Philosophy of Science and the Occult

Philosophy of Science and the Occult PDF Author: Patrick Grim
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 9781438404981
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
This book both introduces the philosophy of science through examination of the occult and examines the occult rigorously enough to raise central issues in the philosophy of science. Placed in the context of the occult, philosophy of science issues become immediately understandable and forcefully compelling. Divergent views on astrology, parapsychology, and quantum mechanics mysticism emphasize topics standard to the philosophy of science. Such issues as confirmation and selection for testing, causality and time, explanation and the nature of scientific laws, the status of theoretical entities, the problem of demarcation, theory and observation, and science and values are discussed. Significantly revised, this second edition presents an entirely new section of quantum mechanics and mysticism including instructions from N. David Mermin for constructing a device which dramatically illustrates the genuinely puzzling phenomena of quantum mechanics. A more complete and current review of research on astrology has been included in this new edition, and the section on the problem of demarcation has been broadened.

Philosophy of Science and the Occult

Philosophy of Science and the Occult PDF Author: Patrick Grim
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 9781438404981
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
This book both introduces the philosophy of science through examination of the occult and examines the occult rigorously enough to raise central issues in the philosophy of science. Placed in the context of the occult, philosophy of science issues become immediately understandable and forcefully compelling. Divergent views on astrology, parapsychology, and quantum mechanics mysticism emphasize topics standard to the philosophy of science. Such issues as confirmation and selection for testing, causality and time, explanation and the nature of scientific laws, the status of theoretical entities, the problem of demarcation, theory and observation, and science and values are discussed. Significantly revised, this second edition presents an entirely new section of quantum mechanics and mysticism including instructions from N. David Mermin for constructing a device which dramatically illustrates the genuinely puzzling phenomena of quantum mechanics. A more complete and current review of research on astrology has been included in this new edition, and the section on the problem of demarcation has been broadened.

Philosophy of Science and Occult, 1st Ed.

Philosophy of Science and Occult, 1st Ed. PDF Author: Patrick Grim
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438404972
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Philosophy of Science and the Occult has two aims: to introduce the philosophy of science through an examination of the occult, and to examine the occult rigorously enough to raise central issues in philosophy of science. Patrick Grim has compiled selections by authors with divergent views on astrology, parapsychology, and UFO's to emphasize topics standard to the philosophy of science. He discusses issues such as confirmation and selection for testing, possibility and a priori probabilities, causality and time, explanation and the nature of scientific laws, the status of theoretical entities, the problem of demarcation, theory and observation, and science and values. A sketch of where these arise in the collection accompanies the table of contents. The context of the occult serves to make the initial introduction of these issues immediately understandable and forcefully compelling.

The Occult Sciences

The Occult Sciences PDF Author: Eusèbe Salverte
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Magic
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description


Occult Science

Occult Science PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
ISBN: 1855843854
Category : Anthroposophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
Written in 1909 (CW 13) An authorized translation of this classic work, re-edited, beautifully typeset and designed, from a professional publisher dedicated to high-quality editions of Rudolf Steiner's books and lectures. The Anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner is not a theoretical system, but the results of research based on direct observation. As Steiner's research was so vast and conducted over such a long period of time, no single book can be said to contain the whole of his spiritual teaching. However, of all his books Occult Science comes closest. Steiner even referred to it as "an epitome of anthroposophic Spiritual Science." The book systematically presents the fundamental facts concerning the nature and constitution of the human being and, chronologically, the history of the universe and humankind. Whereas the findings of natural science are derived from observations made through the senses, the findings of Spiritual Science, or Anthroposophy, are "occult" inasmuch as they arise from direct observation of realities hidden to ordinary perception. And yet these elements of humanity and the universe form the foundation of the sense world. A substantial part of Occult Science is taken up with a description of the preliminary training needed to make such spiritual observations. Given his energetic involvement in practical initiatives and extensive lecturing, Steiner had little time to write books. Of those he did write, four titles form an indispensable introduction to his later teaching: The Philosophy of Freedom (CW 4); Theosophy (CW 9); Knowledge of the Higher Worlds (CW 10); and Occult Science: An Outline (CW 13). Occult Science: An Outline is a translation from German of Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss (GA 13).

The occult sciences, the philosophy of magic, prodigies and apparent miracles. From the Fr., with notes, by A.T. Thomson

The occult sciences, the philosophy of magic, prodigies and apparent miracles. From the Fr., with notes, by A.T. Thomson PDF Author: Anne Joseph Eusèbe Baconnière-Salverte
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Magic, Mystery, and Science

Magic, Mystery, and Science PDF Author: Dan Burton
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253216564
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
"[P.D. Ouspensky's] yearning for a transcendent, timeless reality—one that cancels out physical disintegration and death—figures into science at some fundamental level. Einstein found solace in his theory of relativity, which suggested to him that events are ever-present in the space-time continuum. When his friend Michele Besso passed on shortly before his own death, he wrote: 'For us believing physicists the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion, even if a stubborn one.'" —from Magic, Mystery, and Science The triumph of science would appear to have routed all other explanations of reality. No longer does astrology or alchemy or magic have the power to explain the world to us. Yet at one time each of these systems of belief, like religion, helped shed light on what was dark to our understanding. Nor have the occult arts disappeared. We humans have a need for mystery and a sense of the infinite. Magic, Mystery, and Science presents the occult as a "third stream" of belief, as important to the shaping of Western civilization as Greek rationalism or Judeo-Christianity. The occult seeks explanations in a world that is living and intelligent—quite unlike the one supposed by science. By taking these beliefs seriously, while keeping an eye on science, this book aims to capture some of the power of the occult. Readers will discover that the occult has a long history that reaches back to Babylonia and ancient Egypt. It proceeds alongside, and frequently mingles with, religion and science. From the Egyptian Book of the Dead to New Age beliefs, from Plato to Adolf Hitler, occult ways of knowing have been used—and hideously abused—to explain a world that still tempts us with the knowledge of its dark secrets.

The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age

The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age PDF Author: Frances Yates
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134524412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
It is hard to overestimate the importance of the contribution made by Dame Frances Yates to the serious study of esotericism and the occult sciences. To her work can be attributed the contemporary understanding of the occult origins of much of Western scientific thinking, indeed of Western civilization itself. The Occult Philosophy of the Elizabethan Age was her last book, and in it she condensed many aspects of her wide learning to present a clear, penetrating, and, above all, accessible survey of the occult movements of the Renaissance, highlighting the work of John Dee, Giordano Bruno, and other key esoteric figures. The book is invaluable in illuminating the relationship between occultism and Renaissance thought, which in turn had a profound impact on the rise of science in the seventeenth century. Stunningly written and highly engaging, Yates' masterpiece is a must-read for anyone interested in the occult tradition.

The Occult Sciences. the Philosophy of Magic, Prodigies, and Apparent Miracles.

The Occult Sciences. the Philosophy of Magic, Prodigies, and Apparent Miracles. PDF Author: Eusebe Salverte
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781535176644
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
The history of ancient times abounds in accounts of prodigies and manifestations of supernatural power, which the almost unanimous judgment of the modern world has stamped as pure fiction. The question, however, how such accounts found their way into records purporting to be authentic, received as such by the age that produced them, and preserve and handed down as such to our own times, has, perhaps, never been quite satisfactorily answered. These records are all we have to depend on for our knowledge of the times from which they date, or of which they treat. If their authority be disallowed, past ages become a blank to us. It is a point of some interest, therefore, to account for the presence, in them, of so much that seems incredible, and to show how that into which the apparently fabulous enters in so large a proportion, can yet be received, in the main, as true history. It is no solution of this difficulty to say, that antiquity was credulous, that it exercised no judgment upon the stories to which it gave currency, and believed, without inquiry, things the most improbable and absurd. If this be so, of what value is ancient history at all? Who would give anything for the testimony of those who are incapable of discriminating between what is rational and what is absurd, to whom the impossibility of a matter forms no ground for doubting its truth? In our courts of justice, what credit would a witness meet with, half of whose evidence was essentially incredible? Would not the other half go for nothing, merely on the score of its suspicious association, however credible in itself? lf we are to flatter ourselves that we know anything about the early past, we cannot be indifferent to the character of its historians, whether for veracity or for judgment, and if we find in their recitals many things to which we feel that we cannot yield credence, we are the more interested in the inquiry how these things won credence from them. In this inquiry, M. Salverte comes to our aid, and, with much ingenuity, endeavours to show that the great bulk of what ancient writers hand down to us as prodigy or miracle, instead of being mere fable, is capable of explanation on grounds intelligible to the present age, and thus that history, as far as these things are concerned, may be received as true in its narrative of facts, though it be often in error in the view it takes of the nature of the facts narrated. M. Salverte believes that a great mass of scientific knowledge was treasured up from a very early period in the temples of the heathen world, and even ventures on the bold conjecture, that many of the most illustrious discoveries in the domain of physics.... -The University Magazine: A Literary and Philosophic Review

An Outline of Occult Science

An Outline of Occult Science PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: [Chicago] : Anthroposophical Literature Concern
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
An Outline of Occult Science is Rudolf Steiner's thesis discussing the unknown, the nature of mankind, and his belief that science may be used to explain the unusual phenomena known as the occult. First published in 1910, this book strives to define, categorize and explain various manifestations of the occult. The author concedes at the opening of the book that many otherwise open-minded and receptive individuals immediately recoil from the concept of the the unknown, especially in relation to attempts to investigate it scientifically. After introducing the occult, Steiner delves into explaining the two worlds he thought comprised the reality we live in. The natural world, that which is visible and readily perceivable around us, and the spiritual world, where the unexplained phenomena arise. The nature of man as a bodily being, and how his physical self bridges the gap between these two worlds, is much detailed. Famous as a literary critic, Rudolf Steiner's interest in the occult phenomena meant that much of his later life was characterized by research into spiritual texts. He passionately believed that much of the strange, paranormal or occult phenomena human beings have observed have a spiritual yet scientific explanation: it is with this essential belief in mind that Steiner attempts to persuade the reader. Although unusual in subject matter, An Outline of Occult Science is written in an accessible style. What would otherwise be dry and inscrutable is made interesting and exotic by Steiner, who was used to writing for a popular audience in his career as a literary critic. This edition of his book contains all of his original notes, which are appended at the conclusion for ease of reference.

The Occult Sciences

The Occult Sciences PDF Author: Eusèbe Salverte
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Occultism
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description