Magic and Science: Two Worlds Apart?

May 23, 2017
  • 4:00 pm-6:00pm
  • Location:
    Room 173, University Centre
    6331 Crescent Rd.
    Vancouver, BC

The storylines of some of the best known epics in Western culture (e.g. Parzival and Tristan) involve magical events. However, a widespread opinion still claims that magical thinking and practices only survived on the margins during the Christian Middle Ages. A general view also has it that magical thinking stands in opposition to science and rationality. Arguing against such views, this talk will introduce a definition of magic as a way of conceptualizing the world. These conceptual relationships can be detected, explored and applied through various practices, some of which are comparable to empirical scientific methods.