Witch Hunting, Magic and the New Philosophy: An Introduction to Debates of the Scientific Revolution, 1450-1750

by Brian Easlea

Book by Easlea, Brian

Genres: Philosophy

283 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1980

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine exploration of the rise of mechanistic methods of thinking that ran counter to the rambunctious hyper-rational irrationality of the early modern period. I'm surprised it isn't reviewed or more widely read, for it's a nice contribution to the whole Kuhn-Popper debate which makes my eyes glaze over. Must make Brian's eyes glaze over too for he skirts it all too dangerously and then strikes out on his own path, opening up discussions of witchcraft and the differing perceptions of cosmology and the mechanisms of the universe.
At times a little overly specific, but it does no harm to anything but the frontal lobes.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easlea has produced an insightful look at why the witch hunts between the 15th and 18th centuries started, continued, and eventually stopped. The general view has been that the establishment of a more robust scientific thinking swept away the old superstitions that fueled the hunts but Easlea shows that there were many who questioned and spoke out against them from the start, some even toeing a very thin line with heresy themselves. He sets out how the new scientific thinking contributed to the winding down of witch hunts and trials but he also shows that this new thinking itself arose out of a settling down of minds and growing confidence in understanding the world. These fed into one another as more 'control' over the natural world was gained as it was understood allowing the ruling classes (men) to feel more confident and in control and therefore less susceptible to the powers of Satan and witchcraft (fragile masculinity at its finest one could say).

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! It has its flaws, mostly due to its age being published in 1980 before so much research on the period and sciences of the area had been started, but, it is an amazing introduction to the period. If you want to understand the intellectual landscape of Europe in the early modern period, how the witchcraze came about, how natural philosophy became experimental science there is simply no better resource I am aware of.