Skip to main content

Supernatural

Supernatural

A term used when something does not fit into the category of natural or normal. It can also be imagined as something that is caused by a bigger force.

Supernatural can be explained as a treatment for epilepsy because Galen of Pergamon the most renowned roman doctor found a “supernatural” cure because it wasn't a pill or medicine it was a simple peony root that was worn like amulet without being eaten. This technique was used as an alternative medicine and since there wasn't any explanation for a herbal medicine they categorized the treatment into a "supernatural" treatment.

Agrippa uses magic as the core of his philosophy that unifies theology, physics, and mathematics in one. He went on to explain that the earthly levels of the hierarchy are connected to the natural cosmos but the intellectual level is supernatural inhabited by angels and demons.


Supernatural is defined as an illusion because Scot rejects witchcraft and the supernatural aspect of it and associates mental illness with people who believe in the supernatural beings. Scot believes that since there is no explanation for the supernatural activity which he calls illusions because when men try to point the actions of the different witches out no one would believe them.

A figure called Faustus Summons Mephistopheles comes from Codex Gigas which was a gigantic manuscript put together by Benedictine monks in the early thirteenth century. This figure shows how monstrous the devil is depicted. Supernatural is used in this section to describe the being in the picture as non-human and an individual we all know hinting at the devil. In the thirteenth century, people have associated the term supernatural with anything that looks non-human.
Keywords: Amulet, Peony Root, Natural cosmos, Witchcraft



 References
Galen. 2015. “Testing an Amulet: Galen, On Simple Medicines",6.3.10- In The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment, Translated by Brian Copenhaver. Penguin Classics, 152


Agrippa. 2015. “A Higher and Holier Philosophy: The Occult Philosophy, 1.1-2.” In The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment, Translated by Brian Copenhaver. Penguin Classics, 402-403.

Scot. 2015. "Abominable and Devilish Inventions: Scot, Discoverie", I.7-9-In The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment, Translated by Brian Copenhaver. Penguin Classics, 442.




.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Superstition

Superstition Superstition is the belief that an event can be caused as a result of a supernatural happening or being. People who are superstitious readily attribute magical qualities to objects and events with the belief that something larger is going on than meets the eye. Augustine, a student of the psychology of superstition, explains that “Anything undertaken by humans to make and worship idols is superstitious, whether it involves giving divine honours to a creature or any part of a creature or enquiries and certain pacts and marks agreed and contracted with demons – like those attempted in the magical arts” (Augustine 2015, 241). This claims that people who are superstitious are in accordance with demons and usually possess a magical worldview. Superstition can run deep in a culture’s beliefs. Copenhaver explains that superstition was extensively woven into society and showed itself through “Ordinary customs and conventions” (Copenhaver 2015, 248), meaning that their norma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vitalism

Vitalism Vitalism is the metaphysical view that nature is composed of living and intelligent matter. In other words, "everything is alive" (Copenhaver 2015, 510).  In the late Renaissance, it was espoused by Giordano Bruno and Tomasso Campanella. Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle, defended a vitalist view of metaphysics during the mid to late Seventeenth century. Vitalism is usually characterized as a form of materialism and monism. Vitalists believe that there is only one kind of substance (monism), and that substance is made of matter, albeit matter that is capable of both thought and perception. According to Bruno, everything is material, including God and demons (Bruno 2015, 437). His view is akin to the Stoic conception of nature as rational ( logos ) and possessing a spirit or mind ( nous ). Bruno and Cavendish both consider nature to be one organism, more like a giant animal than a giant machine (Copenhaver 2015, 510). Bruno's view is best understo...
Post a Comment
Read more