The power of magic and the poverty of erudition
14. Disenchantment
Part V. Conclusion: 15. Who killed Dabholkar?

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Religion & beliefs [HR], Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600 [HPCB], Philosophy [HP], Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]