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Philosophy 2006 The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Witchcraft

Tentative Reading Schedule – 2011-2012 Lecturer: Sean Coughlin

[K] Klaits, Joseph. Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts. Bloomington, IN: University

of Indiana Press, 1987. ISBN: 978-0253204226. [KP] Kors & Peters (eds.). Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History. 2nd Edition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0812217513 [C] Coursepack (Will be available at InPrint, UCC 78. I will tell you when it is available.) Part I: Fall Term Date Topic Reading

Sept. 8 (Thurs.)

Introduction to Part I

Witchcraft Beliefs Sept. 13 (Tues.)

The Question: What was the ‘Witchcraze’?

[K] Introduction

Sept. 15 (Thurs.)

Historical Context I [K] Chapter 1 [KP 1] Augustine

Sept. 20 (Tues.)

Historical Context II [K] Chapter 1 (continued)

Sept. 22 (Thurs.)

Historical Context III [C] Brauner, Sigrid. Fearless Wives and Frightened Shrews: The Construction of the Witch in Early Modern Germany. Chapter 1: “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context,” pp.3-27.

Sept. 27 (Tues.)

Witchcraft beliefs: Maleficia

[K] Chapter 2 [KP 24] “Bernardino of Siena Preaches Against women Sorcerers” (1427) [KP 46] “The Confessions of the Chelmsford Witches” (1566)

Sept. 29 (Thurs.)

Witchcraft beliefs: Pacting with the devil

[K] Chapter 2 (continued) [KP 18] Pope Gregory IX, Vox in Rama (1233) [KP 21] Pope John XXII, “Sorcery and the Inquisitors” (1326) [KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.189-193



Oct. 4 (Tues.)

Witchcraft beliefs: Witches’ Sabbats

[K] Chapter 3 [KP 28] Errores Gazariorum (1437) [KP 29] Tholosan, Ut magorum et maleficiorum errores (1436-37); [KP 30] Le Franc, The Defender of Ladies (1440)

Oct. 6 (Thurs.)

Witchcraft beliefs: Women

[KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.180-188

Oct. 11 (Tues.)

Witchcraft Beliefs [K] Chapter 3 (continued) [KP 52] The Trial of Marie Cornu (1611)

The Philosophy of Witchcraft Beliefs

Oct. 13 (Thurs.)

Framing the Question No Reading

Oct. 18 (Tues.)

Witchcraft as Science [C] Brian Easlea, Witch Hunting, Magic and the New Philosophy. Chapter 1: “The Existence of Witches,” pp. 1-44.

Oct. 20 (Thurs.)

The Question: What is ‘science’?

[C] Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, chs. X, pp. 111-135 .

Oct. 25 (Tues.)

Fall Mid-Term Exam (20%)

Location: B&GS 1056 Covers material from Sept 8 – Oct 11, 2011. *A Review Session will be held at a date/time/place to be determined with you

Oct. 27 (Thurs.)

Halloween [Film]

Nov. 1 (Tues.)

Metaphysics of Natural Magic I: Cosmology

[C] Plato, Timaeus 27D-34B

Nov. 3 (Thurs.)

Metaphysics of Natural Magic II: Matter and Form

[C] Aristotle, Physics 2.3; Aristotle, De Caelo 1.1-2

Nov. 8 (Tues.)

Metaphysics of Natural Magic III: Aquinas

[KP 13-16] Selections from Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles & Summa Theologiae

Nov. 10 (Thurs.)

Metaphysics of Natural Magic IV: A new cosmology

[C] Selections from the Corpus Hermeticum



Nov. 15 (Tues.)

Metaphysics of Natural Magic V: Conclusion

[KP 17] Jacopo Passavanti

Nov. 17 (Thurs.)

Natural Magic I: Examples

[C] R. Kieckheher; Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century.

Nov. 22 (Tues.)

Natural Magic II: Principles

[C] Frazer, The Principles of Magic

Nov. 24 (Thurs.)

Witchcraft Iconography Guest Lecture

Nov. 29 (Tues.)

Natural Magic III: Ficino

[C] Marsilio Ficino, Three Books of Life (selections)

Dec. 1 (Thurs.)

Natural Magic IV: Bruno

[C] Giordano Bruno, On Magic (selections)

Dec. 6 (Tues.)

Review

Dec. 17 (Sat.)

Winter Term Exam (30%)

Location: UCC 31, 9am Covers material from Sept 8 – Dec 1, 2011. *A Review Session will be held at a date/time/place to be determined with you

Part II: Winter Term Date Topic Reading

The Witch Trial

Jan. 10 (Tues.)

Movie Week 1 “The Crucible” (1996), adapted from the Arthur Miller, directed by Nicholas Hynter

Jan. 12 (Thurs.)

Movie Week 2 “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” (1996), directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

Jan. 17 (Tues.)

Introduction to Part II

Jan. 19 (Thurs.)

The Origins of the Witch Trial

[KP 33] Pope Innocent VIII, Summis desiderantes affectibus [KP 34] Kramer and Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum, p.204-228



Jan. 24 (Tues.)

Witchcraft & Social Control

[C] E. Currie, “Crimes without Criminals: Witchcraft and Its Control in Renaissance Europe.” Law and Society Review (Vol 3, No. 1, Aug 1968), p.7-32 Supplementary Readings (not required) [C] Levack, “The Legal Foundations” [C] Monter, “Witch Trials in Continental Europe: 1560-1660”

Jan. 26 (Thurs.)

Laws & Punishments [C] “Laws and Punishments” in Rosen (ed.), Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1969), p.51-61. [KP 45] Jean Bodin, On the Demon-Mania of Witches (1580)

Jan. 31 (Tues.)

Witches and the Possessed

[K c.5] “Classic Accusers: The Possessed” [KP 56] “The Devils of Loudon”

Feb. 2 (Thurs.)

Identifying Witches I: Testimony

[KP 53] “The Prosecutions at Bamberg” [C] David Hume, “Of Miracles”, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X [C] CAJ Coady, “Testimony and Observation”, American Philosophical Quarterly 10 2 (1973), p.149-55

Feb. 7 (Tues.)

Identifying Witches II: Tests & Standards of Evidence

[C] Barstow, “Controlling Women’s Bodies: Violence and Sadism.” Witchcraze (Harper Collins, 1995), p.129-145. [C] The Swimming Test

Feb. 9 (Thurs.)

Identifying Witches III: Torture

[K c.6] “In The Torture Chamber: Legal Reform and Psychological Breakdown” [KP 57]: The Trial of Suzanne Gaudry

Feb. 14 (Tues.)

The Ethics of Torture [KP 65] Friedrich Spee, Cautio criminalis (1631) Supplementary Reading (not required) [C] Foucault, “The Spectacle of the Scaffold”, Discipline and Punish, p.32-69.

Feb. 16 (Thurs.)

Winter Mid-Term Exam (20%)

Location: B&GS 1056 Covers material from Jan 10 – Feb 14, 2012. *A Review Session will be held at a date/time/place to be determined with you

Feb. 21 (Tues.)

Reading Week No Class

Feb. 23 (Thurs.)

Reading Week No Class



The Decline of the Witch Hunts, The Rise of Science

Feb. 28 (Tues.)

Witchcraft, Science & Skepticism

[KP 60] Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft

Mar. 1 (Thurs.)

Montaigne [KP 61] Michel de Montaigne, “Concerning Cripples”

Mar. 6 (Tues.)

Francis Bacon [C] Francis Bacon, selections from The Advancement of Learning and the Novum Organum

Mar. 8 (Thurs.)

Robert Boyle [C] Robert Boyle, “Excellency of the Mechanical Hypothesis”

Mar. 13 (Tues.)

Rene Descartes [C] Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

Mar. 15 (Thurs.)

Thomas Hobbes [KP 64] Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

Witchcraft and the Irrational

Mar. 20 (Tues.)

Contemporary Witchcraft in Canada

Guest Lecture: Kevin Marron, author of Witches, Pagans and Magic in the New Age (McClelland-Bantam Inc., Toronto, 1989)

Mar. 22 (Thurs.)

Contemporary Witchcraft

[C] E.E. Evans-Pritchard, “Sorcery and Native Opinion” and “Witchcraft Among the Azande”

Mar. 27 (Tues.)

Contemporary Explanations: Psychedelics

[C] H. Sidky, “Hallucinogenic Drugs and Witches”, Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease (Peter Lang, 1997)

Mar. 29 (Thurs.)

Contemporary Explanations: Syphilis

[C] S. Andreski, “The Syphilitic Shock”, in Levack, Witch-hunting in Early-Modern Europe: General Studies (Garland, 1992)

April. 3 (Tues.)

Contemporary Explanations: Placebo

[C] Hahn, R and Kleinman, A. “Belief as Pathogen, Belief as Medicine: ‘Voodoo Death’ and the ‘Placebo Phenomenon’ in Anthropological Perspective.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly (vol. 14, no. 4, Aug. 1983), p. 3,16-19.

Apr. 5 (Thurs.)

Science and Control [C] T. Szasz, “In Defense of the Dominant Ethic” and “The Witch as Mental Patient” in The Manufacture of Madness (Harper and Row, 1970)

Apr. 10 (Tues.)

The Continuing Threat of Witchcraft

Final Lecture *Exam review to be held at a time/date/place TBD



April 14 (Sat.)

Winter Mid-Term Exam (20%)

Location: SSC 3018, 7pm The exam will cover course material from Jan 10 – Apr 10, 2012.

Phil 2006: Introductory Lecture Sean Coughlin September 8, 2011

8 September, 2011 Introductory Lecture Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136

o Tuesday / Thursday 2:30-3:30 o By appt: 519-614-5764

Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Tuesday’s Reading: Klaits, J. Servants of Satan

o Introduction Welcome I want to start the course of with a story. This is a story that was told by one of the original authors of this course, Robert Butts, a philosopher of science at Western who, along with Thomas Lennon, designed this course to give to students the ability to “maintain the values of human freedom in a world of unequally distributed power, [of] providing the cognitive resources necessary for making rational choices. If we fail,” Robert said, “to study and to philosophically ruminate on the dark side of human history, we lose perspective when confronted with present evils. For we, not the witches are the authors of evil.” When Robert identifies “us” as “the authors of evil”, it is not merely a rhetorical claim; he is not merely trying to rile us up. In claiming that we are the authors of evil, he is making a metaphysical point. His point is that evil is not something out there, to be found lurking in a dark abyss, or in the figures of devils and demons, witches and sorcerers. Rather, we, by treating other humans as mere objects, as things, and by failing to see ourselves in the other, we foster evil, and evil is the devil in us. Now, it is certainly by no means obvious whether or not Robert’s metaphysical claim about evil is true. At this point we are not yet in a position to judge whether it is or not. But what I do think is true, and I hope you agree, is the importance of examining this dark side of our history. For, while many today might not believe in the existence of witches, the power of magic, or the effects of demons, there still remains something frighteningly, terrifyingly, human about the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. I’ll explain in a minute what I mean, but, first, the story. Now, this story is true, and it is potentially a bit disturbing. But before I tell the story, I want to set the scene a bit. The year is 1600.


[Discus some events in the year 1600CE: Reubens begins the Baroque; Hamlet first performed; British East India Company founded; Virginia’s first successful tobacco crop; first permanent settlement of fur traders in Québec; Kepler and Tycho Brahe discuss planetary motion; telescope is invented in Netherlands; Bacon begins his work on his new empirical method; Des Cartes is 4-years old, living with his grandmother; Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake for heresy.] [Read the story of the Pappenheimer family from Bob Butts essay.] [Alternate version is online, taken mainly from Kunze’s Highroad to the Stake. U Chicago Press, 1982.] When we hear the brutality of this story, when we fail to recognize any obvious purpose to the suffering of this family, our first reaction might be to say that this event was simply an irrational act. This kind of reaction is common, even among scholars and thinkers. They look on the whole of the witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries as a period of almost collective insanity, and refer to it as a Witch Craze. Now, this trial was by no means an isolated kind of event. Even if the brutality of the Pappenheimer trial was unusual for the period, historians estimate that somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 people—about 4/5ths of them women—were tried for witchcraft, and around 80% of them were executed. Still, we must pause and ask the perennial style of philosophical question: when one calls this period of time a ‘craze’, what do we mean? Well, one thing it might mean is that Wangereck and Maximilian were acting according to superstitious beliefs. Or maybe they simply were swept up in a wave of fear, fear of witches and demons, of the coming end of the world, that travelled across Europe during this time, fears which were, at bottom, irrational. But there’s a problem with calling this period a witch-craze. To call something a craze, to attribute it to irrationality, implies, I think, two things. First, it implies something about the witch hunts themselves and the people involved: that they didn’t know what they were doing when they tortured and executed witches. But if we say this, if we say that the lawyers, informants, judges and Inquisitors did not know what they were doing, then we in a sense absolve them of any wrong. It seems clear that we have an intuitive sense of right and wrong that requires you know what you are doing is wrong, or that, at the very least, you could have known. But if we really think they were irrational, if the witch hunts were really a craze, then why do all of these acts still seem wrong? Why do they still seem evil? Second, to call it a craze also implies something about us. It implies that we simply cannot know why the witch hunts happened. To call something like the witch hunts irrational is to say that we really can give no explanation for why they happened. But, we still must have reasons for saying even this; and those reasons can only come from a careful study of world that these people lived in.


The thesis I want to argue for in this course, however, is that the period of the witch hunts was not a craze or a mass hysteria. I want to argue for what, I think, is a much more terrifying conclusion: that both the public and the educated authorities believed the persecution, torture and execution of supposed witches was rationally and morally justifiable. In fact, in this, the same period that saw the birth of the Scientific Revolution, denying the existence of witches, demons and magic was often considered the irrational belief.1 In this course, we will try to understand why. And in doing so, in looking to a particularly dark episode in human history, we need to be prepared that we might recognize ourselves in that darkness. The Plan of the Course Some technicalities. This is Philosophy 2006, the Metaphysics and Epistemology of Witchcraft. There are no prerequisites. There are no antirequisites. This means anyone can take this class. Here are the course requirements: There are no essays, no participation marks. There will be four multiple choice exams. They are term-cumulative. This means, the mid-year test and final exam are cumulative. The exams will be based roughly equally on the readings and on lectures. If I mention it in class, if it shows up in the presentation, and it is in the readings, then it is fair game for the exams. Course materials: There are two textbooks at the bookstore. Joseph Klaits and Kors and Peters.

1 Note: there’s a pair of interesting problems here: first, recall the context. The 16th and 17th centuries were not only marked by witch hunts. This period of western European history is also known as the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, the Scientific Revolution. And lest you think there is no contradiction in some parts of the population believing in witches, while other parts reject this belief on the basis of the new science, the situation is complex. Robert Boyle, who is lauded as the founder of modern chemistry, used to ask miners whether they found demons in the depths of their mines. Francis Bacon, who was really one of the first to proscribe a new method in science, saw himself as offering a kind of purified natural magic. And famously, Sir Isaac Newton practiced alchemy by night in his basement workshop. These founders of science are our pargons of rationality, and yet it is not obvious that they see a contradiction between what we call rational and irrational beliefs. Second, the existence of witches, witchcraft, demons, and magic was not something that the people of the time simply accepted without thought or reflection. To many at this time, the existence of witches was explicitly argued for. Magic or demonology, for many (although for different groups), were natural science. And, in fact, in the early stages of the scientific revolution before Newton, it actually seems more irrational to believe the claims of the mechanists like Descartes or even Copernicus’ Heliocentric model of the cosmos, than to believe the old science of Aristotle or the science of the magicians. If we assume that one scientific theory is better than another if it can explain more than another, then the old Ptolemaic model of the cosmos, with earth at the centre, could actually explain more and make more accurate predictions than Copernicus’. And Descartes’ mechanism could not explain some of the most basic phenomena like the tendency of things to fall towards the earth, whereas Kepler’s theory of attraction could, even though it was based in the magical or occult philosophies of Renaissance thinkers like Paracelsus and Bruno.


I am whittling down the coursepack, trying to find texts online so that we do not have to incur the costs of another text. I will let you know about this by next class, but the coursepack, in one form or another, will be available shortly. Course advisory: As you should now be aware, this course is going to deal with content of an explicit nature that some of you might find disturbing. Structure: [See syllabus.] This course will focus primarily on achieving four primary goals: (1) gaining an understanding of the history of the witch hunts, the beliefs or worldview that made them possible, and learning different theories scholars have come up with that to explain why the witch hunts happened; (2) learning and applying historical / philosophical methods to the theories (theological, cosmological, natural, epistemological) that were used to justify the existence of witches, demons, magic and, ultimately, the torture and execution of somewhere around 100,000 women and men, around 80% of whom were women (note: implicit in the task of applying the philosophical methods we will learn is judging whether those we are studying were consistent in their use of their own theories, and judging whether their theories are consistent (or ‘rational’ in one sense) in themselves; (3) understanding the moral and legal theories used to justify the witch trials, including understanding the standards of evidence, reliability of testimony, appeals to authority, &c.; (4) uncovering the roots of the scientific revolution, developing the question ‘what is science?’, and understanding the role science plays in how we engage the world and others in it. In the end, we will return to the question of evil, the witch hunts, and irrationality. [End]

Phil 2006: What was the Witchcraze? Sean Coughlin September 13, 2011

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13 September, 2011 What was the Witchcraze? Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Klaits, J. Servants of Satan

o Introduction Next class: Klaits, Chapter 1; [KP 1] Augustine Preliminaries Recall: the point of this course. We are going to try to understand how the same period that saw the birth of the Scientific Revolution also saw the trial, torture, execution of tens of thousands for practising witchcraft. And in doing so, we will hope to get a better understanding of how our understanding of science relates to our view of evil in the world. Klaits, Introduction What was the witch craze? Between 1550-1700, the religious and political authorities in Western Europe and the American colonies enacted policies which sent thousands of women and men to be burned at the stake. The charge was heresy. The period is called a ‘craze’ for two reasons:

1. We find, in the historical record, instances of moral panic in various communities across Western Europe. ‘Moral panic’ is an intense feeling of fear in the face of perceived threats to the social order.

2. The first historians to try to explain the witch hunts of the 16th-17th centuries believed they resulted from the superstitious beliefs of the common, catholic population combined with a class of elites who promulgated and used those beliefs in an attempt to enhance their own power

[I will give speak a bit more about this view a bit later, and offer some critical reflections next Tuesday] Craze is being used in two senses: (1) moral panic; (2) irrational and superstitious beliefs


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The first sense is likely true; but the second sense is problematic: might suggest the elite did not believe witches posed a danger to the social and moral order of the day, which is historically unsupported. Let’s for now focus on the first reason: moral panic. This period of witch hunts is called a craze because witches were hunted, charged and executed for being a danger to the moral order. In our own time, the witch craze also disambiguates the period of witch hunts in the 16th-17th centuries from other ‘witch hunts’. Clearly, the term ‘witch hunt’, when used to refer to other events, is a metaphorical extension of the original witch hunts. But what do we mean when we call something a witch hunt? Later witch-hunts: Jews in Nazi Germany Heavy metal in the 1980s & 90s Terror suspects Famously: Communists in the McCarthy era McCarthyism Example Biberman hearing in 1947: Hollywood 10 Biberman went to jail for 6 months for contempt He was blacklisted, and prevented from work Never proven to be a communist, never confessed to being a communist. Witch hunt refers to a campaign against a group in which members are found guilty-by-suspicion… “…the difficulty very often lies solely with the proof, and judges find themselves hampered by that. If then there are no valid witnesses, or confessions by the accused, or factual evidence […], but there are only presumptions, one must distinguish whether the presumptions are weak or strong. […] If the presumptions are strong, one may consider imposing the death sentence because of the important difference which separates this crime from others […but Bodin thinks, in most cases, one should not execute on presumption...] [O]ne must prescribe a sentence of corporal punishment: otherwise there will never be punishment for wicked deeds if one punishes only the crimes for which one has obvious proof.” (1580, Jean Bodin, KP 295-6) “Given the ongoing threat of al Qaeda attacks, the capture and interrogation of al Qaeda operatives is imperative to our national security and defense. Because of the asymmetric nature of terrorist operations, information is perhaps the most critical weapon for defeating al Qaeda.[…]Because of the secret nature of al Qaeda's operations, obtaining advance information about the identity of al Qaeda operatives and their plans may prove to be the only way to prevent direct attacks on the United States. Interrogation of captured al Qaeda operatives could provide that information; indeed, in many cases interrogation may be the only method to obtain it. Given the massive destruction and loss


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of life caused by the September 11 attacks, it is reasonable to believe that information gained from al Qaeda personnel could prevent attacks of a similar (if not greater) magnitude from occurring in the United States.” [March 2003, “Torture Memo”, Section IA1] We can add to this definition then, So, one way we use the term ‘witch hunt’ is to

mean any campaign against a group in which members are found guilty-by-suspicion of committing an ‘exceptional crime’.

Exam Prep: Some of you wonder what a multiple choice exam in philosophy might look like. So, if I am going to evaluate you, who take a philosophy class, by means of a multiple choice exam, I should also train you in how I am going to evaluate you. Education at a University means two (sometimes contradictory) things: (1) it should expose you to new points of view, to the history of thought, and to new ways of thinking, to prepare you to think critically; (2) it is a socially imposed requirement for a certain kind of career path, with standards of completion that will determine where one goes on that path. So, I am going to train you in light of (2).

You will be tested on: Definitions, Premises, Conclusions o Shema: o Definitions: what is x? o Premises: A believes x because …? o Conclusion: B believes … ?

Example: A metaphorical extension of the ‘witch hunts’ refers to: a) The mass trial and persecution of “witches” in the 16th and 17th centuries. b) Any campaign against a group in which members are found guilty-by-suspicion c) A moral panic brought on by perceived threats to the social order d) Persecution of a group for committing an exceptional crime. e) None of the above. The Original Witch Hunts 1550-1700: pervasive and repeated instances of trial, torture and execution on the

charge of heresy. Before the mid-16th C, there were trials, and witches were burned at the stake, but it

was nowhere near as frequent. Statistical Difficulty: How many people were executed during the witch hunts? Exact numbers are unobtainable At least 10 000 witch trial cases have been historically verified


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Estimates of the total range vary widely, depending on the sources and the historian’s methods.

Assume average of 10 executions / trial = ~100,000 deaths. Views of the Witchcraze Why did the witch hunts occur? The causes of the ‘witchcraze’ are various and contentious. There is no modern

consensus on why they happened or how they came about. But serious work to understand them began in the 19th century. And Klaits tells a story about the change in views from then until now. We will get into more detail about these next Tuesday, but it is worth mentioning them now:

1880s to Pre-WWI – Rational Optimism Historians believed in an idea of moral progress in the West Histories were written in Anglo-Saxon, protestant milieus The View Preceding eras were part of an epic struggle between science and religion, one which

ended in the 20th century with the triumph of western values and material civilization. Witch hunts were part of a superstitious, ignorant and backward age They were used by clerical judges / papal Inquisition to manipulate the public all for

the enhancement of their own power The End of this View Moral optimism and progress was shattered by first world war. Industrial progress is uncontrollable and leads to dangers Post-WWI Views Old views re-considered Western cultural history became studied in light of non-western beliefs But what differed from non-western beliefs: the witch as evil. Other beliefs: the witch is not good or bad, s/he simply exists, and can do or bad

things. They are to be feared, but they are not considered evil. So, for instance: the Azande: they believe witchcraft is an autonomous living

substance in the belly of someone. The person who has witchcraft inside them may not know it is there; nevertheless, the witchcraft will do harm to the witch’s enemies, and so the witch is to be feared, even if the witch does not wish anyone evil.

Witchcraft for the Azande is simply a fact about the world. It is not good or bad. So, what differentiates the European witch hunts from other cultural beliefs about

witches is that, at this time in Europe, the witch was considered to be evil.


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What is Evil? In some sense, evil is something personal, something that happens to me. I know that

evil happens to another by analogical inference or empathy. But I know evil because it is something felt, I suffer.

Distinguish evil from other kinds of pain:

o doctor’s needles o lost love o unrecognized achievement

Example of Evil: The Brothers Karamazov:

Imagine a trembling mother with her baby in her arms, a circle of invading Turks around her. They’ve planned a diversion: they pet the baby, laugh to make it laugh. They succeed. At that moment a Turk points a pistol four inches from the baby’s face. The baby laughs with glee, holds out its little hands to the pistol, and he pulls the trigger in the baby’s face and blows out its brains. (Trans. Garnett, p.238)

Why is there evil in the world? In the 20th century, we have come to identify evil in this sense with the devil in us.

The existentialists, like Sartre, believe we have an uncanny ability of turning other people into things, into objects. They become, for us, the other. And perhaps, ultimately, it is this tendency to treat others as non-human that is the root cause of evil.

But, for the medievals and in the 16th and 17th Century, evil was not something in us. Evil was something out there in the world.

What was this evil? [Answer: next class.]

Phil 2006: Historical Context I Sean Coughlin September 15, 2011

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15 September, 2011 Historical Context I Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Klaits, J. Servants of Satan

o Chapter 1 Kors and Peters, Reading 1: Augustine Reading for Next Class Klaits, J, Servants of Satan

o Chapter 1 Brauner, “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context” pp.3-27 (available on

WebCT) Preliminaries Re-arrangement: Please check the new reading schedule, posted on WebCT Lecture Goal for today and next Tuesday: To understand Klaits’ thesis: “the typical judges and accusers sincerely believed that by executing witches society was cleansing itself of dangerous pollution” (p.3). Three questions: 1. What does Klaits mean by ‘dangerous pollution’? 2. What is the ‘witch’ Klaits refers to? 3. Why does Klaits think judges and accusers sincerely believed that by executing

witches they were cleansing society? Three beliefs: 1. Beliefs about God & Evil 2. Beliefs about witches and women 3. Beliefs about why things happen, causation


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1. Beliefs about God and Evil [Background – not in Klaits, but portions will be on the exams] Great Chain of Being God was assumed to be all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. From these three attributes, it follows that the world God created is the best of all

possible worlds. The Great Chain of Being. Everything that God could possibly create, God did create: the Great Chain of Being.

o Equivalent to the Principle of Plenitude: Everything that can happen, necessarily happens.

This world is the best of all possible worlds. Problem of Evil Problem! There is evil in the world.

o [ARGUMENT] The Problem of Evil: 1. If God exists, then God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. 2. If God is omniscient, then God knows all evil. 3. If God is omnipotent, then God can prevent all evil. 4. If God is omnibenevolent, then God desires to eliminate all evil. 5. Evil exists. 6. If evil exists, then either god does not know all evil, or god cannot prevent

all evil, or god does not desire to eliminate all evil. 7. Therefore, God does not exist

Solution to the Problem Theodicy (definition): an attempt to justify or prove God’s existence in the face of the

existence of evil. Two historical solutions:

o Dualism: Deny omnipotence is an attribute of God & claim Evil and Good are equally powerful in the world.

o Monotheistic theodicy: Accept all three attributes of God and claim Evil is a privation or lack of God’s goodness. Evil is not created by God.

What causes this privation? o One answer: Free will. Agents other than God who can freely choose to do

what is wrong. What does this entail?

o God thought free will is so valuable that it was better to have a world in which free beings could choose to do evil than to have a world where people are constrained to act in the best possible way.

A Problem with this Solution Problem: Is this solution really plausible? Does it make sense? Ask yourself: would

you think it was morally better, i.e., the right thing to do, to let a person choose to do great harm rather than stop them by force or coercion not to do harm?


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Problem: If God is omniscient, and chooses the best of all possible worlds knowing everything that is going to happen, it seems that we are destined or fated to do whatever we do. Free will is an illusion.

3. Beliefs about why things happen, causation [note, I am not presenting the questions in the order I listed above] Relevant Reading: Klaits: Intro, pp.5-6 Klaits: Chapter 1, pp.12-17 Kors and Peters 1, Augustine [Some of this Background is not in Klaits, but it is difficult to make sense of Klaits without it, and portions of this material will be on the exams] Historical Context I The Black Death 1346-1353 CE Literally millions died during the plague, which reached it’s height in 1350s. 75-200 million killed in the 1300s ~50 million killed from 1346-1353 50%-70% of the total European population Compare to Spanish Influenza (1918-1920): ~50-100 million worldwide; but ~3%-

6% of total world population. The aftermath of the black death: Social Collapse

The mortality began in Siena in May (1348). It was a cruel and horrible thing; and I do not know where to begin to tell of the cruelty and the pitiless ways. It seemed to almost everyone that one became stupefied by seeing the pain. And it is impossible for the human tongue to recount the awful thing. Indeed one who did not see such horribleness can be called blessed. And the victims died almost immediately. They would swell beneath their armpits and in their groins, and fall over dead while talking. Father abandoned child, wife husband, one brother another; for this illness seemed to strike through the breath and sight. And so they died. And none could be found to bury the dead for money or friendship. Members of a household brought their dead to a ditch as best they could, without priest, without divine offices. Nor did the death bell sound. And in many places in Siena great pits were dug and piled deep with the multitude of dead. And they died by the hundreds both day and night, and all were thrown in those ditches and covered over with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura ... buried my five children with my own hands ... And there were also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city. There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death. And so many died that all believed that it was the end of the world.

—The Plague in Siena: An Italian Chronicle For other examples [not required reading]:

http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell/w%20civ%2002/plaguereadings.html


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Explaining these Events: Now How would we explain all of these events? Medicine, Science, Technology Bad luck, coincidence, human agency Explaining these Events: Then Evil events were explained by reference to occult or hidden powers. Demonic spirits could act on the world Meaning & Explanation For everything that occurs, we seek a reason. Distinguish kinds of reasons:

1. “How” kinds of reasons. Mechanisms. Today: the population died because fleas on rats carried plague, etc. Black death: the population died because malevolent spirits caused death, etc.

2. “Why” kinds of reasons: Place events within a broader context of meaning and beliefs. Answers the question, “for what purpose? What does it mean?” Today: ‘why’ questions are often answered within a broader social context:

E.G.: "There is no HIV vaccine because drug companies are likely to make more profit if AIDS is a kept a long-term, chronic condition treated by the drugs they sell.”


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Then: ‘why’ questions were often answered within a broader cosmological context: E.G.: “Plague killed everyone I know because God has ordained it as punishment for human sin.” “My crops failed because I wasn’t charitable to a beggar, and the beggar turned out to be a witch and cursed me.”

World-view & Explanation My claim: In trying to give meaning to the world, we seek answers that do not

conflict with the beliefs we already have. My claim: When the events of the world conflict with our beliefs, we will often

change one of our beliefs to get out of the state of conflict: Cognitive Dissonance. My claim: when we try to give meaning to some event, we will often look to some

authority for some meaning or explanation that does not conflict with our beliefs, our view of the world, rather than change all our beliefs about the world.

After the plague, many scholars and theologians turned to Augustine Augustine “It happens that, by some inscrutable divine plan, those who have a desire for evil

things are handed over to be deluded and deceived according to what their wills deserve. They are deluded and deceived by corrupt angels, to whom in God’s most excellent scheme of things this lowest part of the world has been subjected by the decree of divine providence.” (KP 1, Augustine: pp.45-46)

Witchcraft and magic, through Augustine, are associated with two things: demonic science and, by extension, idolatry.

Augustine sees two kinds of learning or science: human and divine

Superstitious science treats what is not divine as if it were divine, or it treats what is demonic as if it were divine. It is the worship of idols.

These people want to change what God has ordained. This is heresy or apostasy. So, Augustine links demons to magic and magic to heresy. Very Important. Polar Thoughts People at this time tended to see the world in terms of contradictory pairs or poles of

opposites. Priests – you call on them to make good things happen.

Learning (Literally, he means knowledge or

science)

Divine Human

Superstitious Not superstitious

Worshipping idols Consulting with Demons


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Sorcerers / Witches – you call on them to make bad things happen. Klaits:

o Now: we go to physician in the face of threatening illness; we use science of meteorology to explain hail storms

o Then: portray the events in personal terms: divine retribution for sin, temptation to test faith, actions of evil demons.

People needed ways to protect themselves against all of these horrors So, church served a social function: use of religious sacraments, prayer, etc. would

arm an individual against evil. Witch hunters and the faithful were Servants of God. Witches were Servants of Satan ------------------------------------------------ [Next Class -- Witches and their social function] Witch served a social function: malevolent ally of demonic spirits. A way of explaining misfortune. And a solution to misfortune: execute the witch. The Witch Maleficia Witches’ Powers: Made pacts with the devil Inflict harm on neighbors Act through an immaterial spectre or form Could travel through the air over long distances Pass through walls Cause seizure and convulsions in their victims even during trials Cause sudden death through illness or accidents Devastate crops with blight, pests Cause disease: crops, livestock, people Control weather, bring about storms Cause impotence, infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death Sex and Gender: 4 out of 5 suspects were women By signing a demonic pact she became a servant of satan She also become his willing sex slave Participated in ‘sabbats’ described as orgiastic and blasphemous Given the occasional services of an incubus More sex:


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Incubus: was thought to impregnate witches with a new generation of witches The sins of the mother could be passed on to the child Incubus / succubus: male / female Succubus seduces males and steals their semen Incubus uses this semen to impregnate a woman Black Cat Witches would have an animal, a familiar spirit This is a demon in animal form Witch would suckle the demon from her witches ‘tit’ Third nipple given by Satan This could be any of a number of marks on her body: mole, wart, birthmark, sore, etc. The Mark Satan’s mark could also be invisible It was a mark given by Satan at the end of an initiation rite A portion of flesh without sensation, did not bleed if lightly stabbed A whole professional class evolved during the height of the witch trials to find these

marks with needles. Diabolism Allegiance to Satan “partner in Satan’s universal war against all that was good in the world” (p.3) There was a belief a war had been raged between God and Satan Lucifer was God’s favourite and most powerful archangel. Fell from the grace of God because of he made the free choice to sin against God:

pride and jealousy Michael the Archangel led the armies of heaven and cast Lucifer out. Lucifer waits for revenge, uses people in the fight The final battle will occur at the day of Judgement So: witch hunters saw themselves as servants of God, and they saw witches as servants of Satan. Personification of Evil: witches Witches’ pact with the devil permits us to assume our ills are brought about by an

instrument of the devil: the witch Execute those who practice maleficent magic to prevent more evil. Witch must die – spirit is contaminated with will of the devil. Prevent more evil

doing; burn body to prepare it for repentance and redemption. Main thrust: Demons bewitch us, possess us, and use us as instruments of evil. Returning to theme of first two lectures: instruments are not people, but objects.

o The image of the witch is the image of the ‘other’. Perhaps, great evil was done to the witch because she is no longer believed to be a true human being. Rather, she is seen merely as an object.

Phil 2006: Historical Context II Sean Coughlin September 20, 2011

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20 September (Tues.), 2011 Historical Context II Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Klaits, J, Servants of Satan

o Chapter 1 Brauner, “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context” pp.3-27 (available on

WebCT) Reading for Next Class Brauner, “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context” pp.3-27 (available on

WebCT) Preliminaries Optional course pack will be available by the second week of October Readings will also be available for photocopy during my office hours and/or will be

placed in a folder in the Philosophy dept. Lecture Goal for last Thursday and Today: To understand Klaits’ thesis: “the typical judges and accusers sincerely believed that

by executing witches society was cleansing itself of dangerous pollution” (p.3). Three questions: 1. What does Klaits mean by ‘dangerous pollution’? 2. What is the ‘witch’ Klaits refers to? 3. Why does Klaits think judges and accusers sincerely believed that by executing

witches they were cleansing society? Three beliefs: 1. Beliefs about God & Evil 2. Beliefs about witches and women 3. Beliefs about why things happen, causation 2. The Witch Relevant reading: Klaits, Introduction, ch.1


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Klaits believes “the witch” served a social function: malevolent ally of demonic spirits; a way of explaining misfortune; and a solution to misfortune: execute the witch. (Klaits, p.14) The Witch From Klaits’ introduction Witches’ Powers: Made pacts with the devil Inflict harm on neighbours Act through an immaterial spectre or form Could travel through the air over long distances Pass through walls Cause seizure and convulsions in their victims even during trials Cause sudden death through illness or accidents Devastate crops with blight, pests Cause disease: crops, livestock, people Control weather, bring about storms Cause impotence, infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death White magic / black magic

o Practise of sorcery was common o Began to be associated with devil worship in the 16th century.

Sex and Gender: 4 out of 5 suspects were women By signing a demonic pact she became a servant of Satan She also become his willing sex slave Participated in ‘sabbats’ described as orgiastic and blasphemous Given the occasional services of an incubus Incubi / Succubi: Incubus: was thought to impregnate witches with a new generation of witches The sins of the mother could be passed on to the child Incubus / succubus: male / female Succubus seduces males and steals their semen Incubus uses this semen to impregnate a woman Black Cat Witches would have an animal, a familiar spirit This is a demon in animal form Witch would suckle the demon from her witches ‘tit’ Third nipple given by Satan This could be any of a number of marks on her body: mole, wart, birthmark, sore, etc.


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Satan’s Mark Satan’s mark could also be invisible It was a mark given by Satan at the end of an initiation rite A portion of flesh without sensation, did not bleed if lightly stabbed A whole professional class evolved during the height of the witch trials to find these

marks with needles. Diabolism Allegiance to Satan “partner in Satan’s universal war against all that was good in the world” (p.3) So: witch hunters saw themselves as servants of God, and they saw witches as servants of Satan. Return to Three Questions: 1. What does Klaits mean by ‘dangerous pollution’? 2. What is the ‘witch’ Klaits refers to? 3. Why does Klaits think judges and accusers sincerely believed that by executing

witches they were cleansing society? Answer to Question 1: By “dangerous pollution”, Klaits is referring to the belief that the witch is a source of evil events in the world. Answer to Question 2: The “witch” Klaits refers to is a woman with all the attributes listed above. Answer to Question 3: Requires a bit more background on evil Contemporary Distinctions of Kinds of Evil: Moral: An agent causes evil. Something someone intended or decided to do. Crime,

sin, etc. o When an event is morally evil, it is explained teleologically: evil is the telos –

Greek for “goal” – or intention of the agent. Non-Moral: Any evil not caused by an agent. Something determined by physical

laws. o When an event is non-morally evil, it is explained only physically or

naturally: the event is the outcome of physical laws that determine events, and the “evil-ness” of the event is a human experience or interpretation of it.

Witch as Cause: Evil was understood as having been personally caused, not impersonally caused. Contemporary distinction between kinds of evil was not recognized.


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All events, even natural events, were intended by some agent with free will: God, Angel, Satan, Demon, Human.

Witches were charged with being the agents and instruments of that evil. Question: To what extent are events still considered ‘natural’? ‘Natural events’ were held to be within the power of the Angels and Saints to

influence and control, hence the role of prayer. Sum up: All hardship is potentially reducible to evil. For us, sometimes a storm is just a storm. For them, all evil is morally ascribable to an agent. All good is morally ascribable to

God as agent. Fallen humans have earned this suffering due to Adam and Eve’s original sin. Personification of Evil: witches Witches’ pact with the devil permits us to assume our ills are brought about by an

instrument of the devil: the witch Execute those who practice maleficent magic to prevent more evil. Witch must die – spirit is contaminated with will of the devil. Witch must die – prevent more evil doing; burn body to prepare it for repentance and

redemption. Main thrust: Demons bewitch us, possess us, and use us as instruments of evil. Returning to theme of first two lectures: instruments are not people, but objects.

o The image of the witch is the image of the ‘other’. Perhaps, great evil was done to the witch because she is no longer believed to be a true human being. Rather, she is seen merely as an object.

Exam Prep: According to Joseph Klaits, the belief that evil events have a supernatural origin was

primarily grounded in: a) A personal view of causation b) The horrors of the black death c) Fear of the unknown d) None of the above e) All of the above

This is a style of question that will not be included on the exam (there will be no trick questions), but was designed to encourage careful reading of exam questions and possible answers. Answer: (A) is the most correct.

The key to answering this question is recalling from lecture that “a personal view of causation” implies that there are no impersonally caused events. Thus, if something occurs, and it is good, then it must have been the work of a good agent,


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namely, a saint, a priest, an angel or God. And if something occurs, and it is evil, then it must have been caused by something evil: a sorcerer, a witch, a demon or Satan. Klaits refers to the same thing on p. 16 when he talks about “a personalized view of nature […] made it seem that disease and other disasters had a supernatural origin […].”

The answer cannot be (E)

(E) and (D) contradict one another: “none of the above” would be included in “all of the above.”

The answer is not (C): “Fear of the unknown”

From the text: Klaits (p.16) states there was nearly universal agreement about the “reality and power of witches.” Most people at the time believed they knew why evil events happened, namely due to supernatural causes.

Why you might think (C) is the right answer: Perhaps unknown causes are the same as occult (hidden) or supernatural causes. However, supernatural causes were believed to be known. People were afraid because they thought they knew evil events had supernatural causes.

Hint that (C) is not the right answer: At the beginning of Ch.1 (pp.8-9), Klaits discusses and rejects the “myth of moral progress” explanation of witchcraft. This explanation supposed “witchcraft trials were the sad result of medieval superstitious fears and the copious use of torture…” (p.8).

The answer is not (B), “The horrors of the black death” From the text:

Klaits (p.13) states, “Whereas the citizens of advanced nations in the twentieth century can rely on a physician in the face of most threatening illnesses […] the peoples of past times could portray these events only in personal terms – as divine retribution for sin, instances of temptation meant to test the believer’s faith, or the actions of evil demons.”

Why you might think (B) is the right answer: Perhaps the speed and virulence of bubonic plague caused people to think they were being punished by God or harmed by demons.

Hint that (B) is not the right answer: (B) is an example of an evil event. Thus, if (B) were the answer, the sentence would read: “According to Joseph Klaits, the belief that evil events had a supernatural origin was primarily grounded in evil events”, which is circular.

Phil 2006: Historical Context III Sean Coughlin September 22, 2011

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22 September (Thurs.), 2011 Historical Context III Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Brauner, “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context” pp.3-27 (available on

WebCT) Next Time [K] Chapter 2 [KP 24] “Bernardino of Siena Preaches Against women Sorcerers” (1427) [KP 46] “The Confessions of the Chelmsford Witches” (1566) Lecture From Last Time: Answer to Question 3: Requires a bit more background on evil Contemporary Distinctions of Kinds of Evil: Moral: An agent causes evil. Something someone intended or decided to do. Crime,

sin, etc. o When an event is morally evil, it is explained teleologically: evil is the telos –

Greek for “goal” – or intention of the agent. Non-Moral: Any evil not caused by an agent. Something determined by physical

laws. o When an event is non-morally evil, it is explained only physically or

naturally: the event is the outcome of physical laws that determine events, and the “evil-ness” of the event is a human experience or interpretation of it.

Witch as Cause: Evil was understood as having been personally caused, not impersonally caused. Contemporary distinction between kinds of evil was not recognized. All events, even natural events, were intended by some agent with free will: God,

Angel, Satan, Demon, Human. Witches were charged with being the agents and instruments of that evil. Question: To what extent are events still considered ‘natural’?


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‘Natural events’ were held to be within the power of the Angels and Saints to influence and control, hence the role of prayer.

Sum up: All hardship is potentially reducible to evil. For us, sometimes a storm is just a storm. For them, all evil is morally ascribable to an agent. All good is morally ascribable to

God as agent. Fallen humans have earned this suffering due to Adam and Eve’s original sin. Personification of Evil: witches Witches’ pact with the devil permits us to assume our ills are brought about by an

instrument of the devil: the witch Execute those who practice maleficent magic to prevent more evil. Witch must die – spirit is contaminated with will of the devil. Witch must die – prevent more evil doing; burn body to prepare it for repentance and

redemption. Main thrust: Demons bewitch us, possess us, and use us as instruments of evil. Returning to theme of first two lectures: instruments are not people, but objects. The image of the witch is the image of the ‘other’. Perhaps, great evil was done to the

witch because she is no longer believed to be a true human being. Rather, she is seen merely as an object.

Today: Brauner, “The Modern Witch: Concept, History, Context” Reason for Brauner Klaits’ analysis so far tends to view women as passive in the movement of history. Brauner seeks an analysis of women’s active role in history. Brauner’s Main Question: Why were women specifically targeted as witches? (page 3) Possible answers: Changing social roles affected women’s legal and economic status. Single, lower class women particularly vulnerable. But this presupposes a particular, gender-specific image of the witch. When did this gender-specific imagery arise?

o This is a refinement of Brauner’s initial question. Brauner’s Sources “Laws, demonologies, legal treatises on witchcraft and books on learned magic

(“magia naturalis”)” – works intended for a university-trained specialists which developed the modern concept of the witch


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“plays, poems, sermons, and satirical texts” – didactic works intended for uneducated masses which spread the modern concept of the witch

Brauner’s Hypothesis: “notions about witches were influenced by new ideas about women developing in

Germany during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as humanist and Protestant thinkers reinterpreted the social role of the family and of women within the family.” (p.5)

Strategy: relate the concept of modern witch to early modern construction of gender in order to understand the social processes that allowed society to accept persecution of women as witches.

Three Historical Phases: 1435-1500 – initial period, scattered trials, men and women tried in equal numbers 1500-1560 – cessation of trials 1560-1750 – witch craze 1450s – Heresy: Inquisitors travel to French Alps and Switzerland to root out Waldensian heretics hiding in the hills Inquisitors find peasants who, under torture, added tales of night-flying spirits and

ritual folk magic to tales of devil’s pacts and secret meetings Harmful sorcery added to heresy [like in Augustine] Before: sorcery was secular matter: harmed people / property, not soul

o Philosophical question: Am I my body or my soul? Magic is spiritual transgression: sorcery is heresy No distinction between men and women: tried and burned equally 1480s-90s Majority tried in Germany were women Dominican Heinrich Kramer The Modern Witch 4 characteristics:

o Using magic to harm others o Sabbaths o Flying through the air o Devil’s pact through sex

Before 15th C, all of these were attributed to heretics in general Witch / sorcerer thought to have powers not derived from devil This considered heretical – supernatural powers not human, but derived from

something else; not learned magic, so must be devil magic Uses magic to perform evil deeds Sabbath:

o Witch reports to devil about recruitment success


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o Ritual inversion of social norms o Ends with unpleasant sex: cold penis and semen

Cost of being a witch o Forfeited personal freedom and eternal soul

Purpose o God teaching moral behaviour by negative example

Character o Witch enters pact with devil freely o Cannot un-pact o Confession saves the soul, but the damage to person/property carries a death

sentence Creation of the witch:

o Brauner agrees with Klaits that there were no witches with the diabolical powers described

o Trial created the witch: innocent accused women sought past evil deeds to justify their brutal treatment

Three elements to creating a the “witch” Inquisitorial system which used forced confession to prove guilt Concept of the witch created by theologians from scholastic demonology, folklore,

etc. Social consensus on the existence of witches and diabolical powers No settled opinion… Two contemporary views in the early 16th Century:

Witchcraft posed a diabolical threat Witches and other practitioners of magic were guilty of idolatry

Why Were Witches Women? (pp13-20) -know the fourth and fifth reasons Brauner discusses, regarding the changes in

women’s work Putting-out system; rise of money economy

women bared from guilds rent due in money, women forced to work as day-labourers invention of new looms forced women out of weaving trade

now spun someone else’s wool to be used in someone else’s loom became perceived as ‘cranks’ – existed on society’s margins

New restrictions on mid-wifery: Midwifery guilds outlawed, female folk healers were banned

Marriage 100 years war, fewer married women, more widows: from 20% to 30%

widows; from 5% to 10% never married Fewer Alternatives to Marriage:

No convents in Protestant regions Women ‘frail’: cannot conduct business or carry arms without husband’s

support


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Widows: no right to do business Being a poor woman was greatest indicator of whether she would be accused of

witchcraft. Why were poor women targeted? Before 1500, poor living on the margins were feared; possess supernatural powers Given charity, but deviancy not persecuted Rise of capitalism, individualism, Protestant Ethic that blamed poor for their poverty Social Resistance Woman wants charity, neighbour denies her charity Woman threatens curse Something bad happens to neighbour Witch is blamed. This scolding and cursing were forms of social resistance Now, it confirmed suspicions that they were indeed witches Redefining Gender Misogyny What happens when the ideals of the learned, upper and middle classes are imposed

on the lower, peasant classes? Ideal woman was chaste, pious, married, silent in public, submissive to her husband Uneducated peasants: self-assertive Certainly, it was a misogynist society, but how misogyny manifested itself warrants

further attention Sex vs. Gender Sex is ‘biologically determined’ Something is ‘biologically determined’ if it is determined by biological causes, i.e.,

things studied by the science of biology.. Sex differences include: chromosomal differences, hormonal differences, differences

in primary sexual characteristics. Science, at least according to some, does not make claims about what a male or a

female should be. It simply states when an animal either is male or is female. Take home message: biologically determined sex includes those characteristics of

males or females that are not caused by human social structures Instead, sex includes all of those things that are biologically imposed regularities,

determined by laws of biology and, ultimately, the laws of physics. Gender is ‘socially constructed’ Something is ‘socially constructed’ if it is determined by human ideological and

social causes. This includes differences in social roles: e.g. husband and wife; bread-winner,

housekeeper.


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Differences related to what is masculine and what is feminine: e.g. blue and pink, dominant and submissive, player and slut.

Take home message: socially constructed gender includes everything about men and women that is caused by human social structures.

These are socially imposed norms, ways we understand how to be and act, which are determined by the age, culture and institutions in which we find ourselves.

Some sex-centred theories of witchcraft raised by Brauner: Alleged witches enjoyed fantasizing about the devil Unguents and broomsticks for masturbation Witchcraft compensates for female weakness These theories are based on stereotypes of female nature and sexuality (stereotypes

are almost always hidden normative assumptions, and thus, are really claims about gender and not about sex)

Gender identities We are assigned a biological sex by natural laws But what those things mean for us are determined by a network of social

relationships, “gender-related normative contexts” (p.21) What is a woman? De Beauvoir:

Woman is always the antithesis of the male, the ‘other’ “One is not born but becomes a woman”

“The Other” Premise: consciousness and society often share this fundamental structure: subject /

other In setting oneself up as the subject, one must at the same time set up an opposite, an

object, an other, from which the subject can be distinguished. The subject is essential, the norm, the superior The other is inessential, is object, the inferior Us and Them: Often, two groups will both see themselves as subject and them as

‘other’ With women this was never the case historically – women always considered

themselves as ‘other’, never subject. Why? Because historically gender and sex have not been distinguished. Since sex is a

biological fact, many gender norms were also taken to be biological facts. o Take an example. Two groups: master / slave o To become master, the slave must take the master’s position, assume the

identity of the master and become the new subject. o But what it is to be human is defined as ‘masculine’ o For a woman to become a subject, she must become a man


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o Not only that, but both a man and a woman are necessary for the continued existence of human beings. There must be women and men because the existence of males and females is a biological fact.

Back to History – Two socially constructed gender roles Medieval: women had a subsidiary role Women were subsidiary and subordinate, but women and men interdependent Focus was on the preservation of the familia Husbands and wives were both parts of and served the familia To preserve the familia, women could take on the roles normally give only to men There were also alternatives for unmarried women: religious communities Reformation: women had a complementary role [complimentarity] Each sex has distinct sphere, no role reversals allowed One was the public and political sphere. The other was the private sphere. Men represented the household in the public sphere. Wives were directly subservient to their husbands, and not to the familia The husband ruled but was not a part of the private sphere Paid work became seen as skilled work, and skilled work was part of the public

sphere, and therefore masculine Unskilled work and unpaid work were what women did in the private sphere. It was

feminine and inferior. Exam Prep 2 'Female' and 'male' refer to an animal's biological sex. 'Biological sex' is

a) a normative concept. b) determined by physical laws. c) binary. d) constructed by human social structures. e) context-dependent.

[End]

Phil 2006: Maleficia Sean Coughlin September 27, 2011

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27 September (Tues.), 2011 Maleficia Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [K] Chapter 2 [KP 24] “Bernardino of Siena Preaches Against women Sorcerers” (1427) [KP 46] “The Confessions of the Chelmsford Witches” (1566) Next Time: [K] Chapter 2 (continued) [KP 18] Pope Gregory IX, Vox in Rama (1233) [KP 21] Pope John XXIII, “Sorcery and the Inquisitors” (1326) [KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.189-193 Lecture Exam Prep 2 'Female' and 'male' refer to an animal's biological sex. 'Biological sex' is

a) a normative concept. b) determined by physical laws. c) a binary concept. d) socially constructed. e) determined by gender-related normative contexts.

Not A – Biological sex is a descriptive concept. Not C – Sex is not exhausted by the categories of ‘male’ and ‘female’. There are

significant statistical occurrences of animals that are neither biologically male nor biologically female.

Not D – Something is socially constructed if it is determined by human ideological and social structures. Sex is determined by causes independent of human ideological and social structures. Gender is socially constructed.

Not E – the concept of sex is a descriptive one. It is not determined by normative contexts. Normative contexts are those cultural or social arenas which inform or determine how we think we ought to act or behave, or what we ought to think or believe. Sex is determined by physical causes and is described as the result of those causes. Sex describes how things in the world are, not how they ought to be.


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Last 2 Weeks Redux: Definition: A witch hunt is a campaign against any group found guilty-by-suspicion

of committing an exceptional crime. The witch craze was a witch hunt primarily against women found guilty-by-suspicion

of heresy, where heresy in this case includes causing maleficia (harm through magic), pacting with the devil, and participating in sabbats (secret heretical meetings).

The witch craze occurred from roughly 1550-1700. It is estimated that around 100,000 were executed, and between 3/4ths and 4/5ths of those executed were women.

To understand why they happened, it is helpful to understand their origins in late Medieval Western Europe.

Social factors: o Plague o Social collapse and war o Famine o Changes in family and social structures o Changes in women’s social roles

World-view: o Belief in God as all good creator of the cosmos. o Teleological or ‘personal’ causation: everything that happens, happens for a

reason. o Evil in the world could not be explained by reference to God. o Everything that happens has a cause, and since God made everything good

and could not create anything bad, there must be another cause of evil. o Must be some other agent who causes evil: Satan.

‘Witches’ over time were thought to be instruments of Satan. Image of itch is constructed from ideas about heretics (Waldensians) and folk

superstitions about conjurers and sorcerers. To eliminate evil in the world, the witch must be eliminated from the world. Maleficia Examples of Maleficia: Bernadino [KP 24]: Killing children and sucking their blood Making powders out of infants Using potions to appear as animals Chelmsford Confessions[KP 43]: Sexual malefice: causing impotence, preventing pregnancy, causing abortion Physical harm: causing lameness Securing wealth or fortune Murder


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Definition of Maleficia: Maleficia is the intentional causing of harm by conjuring evil spirits with a curse or spell. (Klaits, pp. 32-33) Intention Why inclde intention? Intention is necessary to exclude those who are not explicitly working on behalf of

the devil, i.e., those who have not entered into an explicit or tacit pact with the devil this list includes:

o Those who cause harm through magic accidentally, by trickery, because of naïve superstition, or because they are insane.

The point: One must choose to renounce God and work with the devil for a magical act to be considered Maleficia.

It is in this sense that the Maleficia of witchcraft is a form of heresy. What about White Magic? Bernardino talks about people who use magic for good ends. He claims that they are

deceived and holds them accountable. Why might he think they are accountable, since their intention was not to do harm?

Two kinds of magic: Natural (good) magic and maleficia (black magic) There was a belief that demons and evil spirits had power over things in the world. Natural magic, among other things, included the art of controlling these evil spirits

for good ends. Natural magicians argued that by coercing bad spirits through incantations and

invocations, they were following God’s will by using evil forces for good. In believing this, magicians were following a long tradition to be explored in the next

unit. The Orthodox Response Aquinas, drawing on Augustine [KP 1], denied the possibility of mastering demons. Natural magicians claimed that they were using demons for good ends. The church at the time, with Aquinas, replies: Whether the magician knew it or not,

devils were tricking the magicians into believing they were performing good acts. The magician was in fact following the will of Satan. Klaits and Bernardino use this

example: if I conjure a demon and ‘convince’ it to cure someone, the demon may cure the person, but only because healing will convinces more people of the existence and power of beneficent magic.

The reality is, it convinces more people to practise or accept magic, which is sinful since it is caused by demons.

The problem of Skepticism: how do I know that I am not being deceived by the demon?


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The Object of Harm Traditionally, the harm done by witchcraft or magic was physical harm: destruction

of property, loss of life, disease, etc But, the association of witchcraft with heresy altered the kind of harm done. It became primarily spiritual harm. Note that, in Bernardino, the main kind of harm he talks about is the deception. Why

is this harmful? Return to Augustine. The harm is not physical. It is spiritual harm. The promotion of magic leads to more people being tricked that doing magic is doing good, when doing magic is, in fact, doing Satan’s work.

So Bernardino claims that God will first punish the conjurers. And then he will punish those who did nothing to do away with them.

Chemlsford Confessions in 1566 1st punishments and executions for witchcraft in England. Question: Why did they confess freely? Fear of torture? Did the women come to see themselves as witches, as the prosecutor and accusers

described her? Did the accused actually believe she possessed traits and powers of witches before

being brought to trial? Other resources: Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by Zimbardo, on the influence of social structures and roles on human interaction. See link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=677084988379129606

Phil 2006: Pacting with the Devil Sean Coughlin Thursday, 29 September, 2011

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29 September (Thurs.), 2011 Pacting with the Devil Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [K] Chapter 2 (continued) [KP 18] Pope Gregory IX, Vox in Rama (1233) [KP 21] Pope John XXIII, “Sorcery and the Inquisitors” (1326) [KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.189-193 Next Time: [K] Chapter 3 [KP 28] Errores Gazariorum (1437) [KP 29] Tholosan, Ut magorum et maleficiorum errores (1436-37); [KP 30] Le Franc, The Defender of Ladies (1440) Lecture Goal for today: 1. What reasons does Klaits give for the association of heresy and pacting with demons? 2. Historically, what was thought to constitute a demonic pact? 3. How did the authorities justify their belief in demonic pacts? Who or what is a demon? Satan, according to Klaits, became the personification of evil. The name means ‘adversary’, but Satan became cast as the opposite of Christ in a

struggle over the souls of humans in creation. Satan was expelled from heaven with 1/3 of the angels for pride. They were cast out of heaven and left to exist in the air. But, by the middle ages, they became imagined as tempters of bodies and souls. Convinced good Christians into renouncing their allegiance to God. These demons also would mate with humans. They could possess the body and cause it to sin uncontrollably. There had been no sense that demons need humans to do harm to this point. Demons and their Instruments


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Why did beliefs about demon’s ability to do evil without human aid change? Klaits: Inquisition Legal Aside Two kinds of legal systems:

o Inquisitorial o Adversarial

Adversarial o In the adversarial system, the court acts as an impartial referee between two

groups, a plaintiff or prosecutor who makes an accusation, and a defendant who is accused.

o The judge attempts to ascertain the truth of the case by determining who has made the best case.

o Each case is made, witnesses can be called, witnesses can be cross-examined. Problems: penalties if you didn’t prove your case: plaintiff could be found guilty of

bringing up false cases; harsh punishment; people reluctant to bring up charges. Inquisitorial

o In the inquisitorial system, the court actively investigates the case. o The judge attempts to ascertain the truth of the case by asking all questions,

investigating witnesses, gathering facts and searching for evidence. o Ideally, the judge will impartially look for both incriminating and exculpatory

evidence. o In this system, people could make accusations in secret and a person could be

held for an indefinite amount of time before a trial. o There was no cross-examination of witnesses; no confronting the person

making accusations. o Finally, the Roman practice of torture was adopted to elicit confessions.

What Happened: Inquisition began around 1250 CE as a response to Catharism Pre-existing ideas of heresy conditioned the interrogation of suspects. Torture and

leading questions confirmed their assumptions. So, the idea of devil-worshipping heretics was ingrained in 15th C European authorities.

Gregory IX: Vox in Rama Background Title comes from the beginning of the decretal: Jeremiah 31:15 : “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel

weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.”


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It is a decretal letter addressed to archbishop of Mainz, the bishop of Hildesheim, and Conrad of Marburg, a priest responsible for finding heretics in his archdiocese. Information about heretics likely came from Conrad.

Decretal letter is a letter written by a Pope, either in response to a question or of his own initiative. It is a legal document. The views in the letter often become part of ecclesiastical law.

“Decretum” means “decision” and it is a letter containing the Pope’s decision concerning a situation whose course of action is ambiguous.

Formed a precedent. What the Pope decided became the procedure to which everyone in the church had to conform.

Gregory the IX was Pope at the height of the Church’s power in the middle ages. He had ordered all the decretals to be collated (by his chaplain, St. Raymond of Pennafort) into one canonical collection. In doing this, the Pope emphasized the Universal power of the church over all.

They formed the basis of Canon Law – the system of laws that governed the practices and procedures of the church, as opposed to the civil authorities.

Papal acceptance of other’s views on heretical practice. Pact with the Devil Demonization of heretics: The description of heretical behaviour in terms that would

later became attributed to diabolical sorcery The Initiation Procedure:

o A frog or toad appears o Some kiss its behind; others kiss its mouth o The tongue and the saliva get into the initiates’ mouths. o Size of the toad: large! Sometimes, it’s the size of a duck. Sometimes as big as

an oven. o After: met by a very pale, thin man. Black eyes. Wasted skin drawn over

bone. o Novice kisses the man, feels cold as ice, and the memory of catholic faith

disappears from his heart. o They sit down to a meal, and when they arise, a black cat the size of a dog

descends backwards with its tail erect from a statue. o First the novice, then the master, then everyone else kiss the cat’s rear. The

imperfect receive a satanic blessing. o ‘Forgive us’ says the master. The next one repeats. The third says ‘we know

master’ and a fourth says ‘and we must obey’ o They blow out the candles. o Engage in orgy:

Incest Homosexual sex ‘contrary to nature’

o Candles re-lit o Each takes their place o A man emerges with the lower body of a cat, upper body gleaming with light.


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o The master gives the demon a piece of the novice’s clothing. The demon

accepts and disappears. o They take the Eucharist at Easter and throw it into a latrine. o They blaspheme against the lord; worship Satan as creator; believe he will

return to glory; will gain eternal happiness from him; do everything god hates knowingly.

John XXIII: Sorcery and the Inquisitors [Aside – not in lecture: you may wish to look up the Wikipedia on the Avignon papacy to get some background about what was happening in the Church at this time] Pope John XXIII had an attempt made on his life by poison and sorcery. He also tried

to restore the power of the church that had been lost due to political strife and internal conflict.

Contents: Many Christians sacrifice to demons, adore them, or have made images, rings,

mirrors, phials, etc. for magic, and bind themselves to demons. They ask for aid from them to fulfill their desires. “Ally with death and make a pact with hell” Rising danger: growing stronger and increasingly serious His letter is a “warn[ing] in perpetuity” Practice of sorcery is forbidden, because it implies a pact with the devil Punishment: excommunication. This is the greatest penalty the church can give. It is meant to deter further acts; and meant to convince the excommunicated to return

to the church. If they do not repent, they are suspected of heresy. Kramer and Sprenger Malleus Maleficarum, part II, question I, chapter 2 Kinds of Witches:1

1. Those who can injure but not cure 2. Those who can cure but not injure 3. Those who can do both

A class of witches in (1) are über-witches These can do everything the other witches can do. They can do this because they eat children. Where do Kramer and Sprenger get their information? Nider, who wrote Formicarius or “The Ant Colony”

o The title is a metaphor: an harmonious society. 1 First appears in Part I, Q IX


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Inquisitor of Como, in Lombardy and Austria Method of Profession:

1. Solemn Ceremony 2. Private

1. Like in Gregory IX But note now the emphasis on she (!)

1st part: reject the Christian faith 2nd part: give herself to Satan, body and soul, forever, and bring others to him 3rd part: make unguents from the limbs of children for use in magic Questions to keep in Mind What kind of testimony do we accept? On what grounds do we decide what is good and bad testimony? What constitutes reliable testimony? What constitutes unreliable testimony? Examples: state of mind (e.g. being drunk); character (e.g. have they perjured

themselves in the past?) Origins of Pact / Sabbat Imagery Roman Characterization of Early Christians Octavius. likely by Minucius Felix (~160-250CE):

And now, as wickeder things advance more fruitfully, and abandoned manners creep on day by day, those abominable shrines of an impious assembly are maturing themselves throughout the whole world. Assuredly this confederacy ought to be rooted out and execrated. They know one another by secret marks and insignia, and they love one another almost before they know one another; everywhere also there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust, and they call one another promiscuously brothers and sisters, that even a not unusual debauchery may by the intervention of that sacred name become incestuous: it is thus that their vain and senseless superstition glories in crimes.

Nor, concerning these things, would intelligent report speak of things so great and various, and requiring to be prefaced by an apology, unless truth were at the bottom of it. I hear that they adore the head of an ass, that basest of creatures, consecrated by I know not what silly persuasion, a worthy and appropriate religion for such manners. Some say that they worship the genitals of their pontiff and priest, and adore the nature, as it were, of their common parent. I know not whether these things are false; certainly suspicion is applicable to secret and nocturnal rites; and he who explains their ceremonies by reference to a man punished by extreme suffering for his wickedness, and to the deadly wood of the cross, appropriates fitting altars for reprobate and wicked men, that they may worship what they deserve.


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Now the story about the initiation of young novices is as much to be detested as it is well known. An infant covered over with meal, that it may deceive the unwary, is placed before him who is to be stained with their rites: this infant is slain by the young pupil, who has been urged on as if to harmless blows on the surface of the meal, with dark and secret wounds. Thirstily - O horror! they lick up its blood; eagerly they divide its limbs. By this victim they are pledged together; with this consciousness of wickedness they are covenanted to mutual silence.

Phil 2006: Witches’ Sabbats Sean Coughlin October 4, 2011

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October 4, 2011 Witches’ Sabbats Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [K] Chapter 3 [KP 28] Errores Gazariorum (1437) [KP 29] Tholosan, Ut magorum et maleficiorum errores (1436-37); [KP 30] Le Franc, The Defender of Ladies (1440) Next Time: [K] Chapter 3 (continued) [KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.180-188 [KP 52] The Trial of Marie Cornu (1611) Lecture Errores Gazariorum Anonymous 1437 “On the Errors of the Cathars” Catharism Cathars were a sect in 12th and 13th century france. Name means “pure” Abstained from sexual intercourse and reproduction, did not take oaths, did not eat

meat. They believed this world was created by a lesser deity, namely Satan, though similar

to the demiurge from Plato’s Timaeus. They thought there was a divine spark in us, but that it had become trapped in the material body of this world. The goal of life was to be liberated from this material prison and return to God. This was a long struggle accomplished after many re-incarnations.

Pope Innocent III could not convert the Cathars, who had taken over Toulouse by this point, and most of Languedoc. The Pope sent a legate, who was killed on his return to Rome, and so Rome sent a crusade against the Cathars – the Albigensian crusade. Lands owned by southern Cathari could be confiscated by northern nobles.


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One particularly cruel Baron – Simon de Montfort The massacre at Beziers: crusade approached and told catholics to leave. Many stayed

to fight along with the Cathars. Ordered the eyes of 100 prisoners to be gouged out, and their noses and lips cut off. Led back to Beziers by prisoner with one remaining eye. The army, infuriated, attempted a sortie, but was defeated and pushed back my Montfort, and the crusaders managed to get into the city walls. His commander asked how they could tell the Catholics from the Cathars. Montfort’s response: “Kill them all. God will know which ones are his.” Likely around 5-7000 were murdered in one church. Thousands others were mutilated and killed. The commander wrote to the pope “Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex.”

The Cathars continued to hide in the mountains. The Inquisition then began to root them out. They would be burned or hanged if they didn’t recant their beliefs. Finally, at Montsegur, a few hundred of the last priests were put onto a pyre and burned en masse.

The Stages in the Sabbat according to Anonymous

1. ‘Seduction’ – and flight to the synagogue 2. Oath:

a. Swears fidelity b. Swears he will assemble c. Secrecy d. Kill children under three and bring them e. Will hurry to the synagogue whenever called f. Impede sexual intercourse through magic (sortilegia [the practice of

casting lots to determine the future – became a term synonymous with incantationes] and maleficia)

g. Avenge acts against the sect 3. Kisses the devil’s anus 4. Dine on children 5. Meslets = ‘melez’, i.e., mingle 6. Turn upside down the natural order 7. Use unguent made from the fat of small children to fly 8. While flying, they will disperse poison in the air to kill or cause disease

a. Explains why there is greater disease or storms 9. Kill red heads with poison to produce stronger more distilled poison 10. In groups, the strongest will take ice from mountains and cause it to fall as hail 11. Reasons for joining a diabolical sect:

a. Those who cannot live with others for whatever reason, seek vengeance with the aid of the devil

b. Those who want to secure personal wealth c. Those who are particularly sexual

12. Kill children by night, mourn at the funeral, and rob the grave the next night Ut magorum et maleficorum errores Claude Tholosan, 1436/7


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“On the Errors of Magicians and Evil-doers” Tholosan was not a church authority, but secular magistrate Had a degree in civil Law Canon vs. civil law Tholosan believes demonic transport is illusory Note these articles: 3. Reversal of natural order

o Instead of drinking blood of Christ, they drink the piss of Satan 6. “[T]hey imagine in dreams that they travel bodily at night, most often on

Thursdays and Sundays, in the company of the devil, in order to suffocate children and strike them with sickness.”

8. Sexual magic; Use of Eucharist for evil 12. “All the above things I myself have heard from witches…” 13. Secular responsibility to root out evil (!) The Defender of Ladies Martin Le Franc, 1440 Adversary: “It’s true. I’ve heard it. I believe it, that not just two or three old women, but more

than three thousand, go together to hidden places to seek out their familiar demons.” (p.167-8)

Do outcomes of trials determine truth? “I’ve seen a written trial record where an old woman confessed how…” (168)

o Lived with abundance at the Sabbat o Devil punished those who wanted to repent; gives all to those who consent to

the devil o Sex – either with a man or with a Devil o Returned home on a broomstic

Again: Sex magic Weather magic Confessed witch implicates others: “I’ve seen Sohier and Quotin dancing and leading

the festivities” Defender: “There’s no old woman so stupid who’s done even the least of these things. But in order to have her hanged or burned, the enemy of humankind, who knows well how to set traps to make the mind deceive itself, has made her mind fool itself. There are no broomsticks


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or rods by which anyone could fly. But when the devil can fool the mind, they think they fly to some far place where they take their pleasure and do whatever they wish.”

Phil 2006: Women in the Malleus Maleficarum Sean Coughlin October 6, 2011

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Thursday, October 6, 2011 Women in the Malleus Maleficarum Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [KP 34] Kramer, The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), pp.180-188 Next Time: [K] Ch. 3 (continued) [KP 52] The Trial of Marie Cornu (1611) Lecture Medieval Sources of Evidence Mediaeval philosophy generally accepts three sources of evidence:

Experience o (observational experiences)

“Authority” o (accepted books and philosophers)

The Bible o (revealed truths)

An example of Authority: Saint John Chrysostum (347-407) Patriarch of Constantinople

o “It is not good to marry: what else is woman but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colours?”

Malleus Maleficarum Part I, Question VI – Concerning Witches who copulate with the Devil…


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The Question: Why it is that Women are chiefly addicted to Evil Superstitions?

o There are three ‘articulae’ (articles) in this question. We will look at the first only. o A1: Why Superstition is chiefly found in Women o A2: What sort of Women are found to be above all Others Superstitious and

Witches o A3: Specifically with regard to midwives, who surpass all others in

wickedness. Kramer and Sprenger’s Sources “For some learned men propound this reason…” (p.181) “Others again have propounded other reasons…” (p.183) “There are also others who bring forward yet other reasons…” (p.184) Appeals to Authority The First Group of ‘Learned Men’: Three things in nature which know no moderation in goodness or vice. (p.181)

o The Tongue o The Ecclesiastic o The Woman

When they’re good, they’re really good. When they’re bad, they’re vicious. There is no mean between complete virtue and vice among any of these groups.

Second Group of ‘Learned Men’ Say: Women are more credulous (p.183) Women are naturally more impressionable (p.183) Women “have slippery tongues, and are unable to conceal things which by evil arts

they know; and, since they are weak, they find an easy and secret manner of vindicating themselves by witchcraft. (p.183-4)

These traits of women are universal. They apply to all women. K&S also manage to harmonize the first group, who claim women are either always

good or bad, with this group o “When they use [the quality of being impressionable] well they are very good,

but when they use it ill they are very evil. They provide no argument for this claim. Rather, these claims are being used as

authoritative, i.e., as true. Third Group of ‘Learned Men’: Nature of the First Temptress (p.184) Women are Feebler in Mind Women are Feebler in Body “Since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should

come more under the spell of witchcraft” (p.184)


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o This resembles something more of an argument, although it is elliptical. I.e., it works only if certain unstated premises are assumed, i.e., feeble minds are more likely to come under the influence of a spell or demon.

“Women are intellectually like children” (p.184) Preliminary Conclusion: “Therefore, a wicked woman is by her nature quicker to waver in her faith, and

consequently to abjure the faith, which is the root of witchcraft.” (p.185) What else do K&S Use to reach this Conclusion? “Observable” …”Evidence” --- Psychological Generalization of Gender: (p.184-188) Willfulness Capacity for hatred Prone to wrath Desirous of adultery Jealous Trouble-Making Contrary, prone to argument Inordinately prone to passions Poor memory, thus undisciplined Domineering, etc. Observable Natural Qualities of Women Prone to carnal desires (p.184) The Voice, by nature a liar (p.187) The Gait, Posture, and Habit, by the body she is prone to vanity (p.187) What are K&S doing? They are describing characteristics that are inherently oriented towards vice, and

associating those characteristics with women – specifically with their nature. Conclusion “To conclude. All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.

See Proverbs XXX: There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, a fourth thing which says not, It is enough; that is, the mouth of the womb.

“Wherefore, for the sake of fulfilling their lusts they [women] consort even with devils...”

Proverbs XXX, 15-16 "There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!': the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, 'Enough!'

Phil 2006: Witchcraft and Women Sean Coughlin October 11, 2011

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October 11, 2011 Women, Witchcraft and the 16th Century Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [K] Chapter 3 (continued) [KP 52] The Trial of Marie Cornu (1611) Next Time: No reading Lecture Trial of Marie Cornu “This is a criminal trial…” Marie Cornu, known as “the Redhead” in the small town she was from, was an unfortunate woman living in the Spanish Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th Century. She was accused of being a sorciere, a witch, and eventually confessed to it. She confessed that she had renounced the Christian God and had given herself to Satan. She confessed to harming her neighbours and their property, to killing her three husbands, and even to killing and devouring her own children. For her crimes, she was sentenced to death by strangling, freeing her soul to be judged by God, while her body was consigned to the purifying flames. There are at least two kinds of broad historical questions we might ask here about the account of this trial. We could ask, “what were the kinds of accusations made against Marie, and what does this tell us about 17th Century attitudes towards women?” This is the question we are going to look at today in light of Klaits’ analysis of the witchhunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. There is, however, another kind of historical question we can ask: what does the court document tell us about the kind of life Marie must have lived? In other words, what was life like for a “child of misery”, a poor and disenfranchised woman, in 17th Century Europe. Ignoring for a minute the accusations and confessions of witchcraft, let’s look at what the court document tells us about the life of Marie Cornu.


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The Life of Marie Cornu Marie was likely in her 40s when she was executed. In her life, she was wedded three times. She probably would have been married the first time in her late teens or early 20s, likely not much older or younger than many of you. Her first husband was probably a bit older and he had been married before. Marie confesses that he paid more attention to his daughter from that first marriage than to her, although we are left wondering what kind of attention she means – whether he cared for his daughter more than he cared for Marie and her children, or whether Marie is telling us that her husband sexually abused her. Marie confesses to having killed her husband with a gray potion the devil had given her. She says she added it to a custard tart which she then gave to him to eat. Her second husband, Pierre Hélo, was also abusive. Marie tells the court that Pierre ‘treated her daughter’ badly. This daughter Marie had with her first husband, but it isn’t clear whether Marie means her second husband was sexually abusive or physically abusive, or simply not accepting of her child by another man. Why did she marry another husband she didn’t like? Recall, that a woman could not own property, could not hope to work to support herself and her children, could not hope to survive without a husband. For a woman like Marie Cornu, marriage meant survival and life for her children, more than it meant safety and love and happiness. She also confesses to having killed Pierre with the devil’s poison. Her third husband, Quintin de Ligny, was not much better than the first two. Marie tells us that he was always scolding her. For this constant scolding, she confesses to having killed this husband as well, again using the same powder from Satan. We can’t tell from the text whether the kind of scolding to which she was subject was simply a nagging annoyance, or whether, when she says he was always scolding her, she was being beaten. However, we might lean towards the second alternative, since it seems she accepted the torture and punishment of the Spanish court rather than marrying again. Marie didn’t want to marry these men. She wanted to marry a man named Adrien Leurin. She couldn’t marry him, though, since he was having a daughter with someone else. We can imagine how this story goes: Adrien had promised to marry Marie, and as she was dreaming about her future life with him as her husband, he tells there will be no marriage. Adrien, she finds out, had been with someone else, and that woman is now expecting a child. Angry at the child that prevented her marriage, she confessed to poisoning her when she grew up with the same devil’s potion, this time not causing death, but causing her nose to fall off from her face. Married to men who had promised her a better life, abused at home, poor, Marie worked as a servant in someone else’s house. Even there she found no joy. She was mocked by the children of the house (so she confessed to having caused one of the children to become lame). She could not always afford food, and when she asked her neighbours, they refused her (so she confessed to killing the cow of one of them, in fact, of the husband who married Adrien’s daughter).


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In that time, she lost two of her children, both from her first husband. And having lost her children, she was forced in front of a court, in one way or another, to admit that she not only killed them, but that she had promised one of them to Satan. The same mother who confessed to killing her second husband because he mistreated her daughter, this mother now claims that she promised one of her children to eternal punishment and torture in hell, that she dug up its body, ate its cold and bloody heart, and used it to make more vile potions to cause more misery. This, then, is the kind of life Marie Cornu lived. As a poor woman, she couldn’t be without a husband and survive. The men she married were abusive, she dreamed of a life with a man who abandoned her, and she was angry at her lot. And for this, she was strangled and burned at the stake. It is a sad irony that those who are most often subjected to the abuse of poverty are often those whom society is most likely to itself abuse and punish. Consider that, now, in the United States, Blacks and Hispanics have a poverty rate of around 27%. That means that more than one in four of these groups live in poverty. Compare that to Whites, whose poverty rate is around one in ten. Now, consider incarceration rates: the likelihood of a Black male going to prison is between 15 and 30%; a Hispanic male, between 9 and 15%; for a White male, between 2 and 4%. We find the same relationship between poverty and punishment in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Although, the causal connection between poverty and oppression is made all the more glaring since there is no way a woman like Marie Cornu could have done the things she was accused or confessed of doing. Certainly, it is possible that she killed her husbands, mutilated her neighbours, and ate her children. It is even possible that she renounced God. But it is certainly beyond the realm of reasonable belief, at least for me, to think that she attended witches’ sabbats where she was sodomized by Satan who appeared as a great he-goat. But these sexual crimes of an incredibly unlikely nature were the crimes for which she was primarily accused. It was Marie’s association, her primarily carnal association, with the devil for which she was executed. The belief in maleficia is as old as history. But, it is the association of witchcraft with women through an association sexual depravity that we are going to look at today. So let’s turn to see how these associations develop in the 16th century. Women and Witchcraft The document of the trial of Marie Cornu is exceptional in its detail. It has all of the hallmarks of a late 16th or 17th century witchtrial. There is the traditional accusation of maleficia – harming of others with magic by means of demonic aid. We also see the sprinkled in it the traditional views of misogyny – views we’re now familiar with from the Malleus Maleficarum. Women are carnally insatiable, and their desire for sex leads them ultimately to Satan. Also included are descriptions of acts renouncing God and the Church, of giving herself to the devil, of having the witch’s mark, and of engaging in counter-natural acts of sodomy with Satan, who took the form of a giant he-goat. But, also included in the record are detailed descriptions of her participation in Witches’ sabbats, something Kramer and Sprenger never mention. Why did these associations of women become the standard kinds of accusations we find at this time? And why do we find these associations emphasized when the witchhunts begin to spread and grow into the witchcraze that would last from 1550-1700?


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After the Malleus Maleficarum was first issued, there was a lull in witch hunting. From around 1500-1550, there are very few records of witch trials. In a sense, the Malleus Maleficarum represents the end of one era of witch hunts. It is not a novel work. It is, instead, a synthesis of old views on witchcraft, on maleficia and devil worship, that represents the culmination of centuries of association of sorcery with heresy. Its novelty, if anything, rests on its emphasis on women as the primary enemy of the Church. It comes, then, at the end of one way of looking at magic in the world and at the same time influences views on witchcraft that were to come. But, if we are to understand changing views of women are reflected in the witchcraze, it’s not enough to simply point to the misogyny of the Malleus Maleficarum, and the old views it represents. Something else must have happened. This is why Klaits’ begins the chapter with the following questions: “Why did the number of witch trials in Western Europe increase greatly after about 1550?” and “Why did the crime of witchcraft, familiar for centuries, suddenly appear so much more menacing that thousands of trials unfolded between 1550 and 1700, whereas only a few hundred seem to have occurred earlier” (p.48)? Klaits Thesis Klaits’ thesis is that attitudes toward sexuality are one variable between the early witch hunts and the later witchcraze. He claims that “changes in sexual attitudes can help explain both the metamorphosizing definitions of witchcraft and the role of reforming religious ideologies in creating the environment in which witch hunting flourished” (p.49). What Klaits’ points out, however, is that the intersection of the elite views of witchcraft with the common or folk beliefs about witchcraft were quite different. Folk beliefs of witchcraft included only sorcery. And the elites grafted the views of devil worship onto them. So we have to take into account this intellectual history to understand how a single view of witchcraft and the associated stereotypes about women developed into a mass persecution. As Klaits says: “the witch craze has often been described as one of the most terrible instances of man’s inhumanity to man. But more accurate is a formulation by gender, not genus: ‘witch trials exemplify men’s inhumanity to women’” (p.51). So, we have two competing definitions, those among the elites and those among the common folk. Let’s first look at the characterization among the elites. Ideas of Witchcraft among the Religious Elite (p.52ff) First evolution in the concept of witchcraft Klaits identifies, following other historians, an evolution in the concept of witchcraft among the elites. First, around the start of the 15th century, the meaning of witchcraft changes from the meaning of sorcery to that of diabolism. In the old sense of witchcraft, it was synonymous with “sorcery” or maleficent magic. This included acts of harm done through potions or charms, through the use of magic and occult forces. By the 15th century, however, this view of witchcraft was synthesized with diabolism. The powers of


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the witch were thought to come, not from the witch. Witches were simply not knowledgeable enough to exercise such magic. Demons, however, had such powers. So, the witch must have been a worshipper of the devil and her magic must have been worked through him. This was a result, recall, of the learned elite’s encounters with country-folk at the beginning of the inquisition and crusade against the Waldensians and the Albigensians (recall Brauner and Klaits’ chapter two). The elite class, then, had their own view of witchcraft, which was the view that witchcraft involved demons and devil worship as much as it involved sorcery. The witch, then, was no longer merely a worker of malefice. She was now thought to be a servant of the devil and her powers were a manifestation of abilities granted to her by Satan. Second evolution in the concept of withcraft Klaits continues his analysis into the 16th Century. He claims that from 1550s onward, witches were identified as Satan’s sexual slaves as well. From this point on, sexual abuse became a normal part of the indictment of witchcraft. The abuse was normal in two ways: on the one hand, there was the elite’s belief that witches were sexual deviants; on the other hand, women accused of witchcraft were sexually abused by the courts at the time. They were stripped, humiliated, examined and prodded in an effort to determine the physical signs of witchcraft on their bodies. Their allegiance to Satan was written on their flesh in the form of the devil’s mark. To put it simply, in the elite consciousness, the new charge of devil worship overlay the older charge of sorcery. Sexuality was the unifying component in the new, broad understanding of witchcraft. Sexuality and sensuality, in turn, were gendered concepts typically associated with the female. Klaits’ Evidence We can see evidence of this new association of witchcraft with female sexuality if we look at the proportion of women charged at each stage of the evolution of the concept of witchcraft. Before 1400, when witchcraft meant sorcery, women accounted for roughly half of those accused. By 1400, when the charge of diabolism was added, the number of women charged increased to 60-70%. By the height of the witch craze, women accounted for between 80 and 90 % of those charged. (p.52) Of course, it wasn’t only gender. Class also played a large role. Geneva was a relatively liberal city for the time. But, as Klaits points out even Geneva wasn’t immune to the witchcraze. There, 20% of the population lived as peasants in areas around the town. These were Geneva’s poor. However, these peasants accounted for 50% of those accused of witchcraft. As Klaits says, “That an urban, reformed patriciate regularly subjected country women to the rape-like humiliation of the search for the devil’s mark is an indicator of elite suspicions about rural sexual habits and of the dehumanizing consequences that such suspicions could produce, even among relatively careful and lenient judges” p.56 Klaits, then, has shown evidence correlating the victims of the 16th and 17th century witchcraze with a particular gender and socio-economic class. The evidence used to


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identify and persecute these victims was a kind of legal horror. During the witchcraze, in their search for evidence of witchcraft, women were routinely subjected to being stripped and shaved. This was done to meticulously look for evidence of the devil’s mark on her body, or the witch’s tit. Women would undergo repeated searches for this mark if it couldn’t be found the first time. Authorities also associated the devil’s mark with women’s genitals, resulting in genital torture. As one handbook points out, “these devil’s marks be often in women’s secretest parts, they therefore require diligent and careful search” (p.57). According to one critic of the witch hunts cited by Klaits, these witch hunters and examiners would often confuse common parts of female sexual anatomy with the marks of Satan, leading him to exclaim ‘if this was a sign of witchcraft, many women would be witches’ (p.57). Klaits mentions these activities in trials to show the changing attitudes of the elites towards witchcraft, from a crime of malefice to a crime of sexual subservience to Satan. He points to, on p.57, a change in the German law. In the 1530s, the Carolina (the imperial law code) stated one was to punish a witch more severely if she could be shown to have caused malefice to her neighbours. But by 1570, the new Saxon criminal code mandated death for any dealing with the devil, regardless of whether or not the accused had caused harm by sorcery. The real root of the crime, then, was the witch’s allegiance to Satan. And the crime developed a much stronger link to the feminine gender. Witches were no longer male figures who knew the dangerous science of natural magic. They were poor women, a class of people morally weaker than men due to their excessive carnality and sexuality, and they were therefore more likely to succumb to satanic temptation. Witchcraft in this sense became, as a result, nearly exclusively a female crime. Men accused of witchcraft were rarely if ever accused of a sexual relationship with the devil. Rather, they were accused of satanic worship or sorcery (p.56-59). Satan and Spiritual Reform So, why did this happen? Klaits believes that this was the result of tensions rising from the first era of real religious conflict within Europe, one which caused a proportional increase in paranoia and hatred. This religious hatred was eventually given an object, a real shape, in the form of female heretics. During the period before the witch hunts, Europe underwent a great transformation. Three major reformation movements grew and spread throughout the continent and England. This is known simply as the Reformation. It began on Halloween, Oct 31st, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses onto the door of the Palast Church in Wittenburg, Germany. In 1536, another movement, started by Calvin, claimed that salvation from god comes only through God’s grace, and that this salvation was predestined. You were either damned or you were saved. And in England, Henry the VIII abandoned the church so that he could divorce his wife, Catharine of Aragon, in order to marry his now-pregnant courtier, Anne Boleyn.


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These movements led to a renewed emphasis on evangelism. Missionary were sent out by reformers to bring the new spiritual reforms to all levels of European society, from the ruling elites to the common peasants. These new ideologies of the religious elite came to be a potent political and social force. By converting both elites and lower social groups, the reformers were able to convince all levels of society to adopt a new religious identity, one controlled by the leaders of the reform movements. The reformation era was responsible, then, for an upsurge in spirituality. It was marked by an attempt to “Christianize” the daily lives of people across Europe. Furthermore, there were persecuted minorities resorting to secret religious services, and this added fuel to the fires. Like the heresies of the late middle ages, new religious groups meeting in secret to avoid persecution were easily assimilated to the trope of witches’ sabbats, secret meeting with the devil. Finally, there was also an upsurge in the belief in the Devil and a concern for his activities in the world. It was, according to Klaits, a kind of psychological necessity for many people. Both the major movements in Europe, Catholicism and Protestantism, encouraged intensely introspective habits and a preoccupation with sin, with acting against God. This preoccupation among the people heightened their feelings of inadequacy and moral responsibility. And this preoccupation with sin led to scapegoating. As Klaits says on p. 61, the result of this heightened feeling of inadequacy was the creation of a “powerful psyschological pressure to project the resulting guilt feelings onto an external personage, the devil, if not onto the devil’s human servant, a witch. Meanwhile, the Reformation era’s political and social upheavals seemed clear proof of Satan’s increased activity. Rival groups regularly case their enemies as representatives of the devil, just as they viewed themselves as fighters on the side of God.” Elite Beliefs and Common Folk Klaits uses the example of peasants in Brittany to describe the ‘Christianization’ of peasants. The Breton peasants believed that buckwheat (a dietary staple) was created by Satan, not God. These peasants, to pacify the devil, offered thanksgiving to him for a good buckwheat crop. This, however, disturbed the missionaries who first came across them. To the missionaries, these acts of sacrifice to Satan seemed to be a form of ‘manicheanism’, or dualism – a kind of Heresy. (p.62) Klaits goes into another example in detail. The Benandanti (literally, the people who go out to do good) were a group of Italian peasants from the Friuli region northeast of Venice. The role of this group was to protect crops against the depredations of witches. In eyes of community, these individuals had magical powers because they were born with part of amniotic sac around their heads. Throughout their lives, they carried a part of this sack as an amulet to ward off the Devil’s servants. Folk-beliefs had the benandanti entering into a trance-like state, and going out in spirit on first night of each season of the year to do battle against demonic witches. Success in this battle ensured a good harvest.


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When the Inquisition came to the benandanti, they were convinced these ‘do gooders’ must be using witchcraft. In time, the people of Friuli came to believe this as well. By stages, they were convinced of the new spiritual order where even ‘beneficent magic’ was heretical. Not only the common people, but the benandanti themselves came to believe this. They eventually abandoned opinion that they were doing good: by the 1630s, some of the benandanti came to admit that they had attended sabbats, a belief nowhere present before the inquisition; by the 1650s, they regularly confessed to full-scale participation in devil worship. Folklore, then, became ‘christianized’, became assimilated to the cultural values of the elite. The practitioners of ‘white magic’ became seen – and came to see themselves – as servants of the devil due to the influence of missionaries and evangelicals. They were even convinced of their own criminality. This continued to happen all over Europe throughout the 16th century. Ironically, these magical forces had been believed to be the only powers the folk had to ward of evil in a cruel world. Once the religious institutions had done away with these ‘powers’, a new way had to be found to protect against evil. Paradoxically, Klaits says, the authorities’ campaigns against the good magicians perhaps encouraged the growing witch hunts. If protection from magicians was something these authorities denied the folk, then a new technique to ward of evil was needed. And this is precisely what the people found in the machinery of the witch trial.

Phil 2006: Beliefs about Women Sean Coughlin October 13, 2011

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October 13, 2011 Beliefs about Women Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [K] Chapter 3 Next Time: Easlea, “The Existence of Witches” Lecture Recap Marie Cornu Primary accusation was her association with Satan. This association was

primarily sexual. This is a step towards answering Klaits’ question:

o “Why did the crime of witchcraft, familiar for centuries, suddenly appear so much more menacing that thousands of trials unfolded between 1550 and 1700, whereas only a few hundred seem to have occurred earlier” (p.48)?

Klaits’ Thesis: Attitudes toward sexuality are one variable between the early witch hunts and the

later witchcraze. “changes in sexual attitudes can help explain both the metamorphosizing

definitions of witchcraft and the role of reforming religious ideologies in creating the environment in which witch hunting flourished” (p.49).

One variable: Klaits is taking issue with two previous analyses of witchcraft Kieckhefer’s “internalist” approach: the rise of the witch hunts can be explained by

a change in the common understanding or definition of witchcraft. o The meaning of “witchcraft” changed from something roughly synonymous

with “sorcery” to something that implied a pact with the Devil. o Problems: Ignores the role of social changes in the escalation of the witch

hunts in the 1550s. Fails to explain the rise in the witch hunts: the association of witchcraft with diabolism was already present in the late 15th Century.


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Trevor-Roper’s “externalist” analysis: the rise of the witch hunts can be explained by social change, namely the religious tensions brought on by the Reformation.

o Problems: This analysis ignores the changes in the definition of witchcraft, and so assumes the charges brought up in witch trials during the late middle ages were the same as charges brought against supposed witches in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Klaits’ Synthesis: changes in attitudes towards sexuality can explain both the changes in the definition of witchcraft and the social role of new evangelizing religious ideologies.

Klaits’ Evidence: By the 1550s, witches were seen primarily as the sexual servants of the Devil The manner of prosecuting witches mainly involved testimony concerning

participation in Sabbats, sex with the devil, and giving Satan certain sexual tokens. Trials also involved searches for physical evidence of witchcraft: stripping and

shaving of the accused, looking for marks on women’s bodies (particularly on genitalia).

“Christianizing” of peasants by religious Reformers. Both Protestant and Catholics entered more remote regions of Europe Found practice of folk magic. Reformers were concerned about the presence and power of Satan in the world and

the cosmic conflict between good and evil Came at the folk beliefs from this worldview:

o Folk beliefs and practices were interpreted as signs of a new kind of witchcraft.

o The result: the assimilation of the common people to these new religious ideologies.

o Transference of elite ideas to the folk and elimination of traditional ways of encountering evil

o Folk came to believe that, to save themselves from evil, they must help in the extermination of witches from the earth.

Wrap-up Two factors led to the Witch Craze of 1550-1700:

o the change in the definition of witchcraft from simply sorcery to diabolism; o the impact of the new “Christianizing” ideologies of the Reformation on the

masses Why Women? This analysis is too general to explain why it was usually a woman who was identified

as the witch. Must look to the association of women and sexuality in Christian thought. Historical Christian Beliefs about Women Inheritance from Greek Philosophy: belief that humans are two natured:

o On the one hand, human beings are mortal creatures.


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Mortal means: material, sensible, able to be destroyed The mortal part of human nature is made up of the same kind of stuff

that everything in the sensible world is made up of We are composed of stuff, we can be decomposed, and this

decomposition is bodily death – the ceasing to exist of our mortal, material nature.

o On the other hand human beings have an immortal nature. In the Christian interpretation of Greek philosophy, there is a part of

us, specifically a part of our soul, that is immortal. This part is immaterial and unchanging, and it cannot be composed or

decomposed precisely because it is not material. (Question: why should the soul be immaterial?) The immaterial part of the soul is reason Reason makes us human, differentiates us from animals. To be human is to fully exercise our reason

o Threats to our immortal nature Pleasure derived from our senses for their own sake. Sin is when we pursue what feels good as opposed to what we have

learned through reason (or, in the case of the Christian religion, through God or Church Authorities).

In acting only according to our senses, we act contrary to what we are, namely, rational beings.

Conflicting Desires Some assumptions: assume that the desire to get drunk is a desire of the mortal,

sensual-pleasure seeking part of human nature; and assume that the rational nature of humans says that getting drunk is wrong.

Imagine also you want to get drunk. If you hold both of these beliefs, you have conflicting desires.

o One, a sensual desire to get drunk o Two, a rational desire to avoid getting drunk

If you have conflicting desires and act on the sensual ones, you suffer from weakness of will

Question: where do we place the blame for this moral weakness? o Ourselves o The drink

Why blame the drink? o There is a belief that the desire is bad o The moral evaluation of the desire is projected onto the object o If a desire is bad, then the corresponding object of my desire must be bad

Sexual Desire & Beliefs about Women Klaits thinks something analogous is going on in the case of women in Reform era

Christianity. There was a belief that sex is only for procreation, not pleasure. There was a belief that sensual desires for sex are bad or base.


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Consequently, the object of those desires must also be bad or base. Women, then, are inherently morally base because they arouse base desires in

heterosexual men. The blame for male sexual desire is placed on women. St. Jerome: women are “the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the

serpent, in a word, a perilous object” (p.67). John Chrysostom: the body of a beautiful woman “a white sepulcher”, i.e. a tomb,

death. Malleus Maleficarum: women are by nature filled with “insatiable carnal lust”. Kramer and Sprenger solidify the connection between women’s sexuality and

witchcraft, They are only able to do so because they found so many authorities who associated

women with moral depravity, evil and sin. Contemporary example: York police officer who told female university students “not to dress like sluts” if

they want to avoid being raped. This comment suggests a similar kind of reasoning to the kind we find in the 16th

Century o First, it suggests women are responsible for the actions of men in response to

men’s own sexual desire. o Second, it implies that, for a woman to be an idealized object of male sexual

desire, she must be somehow morally base, “a slut.” Back to Klaits Belief that women were morally inferior to men Stemmed from belief that women caused what base desires in men. Evidence for the social danger of women’s moral depravity

o Women have brought down great men or great civilizations o Evidence given in Malleus Maleficarum Part I, Q.6

Evidence for the physical danger of women’s moral depravity o Women are bad for male health. o Women are sexually insatiable. o Men are not o Based in beliefs about nutrition o Semen was thought to be the residue resulting from the last stage of digestion

It is leftover from the digested food that goes to replenish the whole body.

If a man exhausts himself of semen, the digested food that should go to replenishing tissues and fluids goes instead to semen production, causing weakness and illness.

The Social and Moral Order Argument in favour of male moral superiority

o Hierarchy formed the basis of all social institutions


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o Without the reason governing the hierarchy, the world, state or household would tend towards disorder and chaos.

o Women lack a true capacity for reason: they were only naturally able to follow orders.

o Men have a true capacity for reason. o Therefore, social structures must have men at the top as rulers, either in the

state or in the household o A woman on her own, unmarried, and without a household, was the very

image of social disorder – she is a woman who somehow wants to be a man. Religious Response to Women in Positions of Authority Some regions in Europe were women had more autonomy. Klaits points to the fishing villages in Basque country Men were absent for long periods of time Women were required to run household and community affairs. Evangelizers found such women in leadership roles, in religious, social, and

economic institutions. Evangelizers saw this as evidence of witchcraft! Women in unnatural social roles Secular Response to Women in Positions of Authority Klaits points out that the secular authorities, armed with new spiritual ideologies,

were some of the most active demonological writers and judges. New spiritual ideologies were imposed on peasants by the reformers’ campaigns

against folk religion, a new kind of misogyny was the result. Strict codes of law based on the moral pre-suppositions of the elite came to dominate

Reformation Europe. New laws included strict standards of sexual behaviour New laws imposed on the masses. Main Conclusion Sexual activities, and activities related to sex, became particularly repressed in these

new codes of morality. To be saved from sin, one had to overcome one’s mortal nature. Mortal nature was traditionally associated with sex, most particularly with women’s

sexuality. Antithesis of the new moral order taking shape was the image of the witch as a

woman with a sexual link to Satan. The new moral order came to be imposed by law on the folks being ‘Christianized’ Paranoia about sin, particularly the sin of male sexual/sensual desire, became

dominant in this new order Women became guilty-by-suspicion of threatening the social order with collapse. The witchcraze had begun. And the craze wouldn’t cease until 150 years late, in the 18th century.

Phil 2006: Witchcraft as Science Sean Coughlin October 18, 2011

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October 18, 2011 The Philosophy of Witchcraft – Witchcraft as Science Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Brian Easlea, “The Existence of Witches”. Chapter 1 in Witch Hunting, Magic

and the New Philosophy Next Time: Thomas Kuhn, “Revolutions as Changes of World View”. Chapter 10 in The

Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Mid-term Exam Study guide on WebCT Exam: Next Tuesday, 25 October, 1:30pm-2:20pm Lecture So far… The Questions we’ve been asking: Historical questions: “Why did the witch hunts begin”? “Why did the witch hunts escalate after 1550?” “What role did the reformation have on the witch hunts?” Psychological questions: “Why did individuals believe in witches?” “Why did some women confess to being witches?” “Why did people practice witchcraft?” Sociological Questions: “Why did witchcraft develop in society when it did?” “What was the social function of the witch?” “What changes in social structure occurred during the 16th Century?” Theological questions: “Why is there evil in the world if God is all good?” But, if we look at this list of questions, what kinds of questions have we not asked? Scientific Questions:


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“Why does an unguent prepared from the limbs of unbaptized infants and applied to broomsticks allow one to fly?”

“How do witches bring about tempests, crop failures, and disease?” “What are the symptoms of demonic possession and how is it best cured?” Philosophical Questions: “What were their reasons for believing in witchcraft, magic and demons?” “What did they think made up the world, and how did they claim to know this?” This is what we aim to study in the second part of the course: Metaphysics and Epistemology Metaphysics is the study of the kinds of things that exist in the world – and it is the study of existence itself. It asks questions like: “what is a cause?”; “what is an event?”; “what is time?”; “what are necessity and possibility?”. One branch of metaphysics is ontology. Ontology specifically looks at questions like “what things exist, in what sense do they exist?” Epistemology is the study of knowledge, of what it means to know something. It asks questions like: “what constitutes knowledge as opposed to other attitudes towards things?”; “what conditions must be met for something to count as knowledge?”; “what things do I know?”; “what are the limits to my knowledge?”. So, the first philosophical questions are these: “What did they think made up the world and how did they claim to know it”. We are not just looking for the stated reasons, but we must also reconstruct their assumptions both about the contents of the cosmos and as well as their methods of determining what was true or false about it. Take this example from David Wilcox cited in Klaits: “If a student suffering from tension and exhaustion goes to a twentieth-century doctor, he will most likely be advised to relax, take a vacation, get out in the country, perhaps have an affair. A fifteenth century magus would have hardly offered a different prescription, though the reasoning behind his suggested cure would be quite different. The magus would explain to the overworked student that his affliction was caused by the profound influence of Saturn, the planet associated both with intellectual activity and with melancholy. He should therefore avoid animal s, plants and people belonging to Saturn and instead surround himself with things belonging to the cheerful and life-giving heavenly bodies, which the sun, Jupiter, and Venus. Among things associated with these planets are gold, green, flowers like roses and crocuses, and of course love. Therefore, the patient should depart for the country to surround himself with green and flowers, take a vacation to spend some gold, and have an affair.” (p.33)


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Method: Bracket all your received knowledge, and ask ridiculous sounding questions as if

you were living in the 16th century. So the first task was to learn what it was like to live in the 16th century. We read the

history in order to understand to some extent the world they were living in, and the beliefs they held.

But now, we must also abandon everything we think we know, and take on their beliefs as if they were our own.

(Easlea provides an example of this) Purpose: We live in the 21st Century: what is the point of ignoring everything we know? One answer: we can learn something useful. Another answer: we can come to understand ourselves better.

o Go back, and understand the origins of our own beliefs o This is a platitude: I can know who I am without knowing anything about

my great grandmother. o So with alchemy and magic: I can understand chemistry perfectly well

without understanding alchemy and magic. Best answer: Were the reasons and arguments they gave good ones?

o This question is complicated: o What does it mean for a reason to be a good reason? o Given what they believed existed, and how they thought it was possible to

know, were their arguments good arguments? o This depends on what they thought knowledge aimed at: Truth? Practical

utility? Something else? o What were their methods? o One might think that all methods of arriving at truth are the same, but this

is not the fact. Phenomena > Explanation o There must have been other reasons for preferring one to the other

So, we need some method of our own to evaluate the claims and the reasons given. Otherwise, they are just so many facts with no explanation of how anyone arrived at them.

More fundamental philosophical question: What are our methods for arriving at knowledge about the world? Witchcraft was believed to exist on the basis of testimony. So are most of our own beliefs. We need some standard against which to judge our view of the world and theirs. What standard? Modern science?

o We cannot use modern science as a standard to understand their beliefs, because the reasons they accepted their view of the world might be different from the reasons we accept ours.


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Another way: the rejection of the old way of seeing the world does not explain why the new way of seeing the world was adopted.

It does not follow from the fact that I don’t like apples that I like pears. There must be some reason independent of my reason for rejecting apples for accepting pears.

So why do we believe the world works as we do? (We return to this question with Kuhn)


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October 20, 2011 The Philosophy of Witchcraft – Witchcraft as Science Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Brian Easlea, “The Existence of Witches”. Chapter 1 in Witch Hunting, Magic

and the New Philosophy Next Time: Thomas Kuhn, “Revolutions as Changes of World View”. Chapter 10 in The

Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Mid-term Exam Study guide on WebCT Exam: Next Tuesday, 25 October, 1:30pm-2:20pm Lecture Brian Easlea, “The Existence of Witches” From Finite Cosmos to Infinite Universe In 1500, the consensus was that: We lived in a finite cosmos; That was Geocentric; Governed by natural as well as super / preternatural forces outside of human

control; And populated by Demons or Spirits who were causally efficacious. The world was mysterious, violent and oppressive By 1700, the consensus was that: We lived in an Infinite universe; That was Heliocentric; Governed solely by Natural laws within human control; And devoid of demons, spirits, or other non-natural causal agents other than God. The world was rational, non-violent and non-oppressive


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During this time: In the 1500s, there were vocal opponents to witch hunting; By 1600, these opponents had been defeated. 1. ‘Superstition’ vs. Reason “The Iron Century” The years from 1500-1600 are characterized by: Famine Plague Rebellions Millenarians (people who believed the end of the world was coming) Civil wars Religious wars Reformation A Gigantic Conspiracy How can we explain this misery? Cannot be God Could be Devil working on weaker minds Caused by evil women using powers given them by Satan in return for their souls Evil women were benefitted by having their ‘insatiable carnal lust’ satisfied The Solution Destroy the witch Suspects accused neighbours who in turn accused more More women were executed for witchcraft than for all other crimes “Never in human history had victims died in such extremes of physical agony and

mental anguish: rejected by their next of kin, almost universally hated, perhaps believing themselves truly guilty of witchcraft or knowing themselves to have condemned innocent people to a trial similar to their own, all the time undergoing protracted suffering in custody, the victims of the witchcraze prepared to meet their Creator in a death that was seldom quick and often made deliberately slow” (p3)

Question What brought the witchcraze to an end? One possible answer: The New Science has removed this irrational and violent belief Science as liberator from superstition: “‘Never before has there been a more universal

empire than that of the devil.’ ‘What has dethroned him? Reason!’” Superstition vs. Reason Acceptance of the mechanical philosophy undermined belief in witchcraft What led to the widespread acceptance of the new science?


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What led to the rejection of the old science? Does science progress, slowly abandoning irrational, unscientific beliefs in favour of rational, scientific ones? Or does one kind of “science” replace another? If there are competing sciences, why choose one over the other? Is one more “rational”? What if they are both equally rational? Review: Malleus Maleficarum 1. Heretical to doubt the existence of witches ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’ The bible would not command witches to be put to death if witches did not exist Witches therefore exist To deny the existence of witches is to deny the truth of the bible To deny the truth of the bible is heresy Therefore, to deny the existence of witches is heresy. 2. Witches perform their deeds with the assistance of Satan Either (a) demons exist or (b) do not exist Argument form: Disjunctive Syllogism Argumentative technique: Show “demons do not exist” is false. Only remaining

option is (a) “demons exist” Argument: P1: Assumption: If demons do not exist then encounters with demons are imaginary P2 If encounters with demons are imaginary, then either:

o i. Crimes are committed using knowledge of occult properties of things to cause evil or

o ii. Using incantations muttered under favourable influence of the stars Against P2 i. Witches’ crimes are beyond the power of natural bodies, even occult properties. These crimes are not beyond the power of Satan who can produce effects that seem

supernatural but are not (only God can perform miracles) ii. Incantations have no power in themselves – they are directed towards planetary

intelligences. Intelligences desire good of mankind Intelligences would not cooperate with witches desiring evil. Problem with this argument? False dichotomy: giving only two options where there might be more, or the options

aren’t correct Are all violent storms and disease the result of witchcraft? Clearly not P2 neglect the possibility that storms are not caused by witches at all It does not distinguish diabolical phenomena from natural phenomena


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Distinguishing natural events from unnatural events: Illness is natural if it can be cured by natural means Illness is caused by witchcraft if it fails to respond or gets worse under treatment; or

when an illness affects a healthy person Why can’t demons cause evil without witches? Assume demonic influence is responsible. Still, why witches? God only permits demons to effect evil with the collaboration of humans Problem of evil – humans must of their own free will give themselves to evil So, the claim that devils produce the effects directly is wrong The claim that devils trick women into believing they’ve acted when they haven’t is

wrong. 3. Witches are mostly women Women’s insatiable carnal lust 4. Do Witches’ fly? Is witches’ flight an illusion or real? Not all flights are real But it is possible – devil transported Christ 5. How do we prosecute witches? Cannot use adversarial procedures – too hard to prove the case Must use inquisitorial procedures Trial

o no contact with the ground o no eye contact with the judge (lest she bewitch him) o those gravely suspected because of activities or accusations must not be

allowed to escape o confession is required: so torture to get confession o Strip and shave the witch to insure there are no hidden charms that may

protect her from torture o if someone maintains innocence after three days of torture, they are likely

protected by the devil o in gravest cases, can commit to death without confession o since most confess, the accusation is proved

1487-1520 14 editions and reprints Lacks discussion of: mark of the devil; witches’ sabbats Before dissenters began writing against the existence of witches, witch hunting had been sporadic. After demonologists began writing refutations of the arguments of the dissenters, witch hunting began to rise.


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The Debate Why would there be dissenters? Nearly all societies have been affected by evil, and nearly all have believed in the

reality of witchcraft. Christianity added belief in the Devil and the witch’s collaboration. Why would anyone doubt this? It wasn’t disagreement over the existence of Satan The Devil was in the Details Did Satan cause the storms and deceive witches or did Satan give witches this power? If Satan gave witches this power, what was the nature of it? Could witches fly or was it only in the imagination of evil women? Were they evil women or simply ill or senile? If they were ill or senile, shouldn’t they be treated with medicine rather than the rack? Were even voluntary confessions reliable forms of testimony? Given the severity of the trial and execution, shouldn’t we consider these questions

quite seriously until we are absolutely certain? Johann Weyer (1515-1588) Protestant Doctor On the Tricks of Demons Core belief: “Love men, kill errors, fight for the truth without any cruelty” Argued senile, uneducated women could not be empowered by the devil to

generate storms or cause illness. Believed: Devil was in the world With god’s permission, Devil could cause storms and illness Educated magicians could summon and control demons Stupid peasant women could not Against claim that women caused storms: Possible: Trickery – the devil knows a storm is approaching; convinces servant to

utter some words; the storm would appear; the woman would think she caused the storm

Possible: Illness – woman is melancholic or ill; bad thing happens; devil convinces the woman she caused it

Either case, medical treatment followed by forgiveness, since the woman truly caused no harm, although she may have encouraged the devil’s attention

Possible: Lawyers, judges and executioners did not use their reason sufficiently. o As a result, tortured women into confessing crimes they did not commit o Believed confessions that are incredibly unlikely: a woman confessed to

having caused the intense winter of 1566.


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o Showed no mercy even though reason suggests one ought to be at least skeptical

o The lawyers, judges and executioners will be punished by God. Witches’ Flight Could Satan transport witches to Sabbats? Weyer is inconsistent Accepts that Satan can do it, based on Biblical authority Thinks Sabbat is diabolical illusion Use of infants dug up from graves is beyond credible. Illness Possible: illness is untreatable because we do not know the cure All of this failed to convince. Jean Bodin (1530-1596) Poltical theorist On the Demonic Madness of Witches A refutation of Weyer written in 1580 15 editions in 25 years Core beliefs: Order is most important thing for society. Order, even if it is superstitious, holds society together, keeps people in line through

fear of laws and their magistrates, holds people together Atheism, disorder, leaves all free to believe they can do whatever evil they wish. Therefore: Maintain order even at the expense of truth. Witchcraft is dangerous to the social order. Refutations of Weyer Against the possibility that witchcraft is simply illness: Free confession of one witch that she had practiced witchcraft since 12 years old. Incredible that she had been a melancholic the whole time.

o (Problem with the argument? Hasty generalization: you cannot make a general claim based on one or few cases)

Incredible: all who confessed or were accused of witchcraft were melancholics Women are generally healthier than men, since the expel bad blood once a month. Women do not suffer melancholia because they menstruate – balances humours. Counter accusation: Weyer is either ignorant or deliberately lying.

o He is a doctor, so he is not ignorant o Therefore, he is deliberately lying.

Confessions under torture: Weyer assumes “nothing is possible in law that is not possible in nature”


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Idea: cannot be convicted of what is not physically possible Bodin responds: Storms cannot be made by natural means since nature cannot

produce things that are violent and destructive. Nature is inherently good and produces good.

So, these bad events must be brought about diabolically. Satan cannot be brought to court. Witches can. On Witches’ Flights Weyer seems confused – contradicts himself – it either is possible or it is not. Weyer

admits it is possible. So, what is more reasonable to believe? Testimony, authority, etc. that witches fly, or unsubstantiated claim that it is all illusion?

Although flight seems incredible, this is not grounds to dismiss it. Certainly, similar things are physically possible:

o Stars move around the earth at great speed We cannot deny the evidence, even if we do not understand (or cannot hope to

understand) the cause Why Women? ‘bestial cupidity’ Since women who disobey their husbands deserve death, women who renounce god

deserve death all the more. o “Whatever punishment we can order against witches by gradually roasting and

burning them over a fire is very little in comparison with …the eternal agonies which are prepared for them [in hell]” (p.18)

The result of this debate: Weyer was overcome by “misplaced, sentimental humanitarianism” Weyer is either a confused bleeding heart or a diabolical double-agent Scot & Remy Reginald Scot (1538-1599) Bodin’s work inspired an Oxford trained hop grower to refute Bodin’s claims that the devil could cause marvelous effects: The Discoverie of Witchcraft Weyer – admitted reality of Satanic magic; ability of educated magicians to use this magic Scot – denied reality of Satanic magic. “Brink of Atheism” General claim “Truth must not be measured by time: for everie old opinion is not sound.” (p.19-20) Need good arguments in addition to ‘old opinion’ Arguments of witch hunters are inadequate All phenomena have natural causes or are caused by God.


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Skeptical doubts about witchcraft causing storms: P1 Assumption: Causes precede effects P2 If you remove the cause, you remove the effect P3 Assumption: Witches cause storms P4 If you remove the witch, then the storms will cease (from P1-3) P5 You kill a witch P6 Storms do not cease Conclusion Therefore, witches are not the cause of storms (from P4-5)

o Modes Tollens: An argument form that looks like this If p then q Not q Therefore, not p

What is implied: storms are wholly natural events. Not caused by anything except natural causes. Certainly, old women claim to cause harm. But they do not in fact cause things beyond their natural control. They deserve compassion. Doubts about Sabbats First about the incubus:

o Bodily disease that affects the mind: nightmares Killing children

o Such a horrible claim, it must be produced by torture. Unbelievable. Flight:

o Hasty generalization again o Because Satan transported Christ, this does not prove that Satan transports

witches. Merely that it is possible. o Furthermore, if the witch hunters are right, does this mean Christ needed

to kill children and enter into a pact with Satan? Standards of proof: For Bodin, what can be admitted is what is believable, what is possible – even what is not believable so long as there is eye witness testimony For Scot, there must be proof of such claims, not merely claims about their possibility. Without proof, the most credible conclusion is the conclusion most in accordance with nature: witchcraft is an illusion. Spiritual and demonic magic do not exist. Implications: Demonic magic and incantations are all non-sense. How do we use nature for our benefit, then? Natural magic: Aim is to understand the occult or secret properties of things


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Scot finds himself in a difficult place: If he denies the existence of spirits, the only system open to him is true Aristotelianism or Materialism, which denies the existence of spirits and demons, and also of the immortal soul. But, the only other systems to believe in are those of Plato and the Platonists (Pagan), or of Kramer and Bodin (witch-killin’). So, he tries to maintain belief in the Christian cosmos by re-defining, or re-interpreting what a Spirit must be. Spirit, according to Scot, is some occult power or force that moves our minds. If it moves us to good things, it is a good spirit; if to evil things, it is a demonic spirit. It’s not a far step from this to denying that spirits exist at all. Scot’s position seems reasonable. Is it? Believes in God, a supreme spirit. Can he be sure there are not also lesser spirits? Can

he be sure they do not act on the world or interact with human beings? Scot has failed to find demons. This would not convince Bodin. Because Scot has not

found them does not mean they do not exist. [Skip Montaigne] Judge Nicolas Remy (1530-1616) Personally executed over 800 people How could he be sure? Demonolatry General claim: Concordant testimony of many is sufficient for belief in witches These things are true because the beliefs of a majority of people cohere (Recall correspondence theory of truth) Coherence theory of truth: something is true when it is consistent with all our beliefs and the beliefs of others Do Sabbats happen? Do witches fly? Conversations at Sabbats have been identically recounted by different participants. Confirmation Against Weyer Weyer: Witches only think they are committing evil. Remy: even if they only think they are committing evil, this deserves the same

punishment as though they had in fact done it. Implication: the evil of witchcraft is not only in the harm done, but in the act of

allying with Satan. Weyer: Women are feeble by nature Remy: Nature cannot be wholly to blame, or there is no free will.


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Explanation: If women are not morally responsible, then nature is, and by implication, God.

Remy’s final word: Rejects the arguments that there cannot be sufficient proof of witchcraft. Weyer and Scot had tried to show that since it is possible women could have been

tricked or ill, or since it is possible other causes were responsible for events, one could not have certain proof that a witch caused what she was accused of doing.

Correspondence theory of truth. Remy is a coherentist: accusation and confession are sufficient proof. Witch hunting increased in intensity after this time. 1630s: Galileo published Dialogue concerning Two Chief World Systems. More witches were being burnt at this point in history than in any period before.

Phil 2006: What is Science? Sean Coughlin October 27, 2011

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October 27, 2011 The Problem II: What is Science? Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ch X: Revolutions as

Changes of Worldview Next Time: Plato, Timaeus (WebCT) Lecture Recap & Intro: From 1500-1700, change from a world that is mysterious, violent and oppressive to a world that is rational, non-violent and non-oppressive. Two debates from last time: Weyer and Bodin Scot and Remy Weyer claimed that witches might simply be women who suffer from illusions either

due to demonic tricks or due to illness Scot claims that witches cannot be the cause of storms because storms occur even

after witches are eliminated The implication is that he rejects the existence of spirits, and storms are either

produced naturally or by God. In both cases, there seems to be something right about what these two are saying. It seems better somehow to attribute the claims of confessed witches to

hallucinations, illness, and the supposed effects of witches to natural causes, or even God, than it does to say witches really did cause those things.

We might even say their beliefs seem more rational than their opponents. In fact, the beliefs surrounding witchcraft are so spectacular, so far-fetched, we might even go so far as to say that the witch hunters did not themselves believe in Satan and demons and magic, but were actually using those beliefs as a form of social control.


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In either case, we are asserting something quite strong about the beliefs held during the witchcraze: some were more rational than others. My aim today isn’t to try to figure out whether the beliefs of Weyer and Scot were rational or not. Instead, I want to ask a more reflective question, an epistemological question: why do these beliefs seem rational? Why do their opponents’ beliefs seem irrational? Scot and Weyer really seem more rational. We are going to explore today is why we think this. Refine the Question – Rationality and Science We might think the beliefs of Scot and Weyer are more rational because they opposed

killing witches. But, this assumes there are no real witches, and that killing innocent people is wrong. If an arsonist was burning down buildings, would it be wrong to stop them? What if the only way to stop the arsonist was to kill them? Would it be obviously

irrational to do this? The beliefs of Scot and Weyer seem more rational because they didn’t think witches

could do the things that they claimed or were accused of doing. And we don’t think they could do them either.

Would we still think Scot was more rational than Bodin or Remy if he said the witches were not actually causing storms, but the demons themselves were doing it?

What about if he claimed storms are attracted to poor, old women? Would we think this is rational?

What seems more rational about the beliefs of Scot and Weyer are the kinds of alternative descriptions they give: hallucination, illness, natural causes.

Why do these seem more rational? Scientific – it seems that there is a similarity between their descriptions of what is

going on and how we might described the same phenomena. o Witches aren’t actually causing storms; they are simply hallucinating – we

just need to take demons out as the cause, and it seems a reasonable description of what is going on.

o Either that, or they are sick, mentally ill perhaps. The torms are caused by wholly natural causes.

Sound like scientific descriptions and explanations. And so without thinking we take them to be describing what we call “hallucination,”

“mental illness,” “natural causes.” And these seem more rational than the others because they seem somehow scientific. Focal Question: So we can refine the initial question: why do their beliefs seem more scientific? Again, we can give a couple of different reasons. Maybe the language just sounds the same. Illness, hallucinations, nature – these are

all words we’re used to, so it might just be a superficial similarity.


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We might think that there’s something about the way they approach the phenomena related to witchcraft that is similar to the way we approach it.

o Look for natural causes. And even if, in Weyer’s case for instance, they assume the existence of things like demons, in some sense what they are doing, the kinds of questions they are asking, and the kinds of answers they would accept seem more like the kinds of investigation we do, the kinds of questions we ask and the kinds of answers we would accept.

What is implicit here is a sense that their beliefs seem more scientific because they are aiming at the truth.

Sure they have some false beliefs, but they are doing what we can recognize as science.

They seem to be making progress. What are they progressing towards? Truth. Their beliefs seem more scientific because they are closer to the truth. Bracketing off questions about what we mean by ‘truth’, it is closer to the truth to say storms are caused by natural causes than to say they are caused by witches. So, their beliefs seem more rational to us because they are further along the line of scientific progress, they are closer to the truth. But, there’s at least a tension here. Recall the end of Easlea’s chapter: Bodin believed in demons, but he could not believe the Copernican world system to

be true. For if it was, it would contradict the very foundations of physics. If the earth moved about its axis, and if it moved around the sun:

o If the earth moved, why, when I drop something, does it not describe an arc? o Why do we not feel the force of the movement? o Why don’t buildings fly off the face of the earth? o What could be the cause of this motion?

Bodin had no problem believing in demons. This, for Bodin, was established by both theology and the study of nature. But the idea that the earth could move, this was scientifically impossible. And it doesn’t seem incredible to say that, for Bodin, this was rational. Which one is more rational? It seems like we’re using rational in two different senses here. On the one hand, we might say that Bodin’s beliefs were rational for him, in his

context, given what everyone believed at the time, but not ultimately rational, because he believed things that are false.

But in the case of Weyer and Scot, we might think that their beliefs were more rational tout court, because they are closer to the truth.

Kuhn is, in fact, gives arguments that rule out both of these interpretations of ‘rational’:

o Against the belief that Weyer and Scot’s beliefs are more scientific because they are closer to the truth, Kuhn wants to say that it is simply not the case


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that science progresses towards some complete truth. Instead, science undergoes ‘paradigm shifts’ where one world view replaces another. When this happens, we can’t exactly say that we know more but just that we know differently.

o Against the idea that Bodin’s beliefs were rational simply for him or his context, Kuhn argues in this chapter that when a shift of scientific paradigm occurs, the world becomes a different place, and in fact, we cannot directly compare the reasonableness of one paradigm to another. We can’t compare them because there’s nothing to compare: the world becomes so radically different, that the two are incommensurable.

Definitions: Scientific Progress Add new truths to the stock of old truths Eliminate falsehoods along the way Scientific change: We reject one theory because it does not fit the facts: either we cannot verify it, or we prove it false. Verification:

o Test hypotheses to show that they are true Falsification:

o Test hypotheses to show that they are false o Result: reject a theory because it is proven false o Examples

Classical elements: EWAF Thompson’s “plum pudding” model of the atom Creationism for Evolution

On this account of scientific change, scientists are always working to prove a theory false – to test it by experiment. And this method guarantees progress towards truth. We can claim in retrospect that falsified theories were irrational because they do not fit the facts. Somehow, they got the world wrong. They are false descriptions of how the world actually is. So, we abandon them for theories that get things right. Many different ways we can give a fuller picture of what it means to ‘get the world right’. But for now, I don’t mean anything too complicated. Getting things right simply means having our theories correspond to how the world actually is, to the world we perceive with our senses and we measure with instruments. A theory is true so long as it does this. This is a fine picture, but Kuhn argues that this just isn’t how science works. Kuhn distinguishes between two phases of science – normal and revolutionary.


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Revolutionary science isn’t simply an acceleration of the normal way science proceeds. It is qualitatively different from normal science. Normal science: “puzzle-solving” Problems are solveable Ability to solve the puzzle depends on the scientist The puzzle and the methods for solving it are familiar to scientists These are familiar because a scientific community shares theoretical beliefs, values,

instruments, techniques, metaphysics Normal science can expect to accumulate a growing number of puzzle-solutions In Normal science the theory is not questioned Scientists don’t approach their theories trying to disprove them. They are not testing the paradigm Scientists are conservative Paradigm: a set of intertwined theoretical and methodological beliefs that allow normal science to take place. Without this paradigm, there is no normal science In normal science, anomalies are ignored or explained away. But as these start to

accumulate, people begin to lose faith in the paradigm. This is called a crisis. This sometimes leads to a revision that eliminates the anomalies and solves

outstanding problems. This revision takes all the same data, but places them in new relations. This is what came to be known as a paradigm shift. [Example:Gestalt image: See a duck /See a rabbit] When the relations between data change, so do the problems associated with that

data, and the meaning of the terms. Implication: Science is not cumulative

o For one, the terms change their meaning. Scientists working in different paradigms are using different terms and methods. What was a duck before is now a rabbit.

o Paradigm shifts result in different ways of seeing the world itself. So far, everything we’ve said about Kuhn is compatible with this claim: Imagine a convert to Copernicanism: She would not look up at the moon and say, “I used to see a planet, but now I see a

satellite”. She would say, “I once took the moon to be (or saw the moon as) a planet, but I was

mistaken” One the gestalt shift occurs, you cannot go back. Theory-Laden Perception Kuhn also claims that our perceptions are always conditioned. We can say they are theory laden. What I see depends on all my previous experience, my beliefs, my expectations. In other words, our perceptions themselves change. And so the world itself changes.


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Kuhn gives the example of the discovery of Uranus. William Herschel Following others, Herschel observed a star that no one thought moved against the background stars. He looked at it with a telescope more powerful than those others had used, and noticed it appeared as a disk, peculiar for a star. He postponed identifying it, made more observations, and saw that it moved. He announced that he had found a comet. Several months later, because no one could fit its motion to a cometary orbit, Lexell suggested its orbit was probably planetary. The shift here wasn’t simply the addition of a planet. This was the first planet discovered in modern history. Its discovery expanded the solar system. Things people used to see as anomalies not requiring explanation became candidates

for minor planets and asteroids. The other example Kuhn gives is a heavy body swinging on a chain or string. According to Aristotelian science, the chain simply constrained the motion of the heavy body. Galileo saw something different. He saw a pendulum, a body that repeated the same motion over and over. Once the shift in perception had taken place, he could see other properties of the pendulum that no one saw before. The independence of weight and rate of fall, relationship between height and terminal velocity. As Kuhn says, Pendulums were brought into existence. Kuhn wants to make the claim that the world itself changes, but he knows this claim

is extravagant. So he tries to defend it. He claims that “what happens in a paradigm shift is not fully reducible to a

reinterpretation of individual and stable data” (p 121) In other words, it’s not simply a case of seeing the same rock in the sky as a planet

and as a satellite. Or seeing the same rock and string as a constrained earthy body or as a pendulum. Kuhn wants to say the saw different things.

Epistemological Point What does this mean? Kuhn is arguing for the incommensurability of paradigms. [Go back to the duck rabbit] Now, the most natural way to understand this phenomenon is to say I see this pattern

of light and shade as a duck; then as a rabbit. o I have a neutral language with which I can describe what I am seeing. Light

and shade. o But I can see these as a duck or as a rabbit.


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o In other words, the fundamental data are the same. It is my interpretation of them that changes.

Kuhn is not arguing for this. He is arguing for something much more radical. When a paradigm shift occurs, I simply no longer see a duck. If we have two scientific theories, we need a neutral standard by which to judge

which theory is more correct. Kuhn claims there is no such standard. Our observations are theory-dependent. What we see depends on the paradigm we

adopt. The two paradigms are incommensurable. Aristotle saw a stone striving for its natural place. Galileo saw a pendulum.

o The data themselves are different. Return to Question We asked: Why do we think the one theory is more rational than the other? Our first answer was that the theories of Weyer and Scot seemed more rational

because they were more scientific and came closer to the truth. Our second answer was that Bodin was more rational given the context he was in. But, now it seems that this question cannot even be asked. We cannot ask which is

more scientific because, if Kuhn is right, we have no standard according to which we can judge them.

Phil 2006: The Metaphysics of Natural Magic I Sean Coughlin November 1, 2011

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November 1, 2011 The Metaphysics of Natural Magic I: Plato’s Timaeus Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Plato, Timaeus 27D-34A Next Time: Aristotle, Physics 2.3; De Caelo 1.1-2 Lecture 1. Exams -Recorded grade will be posted on WebCT -!Note: to get your true performance on the Exam, subtract 2 marks or 5 % -The average is high; first-term final will be more difficult, more involved -About 10% of the questions will be drawn directly from the readings from this Unit. 2. Recap On the traditional account of scientific progress, theories are subjected to tests in an effort to prove them wrong. Proving a theory wrong is called: Kuhn distinguished between two phases of science: What are they? Normal Revolutionary What is a paradigm? A set of intertwined theoretical and methodological beliefs that allow normal science to take place. What happens to anomalies during the period of ‘normal science’? 2 answers: a) they are ignored or explained away; b) they accumulate to form a crisis What happens during a crisis? A new paradigm has to be chosen. When a paradigm shift occurs, I simply no longer see a duck.


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What might be the reasons for chosing a new paradigm? If we have two scientific theories, we need a neutral standard by which to judge which theory is more correct. Kuhn claims there is no such standard. Why does Kuhn claim this? Our observations are theory-dependent. What we see depends on the paradigm we adopt. The two paradigms are incommensurable. Aristotle saw a stone striving for its natural place. Galileo saw a pendulum. The data themselves are different. 3. Plato, Timaeus Who is Plato?

a. 427-347BCE b. Aristocles; Plato is a nickname given him by his wrestling coach c. Born into an aristocratic and influential house d. First 20 years of his life witnessed the Peloponnesian war and the fall of Athens e. Witnessed rise of Thirty-tyrants in Athens f. Restoration of Democracy g. Like others, he would have been taught music, grammar and gymnastics

Who is Timaeus?

a. ? b. Cast as Pythagorean Philosopher from Locri in Italy c. Unclear whether Plato made him up or whether he was a real dude d. Similar to Atlantis

Why are we reading Plato in a course on Witchcraft?

a. Plato Invented Physics a. In this sense: by distinguishing natural philosophy from the rest of

philosophy, he demarcated physics or natural philosophy as a domain of knowledge with its own principles and methods

b. It was read by those who called themselves ‘natural magicians’ c. The Platonic view of the cosmos was one of roughly three competing

‘paradigms’ or world-views in discussion before the scientific revolution. To understand why the witchcraze ended, and why magic was rejected, we need to understand these three worlds


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Three World Views A. Aristotelian Two worlds:

o Celestial realm: close to perfect, unchanging motion, eternal

o Sublunar realm: imperfect, changing, generable

Universe is uncreated, eternal Universe is a plenum (no void or vacuum) Celestial motions are governed by God Sulunar motions are governed by “the

Planets” Sublunar world is not animated Individual beings have souls Nature is primary explanatory principle:

each thing has a nature that explains what it is and what it does.

Nature is qualitative – powers to affect things, change things, move things.

Each natural process is teleological: each thing strives to reach its perfect state or natural goal

o Acorn -> Oak tree Whether or not the whole world has a purpose is unclear Goal of science is knowledge: understand the natures of things to understand God B. (Neo)Platonic / Magical Two worlds:

o Celestial realm: close to perfect, unchanging motion, eternal

o Sublunar realm: imperfect, changing, generable

Universe is created, sempiternal o Created in time, but will persist

forever Universe is a plenum. Sublunar motions are governed by “the

Planets” (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)

Sublunar world is animate – “world soul” Individual beings’ souls are portions of this world soul Nature is secondary: the divine art is first explanatory principle, and only by knowing

the divine art can we know what a thing is and what it does The world is teleological: there is a divine purpose for everything. Everything fits together Goal of science is knowledge: knowledge is of the divine art; for the Renaissance

Neoplatonists that means knowing how to affect the world for human benefit: power


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C. Mechanical World View One world: Material Universe is created Universe is a plenum. World is inanimate: no souls

except for human rational souls Nature is mathematical. Matter is

pure extension. Its only properties are motion.

Primary explanatory principle is motion and collision.

Goal of science: know the mathematical laws that govern motion to increase human power.

Phil 2006: The Metaphysics of Natural Magic II Sean Coughlin November 3, 2011

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November 3, 2011 The Metaphysics of Natural Magic II: Plato’s Timaeus, Aristotle’s De Caelo Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Timaeus, 27D-34A; Aristotle, De Caelo 1.1-3 Next Time: Aristotle, Physics 2.3; Thomas Aquinas [KP] 13-17 Lecture Motivate the problem: The Purpose: The world is filled with regularly occurring phenomena.

o Seasons, Animals, motions of the heavens, all repeat with a certain degree of regularity.

o Internal regularity – microcosmos o External regularity and order - macrocosmos o There is order in the cosmos: these patterns of regularity all seem to have

something to do with the cycles of the seasons. Things are ordered in a way. o The order seems good: both internal and external

How do we account for this beneficial order? Chance or something else To account for it with chance is to give no explanation at all Need some principle to explain the reason for this regularity. Also to explain the apparent goodness of this regularity for everything involved. Timaeus: Plato’s Account of the natural world How do we account for the beneficial order? Plato’s Answer: "The world became a living creature truly endowed with soul and intelligence by the providence of God."


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How does he get there? Plato’s Argument (27D-29D) 1. There is a difference between being and coming to be. 2. The cosmos is something that has come to be (the universe is created) 3. If something comes to be, it must have a cause. 4. The cause of the universe is something acting according to an eternal model 5. Conclusion: "The world has been framed in the likeness of that which is apprehended

by reason and mind and is unchangeable, and must therefore of necessity, if this is admitted, be a copy of something."

6. In other words, the world is a work of art fashioned after an eternal model. 1. There is a difference between being and coming to be. 27D-29D “First then, in my judgment, we must make a distinction and ask, What is that which always is and has no becoming; and what is that which is always becoming and never is?” Examples:

o [Image of Optical Illusion – our senses deceive us] o [Two lengths – we have ideas that cannot come from our senses, e.g. equality] o [Contrary properties – our senses tell us the same thing can have opposite

qualities, i.e., can be hot and cold, tall or short, etc.] The senses do not tell us about anything that eternally exists, or is eternally true Reason alone tells us about things that are eternally true and exist eternally Why?

o Objects of sensation are always changing o Objects of reason are stable and unchanging

Example of an object of sensation: The Pyramids at Giza, two sticks Example of an object of reason: The geometrical figure “pyramid”, the concept

“equality” Knowledge and opinion are different: They have different objects

o Only things that always exist in the same way are objects of reason o Only things that become and change are objects of opinion and sensation

2. The cosmos is something that has come to be (the universe is created) The cosmos is tangible, visible, it has a body. If it is tangible and visible it is an object of perception. If it is perceptible, it has come to be 3. If something comes to be, it must have a cause. “Now everything that becomes or is created must of necessity be created by some

cause, for without a cause nothing can be created.” Is this assumption plausible?


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Can you think of any uncaused events? What about our universe? Why is this premise plausible? Imagine something had no cause.

o If something had no cause, and it comes into existence, why did it come to be now rather than earlier or later?

o Why did it come to be this rather than that? o Principle of sufficient reason o The principle of sufficient reason states that everything that happens

has a cause or reason. There are no uncaused events, there are no unexplainable facts.

Imagine an infinite number of causes o Infinite regress: ultimately no explanation for why anything happened.

Imagine it always exists o Then it hasn’t come to be and so it doesn’t apply

Overall, this is a pretty plausible premise 4. The cause of the universe is something acting according to an eternal model “Which of the patterns had the artificer in view when he made the world — the

pattern of the unchangeable, or of that which is created? If the world be indeed fair and the artificer good, it is manifest that he must have looked to that which is eternal; but if what cannot be said without blasphemy is true, then to the created pattern. Every one will see that he must have looked to the eternal; for the world is the fairest of creations and he is the best of causes.”

Options: o Either the model was something created or something that always is o If the universe is beautiful and the craftsman good, it must be an eternal model o If the universe is not beautiful or the craftsman not good, it must be a created

model o The universe is beautiful o The craftsman is good [“craftsman” translates the Greek word,

“demiurge”. I use both interchangeably.] Implications: On the assumption that this is the best possible world, what sorts of features would

we expect it to have? Plato is giving a priori reasons for the way the world is. These reasons coincide with observations. "This is in the truest sense the origin of creation and of the world, as we shall do well

in believing on the testimony of wise men: God desired that all things should be good and nothing bad, so far as this was attainable."

The cosmos is explained in terms of the Demiurge's ends, the reasons why he created it as he did.

The demiurge created the cosmos because he wanted it to be as good as possible.


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Why an animal? No unintelligent creature taken as a whole was fairer than the intelligent taken as a

whole; Intelligence could not be present in anything which was devoid of soul. For which reason, when he was framing the universe, he put intelligence in soul, and

soul in body, that he might be the creator of a work which was by nature fairest and best.

o Plato is talking about order: o World before creation is a disordered mess o For the world to be ordered, it needs a soul which will act, which will

move everything into the order determined by the demiurge. o Soul mediates between unchanging Laws of order and the material world

Further Implications The cosmos is a likeness of something perfect The model it is a likeness of contains models of all other living beings We are all parts of a whole, cosmic being

There is only one model If it were more than one, it would not be perfect.

There are four elements Tangible and visible are primary sense objects The rest are derive from these

Only one Cosmos The cause of disorder, disease, decay are the elements If the world wasn’t composed of all the elements, it would grow old and die Implication: ORDER The world’s matter existed before it was put into order

Spherical Without Organs As the sphere comprehends all other figures, and the cosmos comprehends all

animals, so the shape that is appropriate to the world is the sphere. What is going on here?

o We know the world is spherical from observations. o Why does he need to give this lousy argument?

Method: All the features of the world are to be derived a priori from things known.

A priori means derived without any input from experience – the result of pure thought.

We cannot start from the things we perceive because they are not known to be true. Plato calls natural philosophy or natural science a likely story. What might this mean?


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First: physics is an inexact science. We can never have complete knowledge of the natural world. Why? Because sensation does not give us truth and knowledge, but only conviction and opinion. So a science physics is impossible Second: a challenge! If you can come up with a better explanation from more certain principles that we can know, Plato will be happy. This challenge of perfecting natural philosophy was taken up by Aristotle, the Stoics, and all other philosophers who followed. How can we give a rational account of the order of the natural world while at the same time explaining why the world is good? Aristotle, De Caelo 1.1-3 Two Disagreements to note: 1. The circular motion of the heavens is not to be attributed to the cosmic soul Rather, there is a kind of body, whose nature is to move in a circle: aether. 2. The heavens are not generated or destroyed or changed. They have not come to be. They exist eternally, but are sensible.

Phil 2006: Metaphysics of Natural Magic II: Hylomorphism Sean Coughlin November 8, 2011

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November 8, 2011 The Metaphysics of Natural Magic II: Hylomorphism Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Aristotle, Physics 2.3 Next Time: Corpus Hermeticum [WebCT] [KP] 13-17: Thomas Aquinas Lecture Aristotle, Physics II,3 Important terminology Nature: “a principle or cause of motion or rest in that to which it belongs primarily, in virtue of itself and not accidentally” “…principle or cause…”: a source or starting-point; something that must be take for granted and from which we prove other things “…of motion or rest…”: Motion simply means change. Kinds of motion: locomotion; change in quality; change in quantity; change in shape – essentially, any kind of change where the underlying thing remains the same thing but it changes its attributes. This differs from substantial change or generation where the thing does not remain the same but changes in its substance, its form, its essence. Change requires two things: Agent and patient The agent is whatever acts on the patient in order to bring about change Restrictions: 1. The agent must be in contact with the patient to bring about the change 2. Not anything acts on anything. The agent and patient must be correlated. In some cases, the agent is acted on by the patient when it acts: moved agents. In other cases, the agent is not acted on by the patient when it acts: unmoved agents.


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Importance of Aristotle’s Analysis of Change Plato posited two worlds – the world of being (of unchanging, immaterial, Forms that we know only by reason) and the world of becoming (of changing, material things that we sense or form opinions about by sensation) The order of the world is guaranteed by the fact that demiurge looks to the unchanging principles, the forms, in creating the world Aristotle denies that there are Forms separate from things: each thing in the world is a composite of form and matter. This has come to be called Aristotle’s hylomorphism. Hylomorphism simply means matter and form. However, Aristotle still needs something to account for the stability and regularity of change in the world. What can explain this regularity? Two things account for regularity in Aristotle’s system: (1) The forms in things do not change, even if the things’ properties change: this is known as Aristotle’s essentialism. Example: I can go bald or my hair can turn gray. This is a change in one of my properties. But I remain the same thing. It is the fact that my form remains the same that explains why I remain the same. (2) There are agents that do not change even if they are acted on, and these agents act according to forms. Aristotle thinks there must be some agents that don’t change because if all agents were always liable to act in different ways, events in the world would be unstable and irregular. Imagine a hot stone placed in water. The water will cool the stone as much as the stone will heat the water. If the whole cosmos were like this, if everything that acted was acted on in return, eventually everything would reach some kind of stasis – everything would be homogeneous. There must be something (or some things) that is always acting in a stable and law-like way to not only stir everything up to prevent them from congealing into a homogenous mass, but to do so regularly and orderly, since our senses tell us there is order. What this something is, is an unmoved agent, and the most important one for guaranteeing the cycles in our world is the sun. “…in that to which it belongs primarily…” Everything corporeal has a principle of motion or rest in it simply because it is made up of matter, and matter has a principle of motion or rest in it. But, my nature is to digest food; my nature is also to speak and walk and perceive. I’m made up of flesh and bone – is it the nature of flesh and bone to do these things? I’m made up of even more basic stuff – carbon and water, or earth and water if you like. Is it the nature of this stuff to speak or walk? No. Take the jacket falling example To belong to something primarily is to belong to it because of what it is. A jacket doesn’t fall to the ground because it is a jacket. It falls to the ground because it is made of something heavy.


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“… in virtue of itself and not accidentally.” A thing has a property in virtue of itself when it has that property because of what it is. We can use a test to determine if something has a property in virtue of itself or not:

If you change the property, does the thing remain the same thing or does it cease to be what it is.

Clear example: Triangle A property of a triangle is to have interior angles equal to 180 degrees; if you change the number of the angles, then you no longer have at triangle. This property belongs to the triangle in virtue of what a triangle is. Less clear example: Bronze A property of bronze and things made of bronze is to fall, to move to the centre of the earth, unless something gets in its way. If it no longer moves to the centre of the earth, it is no longer earth. So the property of falling to the earth belongs to bronze in virtue of what bronze is. A statue made of bronze, however, does not fall to the earth in virtue of being a statue, in virtue of what a statue is. So the property of falling to the earth is accidental to the statue, but essential (=in virtue of itself) to the bronze. Messy example: A Human Being [from Aquinas, [KP 13, p.93] A property of a human being is to have her or his knowledge caused by other things, but not to cause other things merely by thinking. If there is a human who can change things with her or his mind, then they would no longer be a human being. The property of human beings not being able to cause events with their thoughts is essential to being human. Accidental properties A property is accidental if it can change without the thing changing: Triangle – a red triangle: red is accidental. Bronze – that it is shaped into a statue is accidental to it. It could be changed into something else, and remain bronze. Human – that a human has a certain kind of hair or wears certain types of clothes is accidental to it. You can change these, and she or he would remain a human being. The Big Picture Plato’s account of nature was that it is “a living creature truly endowed with soul and intelligence by the providence of God.” Plato distinguished between the world of being and the world of becoming. The world of being is the world of things that truly exist. The world of becoming is the world of sense and doesn’t really exist. As a result, there can be no science and no knowledge of the natural world. We can only give “a likely story”. Aristotle claims natural science is possible. We can know something about the natural world. He makes his case by analyzing the types of questions we ask about the world, and the types of answers we must give in our explanations.


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The Question: “What is X?” If we were to ask Plato “what is a fish?” or “what is a chair?”, his answer would be that the sensible fish or sensible chair is an image or likeness of the divine and immaterial model. Recall, when Plato asks “what is the cosmos?”, his answer is that it is a “living creature” fashioned by the demiurge, modeled after an eternal, immaterial model – the form of the cosmos. This model is what truly exists, and hence, what we can know. The model in the world of being is, thus, the proper answer to the question “what is a fish?” Causal Explanation in Aristotle If we ask Aristotle “what is a fish?”, his answer would differ from Plato’s. Aristotle reformulates or analyzes questions like “What is X?” into the form “Why is S P”? Because Aristotle rejects Plato’s claim that there can be no knowledge of the natural world, he needs to reformulate questions about what things exist into questions about why some matter has some form. In fact, Aristotle holds these questions to be identical: to ask “what something is” is the same thing as to ask “why this matter (stuff) is this form (stuff).” So, what questions become why questions. And when we ask “why?”, we are looking for a “because” – for a causal explanation. Aristotle famously gives four different “becauses” – four different causes – that we must give to explain why this stuff is this thing. These are Aristotle’s four causes:

1. Material Cause – the matter out of which something is made Example: The material cause of a house is bricks and timber.

2. Formal Cause – the form, shape or function that matter has Example: the formal cause of a house is a certain shape, namely bricks built into walls with a roof on top.

3. Efficient Cause – the agent that made the matter have that form Example: the efficient cause of a house is the house-builder, the person who knows how to make bricks and timber into the shape of the house.

4. Final Cause – the purpose or end or goal of the thing Example: the final cause of the house is to shelter or to protect us from the elements.

Phil 2006: Metaphysics of Natural Magic III: Aquinas Sean Coughlin November 10, 2011

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November 10, 2011 The Metaphysics of Natural Magic III: Aquinas, Demons, Magic Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: [KP 13-16] Thomas Aquinas [WebCT] Introduction to Corpus Hermeticum Next Time: [KP 17] Passavanti Lecture Recap & Introduction Twenty years after the death of Copernicus in 1543, in his book, On the Tricks of Demons, Johann Weyer recalls many examples of innocent women accused of maleficium. Here are two of them: (1) Weyer tells of a poor woman, imprisoned on suspicion of maleficium, who refused to confess to any crime. She was hung up on a beam, a torture known as strappado, and left to hang from her arms. Weights were probably attached to her feet. Her arms would have popped out of their sockets. A priest came up to the woman, urging her not to let herself be tortured any more. “If you would only confess to something,” he said, “I will purify you with holy water and restore you to God as good as new.” Prompted by the priest, she admitted that, yes, maybe she had done some evil of this nature. And she anxiously awaited her absolution and freedom, having falsely confessed to the priest. She received her absolution: the judge, however, denied her any freedom; and she was absolved of her evil magic not by holy water, but by Vulcan’s fire. She cried out, “see how you are killing me.” (2) Weyer tells us about another woman imprisoned for maleficium near the town of Emmerich in northern Germany. There was a royal road to that town, where travelers were regularly attacked in wondrous ways. They would be cast down from their horses, their carts would be overturned, and nothing was ever seen except a ghostly image of a hand sweeping across them. The villagers knew this must be the work of some witch, and they found a woman named Sibylla who they seized, tortured and who then confessed. She was burned alive, but Weyer tells us that either she confessed because she was


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tortured, or because the devil tricked her into thinking she had caused the attacks on the road. So far, these two stories seem rather similar. Weyer seems like a reasonably skeptical about the accusations against these woman and methods used for proving them. But there’s more to the second story. Weyer notes that, certainly it was not the woman who was to blame for the assaults on the road. It’s likely, Weyer thinks, she would have been found sleeping at home on any of the occasions when an assault had happened. And if the investigators had paid attention to the accounts of the victims, they should have focused on the description of the image of the giant illusion of the hand. Then they would have realized that the assaults were not brought about by Sibylla; they were caused by Eckerken, a vile demon who lived in the area. And while the villagers would claim they had proof Sibylla was the witch, because as soon as she was killed, the attacks ceased, Weyer claims, no, the assaults didn’t cease because the witch was the cause. The assaults ceased because the devil voluntarily stopped. You see, the devil would rather trick us into believing things that are false, so that we might become more blood-thirsty then ever, and always quicker to carry out a death sentence based merely on our suspicions.1 It wasn’t the witch, you see, who caused these harms. Witches are merely sick old women, or worse, tricked by demons into thinking they are doing evil. But no poor, old woman could actually do those things. Only a demon, or perhaps a natural magician, could do such a thing. Two World Systems Platonic The natural world is a kosmos fashioned from an eternal model by the demiurge The kosmos is the place of becoming or change Science of the kosmos is impossible – we can only tell a likely story. The kosmos is a living creature, an animal Everything in the kosmos is a part of this one living creature Aristotelian The natural world is an ordered system of systems There is change, but we can know how this change occurs We can know the causes of things There are four causes: material, formal, efficient and final Artificial things: the efficient cause is external Natural things: the efficient cause is internal

o Natural things are self-organizing o The form something has is its nature. Not simply its shape, but its function o A natural thing acts on itself. It grows, changes and organizes itself into its

form. 1 The stories are recounted in [KP 44, pp.288-289]


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o A natural thing requires certain kinds of material out of which it is made. o A natural thing requires a certain material, a certain shape, and assembles

these for an end. o Example: the acorn grows into the oak tree, and stops.

In both these systems, we account in one way or another for natural change. Some things, however, seem to happen, but we just can’t explain them. The same thing happens now – there are things we just cannot explain. Today, we tend to call these things we cannot explain “supernatural” or “paranormal”. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, supernatural was reserved for miracles. And as we read in Aquinas, the term “miracle” is reserved for something special – those things that God alone can cause, and of which there is no possibility of giving a natural explanation. Things that could not be explained were called, instead, preternatural. These are things that can’t be explained because the cause is unknown, but they are still assumed to have natural explanations, at least in principle. [Hamlet: there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt in your philosophy.] It is here, at the threshold between the known and the unknown, that we find the belief in demons playing their most important role in the debate about magic and witchcraft. Weyer, unable to believe that poor, tortured women were truly witches, accounted for the attacks on the road in the only way he knew how – by an appeal to demons as preternatural causes. And Aquinas, unable to believe that the powers of the heavenly bodies could account for everything the magicians said they could do, appeals to demons as well in his attack on Sorcery. The result of the attack of Aquinas and others like him was to associate all magic, both learned, natural magic and folk magic or witchcraft, with demons and with demonic pacts. The magicians themselves, however, actively sought to conjure demons and use them to control and know the world. Neither side doubted the existence of demons as preternatural causes. The debate centered on whether or not it was permissible to use them. 1. Hermes Trismegistus Who was he? Why is he important? What does he say about demons? 2. Thomas Aquinas Who was he? Why is he important? Summa Contra Gentiles Summa Theologiae 3. Jacopo Passavanti & The Hermetic Tradition (Tuesday) What is the new world view of the Hermetic-Platonists?


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How is this world interpreted by the Aristotelians? 1. Hermes Trismegistus The name means Hermes Thrice-Great Most scholars now think he never existed Seems to be a mixture of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. Hermes, or Mercury, is the messenger god. He acts as an interpreter, moving between

the immortal and the mortal realm. Hermeneutics. Hermes is the god of language, and of many of the arts of exchange and commerce. Thoth plays a similar role in Egyptian mythology. Thoth is the described as the inventor of language. He mediates between good and

evil, ensuring the balance between the two. He is also credited with inventing all the arts and sciences – religious, philosophical, magical.

Both Hermes and Thoth are mediators between the divine, immortal world and the mortal world.

They are the source for us of all that can be known and expressed. Scholars in the Renaissance thought he was a real person. Renaissance scholars like Ficino, Bruno, Pico and Paracelsus all thought he was a

great man who lived in Egypt before the time of Moses. He was thought to be a great pagan sage, credited with foreshadowing Christianity.

They thought his work influenced everyone, from Zoroaster to Plato to the early church.

Hermes Trismegistus was thought to be the father of alchemy, astrology and theurgy. All these practices are meant to bring us towards divinity, to elevate us to the status of

the divine. Hermetic Corpus The works attributed to him are known as the Hermetic Corpus They are works written by Hermes either to the doctor Asclepius or his son. Modern scholars think they come from around second century CE They are a mixture of Platonism like the kind found in Timaeus and Gnosticism or

Gnostic dualism, the view that we can purify ourselves of our material nature and return to our place as part of the divine.

Renaissance scholars used the hermetic corpus as a guide for figuring out this purification: magic, alchemy and astrology were all thought to be ways of purifying ourselves in preparation for eternal life.

Hermetic Cosmos The cosmos of the hermeticisists is a modified version of the Timaeus world-picture. The most important difference is that the world of sense and the world of thought are

intertwined. There isn’t the strict division of the world into the world of being and the world of

becoming, which has profound implications for how we understand knowledge. For now, the most important difference is the emphasis on the existence of daimons. The hermeticist accounts for evil by referring to the earthly daimons of the world. The cosmos is divided into two:


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The lower realm, earth and water – what is compound and corporeal The upper realm, air and fire – what are simple and ethereal The evil daimons inhabit the lower world They are used to explain the existence of evil. Why do demons inhabit the earthly world?

o Evil is a turning toward our material nature o Evil occurs when we focus on earthly things, on material and mortal things, as

opposed to divine and eternal things. We might be tempted to see the earthly demon as a symbol But only because we don’t live in their world – we see it as a symbol for evil, where

evil is turning away from the divine, what is good, what is eternal, and towards what is impermanent, corporeal and mortal.

But we mustn’t think it was merely symbolic for the hermeticists. This was actually the way the world was set up, with evil demons in the lower world

influencing our minds. Today’s equivalent: the mind is a computer; the mind symbolically resembles a

computer St. Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274CE He was one of the most prolific theologians and philosophers ever. Studied under Albert the Great Was known as “the dumb ox” because he never said anything in class. One day, he gave the most brilliant answer to the Albert’s question, and Albert said

one day his bellowing will be heard throughout the world Story about his parents Aquinas was a devout Aristotelian – called Aristotle “The Philosopher” Tried to reconcile Christianity with Aristotle:

o The eternal universe of Aristotle with Christian view of a created world o The Aristotelian view that there is no immortal soul with the Christian idea

that the soul survives after death Summa contra gentiles Aquinas is arguing against magicians who claim they produce their effects naturally,

by harnessing the power of the stars – Astrology. Aquinas’ assumptions shared with the magicians: There are demons Corporeal substances act on each other – they have corporeal causes Incorporeal substances act on each other – they have incorporeal causes Thesis and Strategy He wants to argue, against the magicians, that the effects of magic are not simply the

result of stellar influence, but that some magic must involve demonic aid, and by extension a demonic pact.


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His strategy is three-fold: Show that some magic cannot be simply the result of celestial influences Show that the magic that is not the result of celestial influences involves some form

of communication with something else, and that something else is the real cause Show that the things the magicians are communicating with must be demons Setting up the argument Aquinas begins by asserting the position of the magicians: magic is not caused by

“spiritual substances” but by the power of the heavenly bodies Their evidence: astrology The magicians simply prepares matter to receive the influence of the celestial power

using herbs and other corporeal things Against this view 1. Aquinas argues that, since it is impossible for an intellect to be formed from corporeal principles, so it is impossible for effects caused exclusively by intellectual nature to be produced by the power of a heavenly body What is he getting at: answers to questions like “who stole my cattle?” and “what will

happen tomorrow?” cannot be given by the heavenly powers. Why? These kinds of things can only be communicated by something that knows. But

the celestial powers are corporeal powers. They can’t answer questions any more than fire can.

2. In magic, someone or something speaks to magicians; e.g. necromancy, Ouija board. The heavenly bodies cannot speak (he means literally that they cannot produce

ordered sounds) So, they cannot be caused by the heavenly bodies. A Magician could respond: The celestial powers act on the imagination, not our ears. What if they appear to someone in a trance-like or dream-like state? Aquinas Responds Aquinas is skeptical: these conversations don’t happen in a trance-like state, so they aren’t imaginary. But even if they were imaginary: Imagined things can’t lead to knowledge beyond what we can naturally know But magic can lead to knowledge of what we can’t naturally know: the future, hidden

things, hidden truths So, either apparitions are not purely imaginary, or the person obtains knowledge from

something else that knows, and therefore not from a heavenly body. 3. Heavenly bodies produce natural effects Unnatural effects cannot be caused by a heavenly body But magicians say these things happen: doors unlock – telekinesis, invisibility, etc. Cannot be done by heavenly body


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4. Magicians claim images are said to be made to speak, or statues are made to move around If this is caused by the heavenly bodies, then the statue cannot be said to move itself.

The heavenly body moves it. In Aquinas’ words: reception of what follows (movement) implies reception of what

precedes (soul). An inanimate thing cannot move itself through the power of a heavenly body – it can

only move itself through having a soul But an inanimate thing cannot have a soul and remain an inanimate thing What if the image is endowed with a vital principle or soul? The vital principle of all living things is a soul If something receives a soul, it receives a new substantial form The statue, then, would cease to be what it was, and become something new Against this: when we make images, we do not change the substantial form, we

simply change the shape, which is accidental change Proof: the image remains made out of copper, the statue of stone So there can be no vital principle Another, better argument Things moved by soul have sensation; sensation is the principle of movement There must at least be touch to have sensation Touch requires a constant (mean) temperature in the body – i.e., a thing must have a

constant body temperature to discriminate between the temperatures of things There is no constant temperature in stone or wax or metal So there is no touch, no sensation, and hence, no soul Magicians Respond: Argument from spontaneous generation Lots of things are generated just by the rotting action of the sun So, it is possible that living things can be generated from heavenly bodies Aquinas: Spontaneously generated life is low down on the chain of being But the kinds of things magicians talk about, they sense, speak, etc. Nothing that speaks or senses is generated spontaneously Talking statues cannot be an instance of spontaneous generation Argument from Accidental Occurrence Things produced by the heavenly bodies sometimes occur through magic arts, and

sometimes occur accidentally If frogs, for example, were produced by artifice, they would also be found to be

produced without it If talking images were the effect of the heavenly bodies, we should find this more

often occurring without the use of magic We do not So heavenly bodies do not cause statues to speak

Phil 2006: Metaphysics of Natural Magic IV: A New Cosmology Sean Coughlin November 15, 2011

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November 15, 2011 The Metaphysics of Natural Magic IV: A New Cosmology Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Corpus Hermeticum [KP 17] Passavanti Next Time: Codex Latinus Monacensis 849: Selection from a 15th Century Necromancer’s

Handbook Celestial bodies have some effect, but their effect must be limited to corporeal effects Three Questions: How does magic cause things to change? Why would God allow demons to exist? What are the similarities between Passavanti’s characterization of Satan and Hermes’ characterization of God? Where does magic get its efficacy? What kind of effects are we talking about? Fortune telling Speaking to the dead Causing harm / healing Background: Causation Natural and Intelligent Causes Natural causes: Change happens when an agent acts on a patient Something cold becomes hot Something dark becomes light Something sick becomes healthy Contraries Three things required for change: Something that comes into existence, something that goes out of existence, and

something that remains the same.


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Form, Privation (its opposite), Matter Matter takes on a Form, loses the Privation. Something sick ceases to be sick and comes to be healthy. Something cold ceases to be cold and comes to be healthy. All change in the world is between contraries In each case, you have something that changes from one opposite to the other Change is the loss of a privation and the gaining of a(n accidental) form. Potentiality and Actuality In each case, the subject is something that is potentially either of these opposites. A

person is potentially sick or healthy. A hunk of marble is potentially a statue. When the person becomes healthy, we say they are actually healthy, not potentially

healthy. When a statue is carved we say the marble is actually a statue, not potentially a statue.

Change is the actualization of a potential for something. Change is what happens when, e.g., something that is potentially hot becomes

actually hot. In qualitative change, it is always between opposites. Change by Agent For something to be brought into actuality, it must be acted on by an agent. The agent is actually what the patient is potentially. Something actually hot makes something potentially hot actually hot. The agent must come into contact with what it changes. There is no action at a

distance. Summary: All change is between contraries All change is the actualization of a potential. Change happens when an agent comes into contact with a patient and assimilates the

thing to itself. Call this the Law of Similarity Intelligent agents: There are two ways an intelligent agent can change things:

o (1) It can bring an agent into contact with a patient o (2) It can prepare the matter so that it is receptive of some actuality

I can be the cause of fire in two ways: o (1) I can put a log into a fire. o (2) I can dry wood so that it can be burned.

According to Aquinas, the magicians say they are engaged in (2). They say they are preparing materials so that they can be acted on naturally by the heavenly bodies.


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Aquinas shows in the first part that the results of magic cannot be the result of the heavenly bodies. So, then he goes on to show that they derive their efficacy from an intelligent agent. Effects Can’t be the Result of Words He considers whether the magician’s effects are caused by the magician’s own

thoughts or by someone he is addressing. He rules out the option that the words themselves act on a thing, because words only

signify something, and need an intellect to signify that thing to. Effects Can’t be the Result of the Magician’s Thoughts intellect of a human is only able to cause one thing: intellect; knowledge is caused by something else, but doesn’t cause anything Magicians would no longer be men. A magician might respond: The heavenly bodies act on the imagination. The imagination produces an effect in the utterance of words. The words then act on something to produce an effect. Aquinas refers to the previous argument to argue against this: “…at the mere presence of a certain person all doors are unlocked, that a certain man

becomes invisible, etc.” (p.91) The heavenly bodies cannot do these sorts of things. Why? Conclusion: Magicians must be communicating to something else Supplemental Evidence: Invocations, supplications, adjurations, commands Charms: We might say that in forming a charm, we are disposing it to receive the powers of

the heavenly bodies But, if shape is merely an accident: doesn’t give the power to do anything So it must be a sign to another intelligent being Figures don’t make something be potentially anything; So, any figure should be equally able to receive the heavenly powers as any other

thing of the same kind of matter But, if it doesn’t happen to both of necessity, but only one, then it happens to the one

by choice Use figures to communicate with this thing Who are the magicians talking to? Are they good or bad? They do bad things Magicians have bad intentions – so whatever is helping them is evil Evil aims: not science and virtue, but things like stolen goods, capture of thieves,

lowly things. Note: science is not procuring goods of the body, but only science and virtue.

Evil: only someone evil would choose to commit a crime


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Whoever they are, they seem stupid – tricked by the magician Conclusion: magicians are communicating with evil demons Aquinas: On Demons (Summa Theologiae) Why are men assaulted by demons? Recall the problem of evil. Why would God set demons upon the world? Aren’t the

hardships of the world enough without demons? There are two reasons men are assaulted by demons:

o Because demons are malicious Envy of human beings causes demons to act against humans Pride causes demons to try to usurp God’s power

o Because God gave them permission God knows how to make orderly use of evil for a good purpose

Demons are permitted by God to harm us: o They cause us to sin o They are sent by God to punish us

They don’t do it to help God, but for their own reasons Do Devils Tempt Us? “To tempt” is to make a trial of something. To tempt is to know something about something. So, the devil tempts us to know whether we are vicious or virtuous. So he tempts us

into sin. Can demons tempt us with miracles? What does Aquinas think is the extent of the power of demons? Not a real miracle, but a preternatural event. Simply something that exceeds human

knowledge and power, but is naturally possible How? Either by acting on our imagination or by actually doing something – rain fire

down from heaven Extent and Limits of Demonic Power Extent: a demon can do whatever can occur naturally. E.g., Spontaneous generation Limit: a demon cannot change matter of one form into matter of another form if this

cannot naturally occur. Cannot change a human into an animal. In other words, cannot change one substance into another When it appears they change a substance: demon works on the imagination to

produce illusion


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Passavanti “[Satan] did not lose any of his natural knowledge, by virtue of which he is most excellently, more so than any man, whether by natural genius or laborious study, competent in all of the sciences and the arts, having the clearest understanding and insight, not only in general, but specifically and singularly in all things natural, spiritual, and corporeal.” (p.106) Satan is a Great “Scientist”: Astrologer Natural Philosopher Psychologist "...he has vast power and many abilities..." (p.108) The ideal magician – anything that can be naturally done, Satan can do. The God of Hermes Trismegistus What similarities are there between the two?

Phil 2006: Natural Magic I: Examples Sean Coughlin November 17, 2011

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November 17, 2011 Natural Magic I: Potions Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Examples from Codex Latinus Monacensis 849 [WebCT] Next Time: Frazer, The Golden Bough, Part III Selections [WebCT] Lecture Aquinas: On Demons (Summa Theologiae) Why are men assaulted by demons? Recall the problem of evil. Why would God set demons upon the world? Aren’t the

hardships of the world enough without demons? There are two reasons men are assaulted by demons:

o Because demons are malicious Envy of human beings causes demons to act against humans Pride causes demons to try to usurp God’s power

o Because God gave them permission God knows how to make orderly use of evil for a good purpose

Demons are permitted by God to harm us: o They cause us to sin o They are sent by God to punish us

They don’t do it to help God, but for their own reasons Do Devils Tempt Us? “To tempt” is to make a trial of something. To make a trial is to come to know something about something. So, the devil tempts us to know whether we are vicious or virtuous. So he tempts us

into sin. Can demons tempt us with miracles? What does Aquinas think is the extent of the power of demons? Not a real miracle, but a preternatural event. Something that exceeds human knowledge and power, but is naturally possible


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How? Either by acting on our imagination or by actually doing something – rain fire down from heaven

Extent and Limits of Demonic Power Extent: a demon can do whatever can occur naturally. E.g., Spontaneous generation Limit: a demon cannot change matter of one form into matter of another form if this

cannot naturally occur. Cannot change a human into an animal. In other words, cannot change one substance into another When it appears they change a substance: demon works on the imagination to

produce illusion Passavanti “[Satan] did not lose any of his natural knowledge, by virtue of which he is most excellently, more so than any man, whether by natural genius or laborious study, competent in all of the sciences and the arts, having the clearest understanding and insight, not only in general, but specifically and singularly in all things natural, spiritual, and corporeal.” (p.106) Satan is a Great “Scientist”: Astrologer Natural Philosopher Psychologist "...he has vast power and many abilities..." (p.108) The ideal magician – anything that can be naturally done, Satan can do. The God of Hermes Trismegistus What similarities are there between the two? Hermes’ God 4. […] “But he who is a devotee of God, will bear with all - once he has sensed the Gnosis. For such an one all things, e'en though they be for others bad, are for him good; deliberately he doth refer them all unto the Gnosis. And, thing most marvelous, 'tis he alone who maketh bad things good.” 5. […] “It is the working of the Cosmic Course that maketh their becomings what they are, befouling some of them with bad and others of them making clean with good.” 9. “But God is not, as some suppose, beyond the reach of sense-and-thought. It is through superstition men thus impiously speak. For all the things that are, Asclepius, all are in God, are brought by God to be, and do depend on Him - both things that act through bodies, and things that through soul-substance make [other things] to move, and things that make things live by means of spirit, and things that take unto themselves the things that are worn out.


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And rightly so; nay, I would rather say, He doth not have these things; but I speak forth the truth, He is them all Himself. He doth not get them from without, but gives them out [from Him].” Similarities Satan, according to Passavanti is the greatest Magician God, according to Hermes, is the greatest Magician, through Cosmos – i.e. the world soul. Codex Latinus Monacensis Everyone thought magic existed and it was feared Necromancy was no peripheral phenomenon in medieval society. As we have seen, both the church and the secular courts took it very seriously, and executed people for practicing it. Monarchs, popes, and commoners all feared becoming its victim. The fear may have been feigned by some, or pathological in others, but the fear was grounded in the fact that people were doing it and that it was almost universally believed to be effective. Two kinds of magic: natural magic and demonic magic There were two kinds of magic being practiced at this time that had a profound influence on the course of the witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries. The first is natural magic. Natural magic is associated with learned magic. It was a philosophical system aimed not only at producing effects, but more importantly, it was aimed at understanding the natural principles that governed the world. The aim wasn’t just to do but to understand. The second is demonic magic. Demonic magic doesn’t pretend to be a philosophical system that attempts to understand the world. Its aim is to produce some effect, but not to understand why the effect is brought about. Response to Magic – Was it a real danger? We have seen that people were accused of doing magic, and they were persecuted. There is a tendency to romanticize the magicians, to think they were not causing harm, and that their persecutors must have been villains. We think this for two reasons. There is an emphasis on the purpose of magic being positive. We don’t think magic is effective – they were wrong to think the witches and magicians could have done the things they claim to do. But if we look at the first example of magic, it seems that magic could be used for sexual coercion and exploitation. It was also used to increase wealth and for vigilante action against thieves which could lead to false accusations. Who was doing magic? The magicians were often clergy.


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It was this kind of magic that the renaissance humanists claimed they were not doing, and for which some of them were burned at the stake. Two World Views In the renaissance world view, natural magic was possible. The human being was a microcosm, a reflection of the macrocosm or nature as a whole. Magic was the procedure, the science, of using signs in the natural world to understand how best to align the microcosm with the macrocosm. It was to become one with the cosmos, and hence, become one with God. And hence the magician, who becomes as much like God as possible, has the knowledge and ability to do things that seem impossible, things that only God should be able to do. The Aristotelian world view had a different view of nature. We are not microcosmic reflections of the divine striving to return to God. We are limited in our abilities and in what we can know given our human nature. There are simply things we cannot know and do. There are limits to our own natural abilities. For those in this worldview, the most obvious way of interpreting what these natural magicians were doing was to think they must work through necromancy, through the agency of demons. In 1579, Cesare Lanza, a count in Sicily, claimed that “today a lowly little woman does more than all the necromancers accomplished in the ancient world.” Necromancers contributed to thee plausibility of claims about witches, because their actions supported the belief that all magic is demonic magic. So they are in a sense indirectly responsible for the rise of the witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries. There is an important difference. The witch trials focused mainly on women. We see this is a tragic case of women being blamed for the activities of men. Any women who were using folk remedies or natural magic and not invoking demons would still be construed as invoking demons because that’s what certain men they knew were doing at the time. Efficacy Natural magic was always suspect. Its mechanisms were unclear, claims to empirical confirmation were not impressive even by medieval standards. Demonic magic was straightforward and easy to believe. So if anyone were to claim that they had accomplished something through natural magic, the effect was still implicitly grounded in demonic aid. Ritual The necromancer’s handbook is two things: an object possessing a preternatural power itself; and a guide for ritual action. We can distinguish the ritual of magic from the aim of the magician. Magic rituals were intended to produce results.


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Everyone expected the rituals to have an effect. If they didn’t produce the correct effect, it was because the practitioner was inept or they were not strong enough to command the demons the summoned. Ritual is effective only insofar as it is effective as ritual. The ritual involves not only the production of some effect, but the ritual itself is a transformation of the relations between the participants and something else, between the priest and god or between the magician and demons. Only, for instance, if the magician can gain sufficient command over demons by performing the proper rite in the proper way, will the intended effect come about. Contest of Wills In ordinary prayer, we assume the spirits or divinity we are talking to are on our side. In necromancy, the spirits are not. They are fallen spirits, unwilling, uncooperative, treacherous. The necromancer must heap conjuration upon conjuration to get the demons to do what he wants. The necromancer must carry out the ritual exactly, or the control over the demons would be lost. The words the magician uses do not cause anything. They are part of a ritual designed to gain control over specific demons. The demons have the power to do things, but will only do them if the magician is transformed through the ritual into something that can control them. Experiment This application of the ritual, the carrying out of the ritual, is called an experimentum or experientia. It lays out the ritual procedure step by step along with all its ingredients and preparations in order to ensure the success of the ritual. I’ve given you two examples of such rituals: 1. The Erotic Experiment When we speak of “charming” or “fascinating” someone, we are still using the language of magic to suggest the power that people have over one another. We intuitively understand that the mind is susceptible to subtle influence, and these are sometimes dangerous or against our interests. Magic was often used to bend the wills of others to our own, and in fact love magic has always been one of the most common forms of magic. The love potion is a famous example. Sympathetic Magic To act on something, you can act on something related to it. Sympathetic magic works through images. Voodoo dolls, waxen figures, and in our case, a picture.


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The effect of the ritual on the victim is a kind of affliction or disease, a passion, burning love. Women accused of witchcraft were often accused of just this kind of magic – in the case of Marie Cornu, she used magic to convince men to marry her. Magic was intimately related with the erotic. In the case of men, it was usually meant to put someone under a spell, to bring them to you. Women were often accused of doing just the opposite – of preventing a man’s sexual advances. In our example, we have two distinct rituals involved. One using mostly sympathetic, natural magic; the other explicitly using demonic magic or necromancy. Tasks: Identify the elements of sympathetic magic & the elements of demonic magic. Questions: How do they cause their effects? How does the ritual-as-cause differ from the natural agent-as-cause (which Aquinas describes)? How does the demon-as-cause resemble the intelligent agent-as-cause (which Aquinas describes)?

Phil 2006: Natural Magic II: Principles Sean Coughlin November 22, 2011

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November 22, 2011 Natural Magic II: Principles Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Frazer, The Golden Bough, Part III Next Time: Marcilio Ficino [WebCT]

*******EXAM********* Saturday December 17, 2011 at 9am UCC 41 Lecture Recap Witches caused harm by means of black magic (necromancy) In the Neoplatonic world-view, magical forces were forces inherent in the stuff of the

world In the Aristotelian world-view, magical effects were (often) the effects of demons In both world views, the effects were natural Implication: Causes of magic were (at least currently) beyond human understanding,

but were not unintelligible Demonic participation was supported by the theology and natural philosophy of the

time Human intelligent agents could not produce the effects of magic unless aided by some

superior intelligence Thus, if the effects are real, then demons must cause those effects Therefore, the "science" of the time determined that anyone practicing witch-craft

was in league with the Devil Practice Question Passavanti believed some magicians and witches conjured demons to carry out their intentions. Which of the following claims about the abilities of demons wouldn’t Passavanti accept? (Which one of the following claims is not implied by what Passavanti says?)

a) Demons are causes of unnatural effects


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b) There is no difference in principle between what a demon can do and what a magician can do

c) The effects of demons are rationally explicable d) Satan knows more than any living man e) Demons can deceive magicians and witches

Sympathetic Magic How were rituals of magic and witchcraft supposed to work? What were the principles implicit in magical practice? Biographical Aside Sir James George Frazer (1854-1941) The Golden Bough Anthropological study of magic, religion and science Treated all three as phenomena worthy of objective study Argued culture progressed in three stages: magic > religion > science Scandalized contemporaries The Principles of Magic 1. Sympathetic magic Laws of action at a distance: means of explaining how one thing can act on another

even though they are not in direct contact Recall: in Aristotelian science, an agent must act directly on a patient to produce its

effect Sympathetic magic is a way of explaining instances where an agent is thought to

bring about an effect in a patient that is not in direct contact Examples: Fire causes heating at a distance Magnet attracts iron at a distance Sun illuminates the air at a distance A necromancer casting spells on an image affects a woman at a distance A witch acting on a shoe causes lameness at distance A weapon coated in a salve could heal a wound at a distance 1-A. Homeopathic Magic Homoeopathic magic that involves the application of the “law of similarity” “Law of similarity” is a physical law that “like produces like” This “law” is found as a principle of nature in both the Aristotelian and Neoplatonic

world-views In magic, it is extended to include what normally couldn’t occur – things not in

contact o A acts on B; B is like C; A acts on C

Understanding how it might work:


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o In non-magical cases: fire – fire acts on air, air receives the influence of fire, skin is heated by the fire

o In non-magical cases: light – sun acts on celestial sphere, sphere acts on air, air is illuminated by sun

o In magical cases: necromancer acts on image, image receives the influence of necromancer, woman is affected by the necromancer

o the image, charm, doll, etc. act as a medium The law is universally applicable: does not rely on a magician, but derives from the

sympathetic action between things of the same kind Frazer gives the example of the stone-curlew – yellow eyed bird that was thought to

cure jaundice by looking at it Magic is empirical

o The world of our senses is the real world, but we have to interpret the signs in the world to find things of similar form – empirical

The stone-curlew’s yellow eyes had a sympathy for the jaundice in the jaundiced patient – the sympathy was a force that pulled the jaundice from the patient to the bird

Magic works by Sympathies and Antipathies o Sympathy: an attractive force between things with a similar form o Antipathy: a repulsive force between things with a dissimilar form o Recall: motion = change – not simply attraction by drawing something closer

or repelling something away. Changes along any privation-form continuum. Form and Matter: matter manifests the similarities of the form Things act on one another by virtue of the medium of the world-soul – a kind of

spiritual communication Positive and Negative Magic Effects of homeopathic magic are universal The influence is mutual Positive Magic: sorcery – permitted actions Negative Magic: taboo – forbidden actions Frazer sees these as opposite aspects of practical magic Taboo is a logical corollary of sorcery

o if certain things produce desirable results on the basis of similarity o other things produce undesirable results on the basis of similarity

1-B. Contagious Magic Things that have once been conjoined remain conjoined afterwards Maintain a sympathetic relation to one another In our love spell, the woman is touched with the prepared charm, and then she will

love him – the charm continues to act as soon as it has made contact with the woman. It seems the spell will hold only so long as the charm is kept whole.

Examples: Parts of a person: Very often, according to Frazer, it was the placenta and

amniotic sack that maintained a connection with a person, as well as finger-nails, hair, etc. What was done to a part was done to the person


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Weapon Salve: a sword, gun, or other agent that caused a wound was thought to be in a contagious sympathy with the victim. To heal the wound, the weapon salve – a healing ointment – could be placed on the weapon, and would heal the victim’s wound. The wound could be aggravated by removing the ointment, or otherwise deforming the weapon. Frazer comments that it is perhaps the blood on the weapon that is the contagious element. Makes sense with swords, but not sure about bullets.

Clothes: cause a thief to turn ill by beating the cloak he abandoned in flight Body impressions: in Stow, Suffolk in England there was a woman who was

claimed to be a witch. If, while she walked, a nail or knife was driven into her footprints, she wouldn’t be able to move until it was removed.

Frazer’s Skepticism & Kuhn According to Frazer, sympathetic magic was “one great disastrous fallacy, a mistaken

application of the association of ideas” (first paragraph) Frazer believes magic is a false system of natural law and a false guide to conduct False system of natural law: magic was theoretical but a false theory about how the

world worked False guide to conduct: magic was an art, knowledge of which could guide our

actions to bring about our ends or avoid results we do not want Magic falsely assumes associations of ideas are associations of things in the world Homoeopathic magic: association of ideas by similarity or analogy Contagious magic: association of ideas based on contiguity Frazer thinks this kind of association is familiar to “ignorant and dull-witted people

everywhere” How does magic differ from:

Newton: Gravity is a sympathetic force Schrödinger: Quantum Entanglement

Can we understand magic as a world-view, in Kuhn’s sense, in which people understood their actions?

If our understanding of how the world works determines how we try to bring about our wishes, can we understand our wishes independently of how we think the world works?

Magic as Social Control Frazer also claims that magic was a guide to action Magic had a moral or normative aspect Morality is the study of right and wrong ways of acting, and the reasons grounding

those ways of acting Arts, technical studies, magic: these are all normative (they all involve right and

wrong ways of doing things) Magic, then, could be construed as a means of social control Practical magic is a manifestation of a wish or desire It works through natural causes, or through demons using natural causes, to bring

about a desired effect Taboo: forbidden actions


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Forbidden because of the unintended evil that may occur In witchcraft, what is the taboo? What is the unintended evil? The loss of souls to the

devil; the inversion of the social hierarchy; the destruction of the social order. How can one prove a pact with the devil is the result? Is not any proof of witchcraft involving a pact with the devil circular?

Phil 2006: Natural Magic III: Ficino and Astrology Sean Coughlin November 29, 2011

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November 29, 2011 Natural Magic III: Ficino and Astrology Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Marsilio Ficino, Three Books on Life—Book Three: On Making Your Life Agree with

the Heavens [selections] Next Time: Giordano Bruno, On Magic [selections] Lecture Introduction Aristotle’s Problems, Book 30, chapter 1 Melancholia “Why is it that all those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry

or the arts are clearly of a melancholic temperament, and some of them to such an extent as to be affected by diseases cause by black bile?”

Ficino’s Life Historical Background In 1439, Pletho and John Palaeologus from the Byzantine Empire came to Florence

for a church council to reunite the eastern and western Church. Byzantine Empire was losing to the Turks. The Byzantine Greeks’ theology was influenced strongly by Platonism. This upset the Western Church authorities for whom Plato was associated with

superstition. Except Cosimo de Medici – banker who controlled Florentine politics. Cosimo invited the Byzantines to dinner. He planned to start a new “Academy” in

Florence, with the goal of re-introducing Plato to the west. Plato – a great, forgotten voice.

A plan was drafted but nothing came of it: the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453.

John Argiropolos, an eminent Greek scholar of Plato and Aristotle, emigrates to Florence in 1457.


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Ficino’s Early Life Marsilio Ficino was born at Figline, near Florence, on 19th October 1433 at 9pm,

when Saturn was in the ascendant, making for a gloomy horoscope. He was the first born son of the town doctor and a clairvoyant mother. Ficino was a sickly child. At one point, told his friends (who kept asking after his

health) “stop asking—I’ve never had one entire day when my body was strong—I’ve been weak by nature from the beginning!”

Marsilio’s father, Doctor Ficino, treated Cosimo de Medici and his son Giovanni, to whom he sent Trebbiano wine—Doctor Ficino’s cure for everything.

Marsilio Ficino may have become a doctor as well were it not for his crazy, psychic mother. She predicted the death of her own mother, the suffocation of a nurse by her 17-day-old infant, and her husband’s fall from a horse.

Ficino’s mysticism can be credited in part to his mother. He decided to become a philosopher.

Ficino’s Education and his Platonism Ficino would have heard of Plato from his Latin teacher, reading Cicero. His early

education, however, would have been like everyone else’s – Aristotelian. At 18, Ficino was installed as a seminarian. He wanted to read more of Plato, and

attend the lecture of Argiropolos, but he was prevented by the Archbishop, who told him Ficino to read Aquinas, accused him of heresy, and sent him home

Ficino’s father sent him to the Aristotelian university of Bologna in 1458, where he stayed, unhappily, until 1459. The archbishop had told his father to send him far away from Florence, far from the influence of Argiropolos.

He must have been unhappy, except Saturn, the God of melancholy, offers compensation for the trouble he causes his philosophical children.

In 1459, his father arrived in Bologna, whisked Ficino back to Florence to work under the protection of Cosimo de Medici.

Cosimo had heard of Marsilio’s interest in Plato (through a friend who had brought him Marsilio’s essays on Plato).

These essays convinced Cosimo that this was the man for his new “Academy.” Cosimo told Marsilio’s father “you are a doctor of bodies but he will be a doctor of souls.”

Marsilio was told to perfect his Greek, so he translated Orphic and Homeric hymns. Cosimo bought manuscripts of Plato for Marsilio to translate. Translated almost all of Plato’s works into Latin, and also the works of the

Neoplatonists, and Hermes Trismegistus. He read portions of these to Cosimo on his deathbed in 1464, and was left in the protection of the Medici’s afterwards.

Ficino’s Philosophy Great work: The Platonic Theology – an attempt to recreate a pure, pagan theology

(prisca theologia), but also an attempt to navigate the demands of Christianity and the study of antiquity. In writing this work, he crossed a boundary into what we might call proto-psychology.

He worried how his work would be interpreted by the church, and had a crisis of faith. He ‘converted’ himself to Christianity, becoming a Dominican priest in 1473.


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He wrote the Three Books on Life while he was working with Pico della Mirandola (a famous Renaissance humanist)

Ficino published his complete works of Plato in October 1484, at the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, which would have had a tremendous significance for Ficino and other astrologers.

At the very hour it was published, Pico della Mirandola arrived in Florence to work with Ficino as his student and colleague.

Between the time Pico arrived and the publishing of the Three Books of Life, Pico had gone to Rome to challenge the church authorities on their dogmatic, Aristotelian views. He claimed he would defend 900 theses against anyone, something Ficino encouraged him to do. But Innocent VIII charged him with heresy.

Ficino wrote the Three Books of Life while a plague outbreak was running through Florence. He knew the third book would be the most contentious and dangerous: note how it mixes ancient astrology with disclaimers he is only reporting what others have said.

When the Three Books of Life was published, Marsilio was almost immediately censured. His book was received as a work of demonic magic and necromancy.

However, he was able to use his powerful connections to the Medicis and other powerful Florentine families to get out of hot water, something that took over a year.

Ficino thought melancholy was a condition of the soul in the body, one to which the philosopher was prone.

Melancholy was the soul’s cry for escape from the prison of the body. Normally, melancholics were ascetics – they cloistered themselves and denied the importance of the body (recall the Cathars from Unit I).

But Ficino challenged this: he saw the soul or psyche as a whole heaven within us (microcosm), and if you were plagued by Saturn’s dry and despondent influence, you needed to turn to Jupiter for help, to let a little Joviality into your life to temper or balance the Saturnian tendency to somber extremes.

Ficino’s Three Books on Life It was the project, of bringing the whole heaven within us into harmony, that occupies

Ficino in his Three Books of Life. It is a commonly neglected work – the criticism is that it is “not philosophical

enough” But this is an unwarranted criticism: Ficino wrote the Three Books of Life when he was working on his translation of

Plotinus.1 In fact, the text we are reading is Ficino’s extended commentary on one of Plotinus’ Enneads (the name scholars give for Plotinus’ works), one on the influence of the celestial bodies on the human being. This kind of work, we’ve seen, was

1 Plotinus was one of the most famous Platonists, who ushered in a new stage of Platonist philosophy in the 3rd century CE. In Plotinus’ world system, there are three ‘hypostases’ or kinds of beings: the One, Reason, and Soul. Plotinus believed Reason and Soul were ‘emanations’ or a kind of pouring out of light from the One (the one is equivalent to Plato’s “Form of the Good”). From soul, the sensible world emanates, the world of nature and matter. Ficino offers a similar but slightly modified view: God/The One, The Angelic Mind, Rational Soul, “Quality”, Matter.


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considered taboo, and writing about it could lead to condemnation, charges of heresy, and danger to life. Ficino was connected, so this wasn’t such a worry for him.

And he had the influence of Saturn and Plotinus to guide him. Ficino shares with Plotinus the belief that human beings are descended souls –

spiritual beings that have fallen into a lower place in the ontological hierarchy (or Chain of Being) than they naturally occupy.

The goal of philosophy is to re-ascend to our proper place in the hierarchy. On Making Your Life Agree with the Heavens Reaching the goal of philosophy is the purpose of the third book On Making your

Life agree with the Heavens. To re-ascend to our proper place in the cosmic hierarchy (in other words, to live a

good and fully human life), we must seek out the ‘sympathies’ or hidden connections between material and celestial things, all those things that link the different levels of the cosmic hierarchy.

In other words, we need to “align” our inner microcosm to the universal macrocosm. We do this by seeking out the ‘occult’ sympathies. ‘Sympathies’ or links may appear as qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative sympathies are similarities in outward appearance. See texts (c) to (h). These similarities are between heavenly or celestial things (the six heavenly ‘gods’ of

the geocentric cosmos: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Jupiter, Saturn; and the individual fixed stars and Zodiacal signs) and earthly things.

Pay particularly close attention to his examples in texts (c), (d) and (g) In (c) he mentions objects that share similarities with celestial things. In (d) he mentions activities that share similarities with (or are influenced by)

celestial things. In (g) he mentions the conditions under which medicines must be made in order

to be effective. (He also discusses why medicines are more likely to work than images, thus aligning himself with his fellow Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas)

Quantitative sympathies are similarities of harmony or number. See texts (i), (j),

(m) to (o). They are precursors to the quantitative method of the Scientific Revolution.

In text (i), he claims that images or talismans do not have power insofar as they are images. (Whether Ficino actually believed they didn’t is controversial: he may simply be saying this to agree with Aquinas and avoid trouble. Then again, the fact that he talks about them at all suggests images were things he wanted his audience to be aware of.)

In text (j), he gives an explanation of talismans that is consistent with Aquinas (and hence the Church), by explaining the power of talismans to be due to their production under similar harmonies to the celestial harmonies. So long as the same quantity of forces of the right type are employed. Harmonies are fundamentally mathematical relationships.

In texts (m) to (o), Ficino is trying to explain the effectiveness of conjurations, magic spells, and songs, in terms of harmonies. Read the passages to see how it is meant to


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work, recalling that harmonies are mathematical relationships between things that can be induced in different materials.

(Texts (a) and (p) are examples of Ficino’s attempts to avoid condemnation from the Church)

Medical and Physiological Background Ficino assumes a familiarity with the humoural theory of the body and the

psychological theory of vital spirits. Here is an overview of both: Humoural Medicine – Medicine of the Body Ancient medicine was grounded in the Hippocratic view that the body is composed of

four types of elements or humours: blood, yellow bile, phlegm, black bile These four humours were associated with four primary qualities, which are pairs of

opposites along a form-privation continuum: hot—cold & moist—dry The four Aristotelilan elements were associated with the four humours The four humours and the four elements have corresponding kinds of powers, based

on the power of the primary qualities: o Hot and Cold are ACTIVE powers: heat causes movement, growth, change;

cold cause sthings to coalesce, cease moving, and remain o Moist and Dry are PASSIVE powers: moist things can cohere, can be moved

as a whole, moisture is like the glue that keeps things together; dry things are rigid, resist penetration, and are brittle.

All material things are made up of these qualities – inanimate things out of the elements alone, animate things out of the humours which are made out of the elements.

AIR / BLOOD

hot FIRE /

Y. BILE

Moist + dry

WATER / PHLEGM

cold EARTH / B. BILE

Health is defined as the harmony or balance of these four humours in the body Disease is defined as an imbalance of one or more of these humours. When the humours are out of balance, one of the primary qualities will have more

influence over the body, and the influence of the excess quality (or qualities) causes decay.

For example: you have an excess of Blood. This causes your body to have an excess of heat. Heat has the power to dry things out, and to set things moving quickly. Your body, due to the excess heat, will “over heat” in fever, causing the internal organs to


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dry out and move to quickly, leading to the failure of some internal organ or others, and then death.

Medicine is the art of balancing humours by introducing medicines that will balance humours or performing surgery that will remove excess humours.

See text (k) for an example. Spiritual Medicine – Medicine of the Soul The body has, additionally, three types of vital spirits The vital spirits are used by the soul, or carry the influences of the soul, throughout

the body, and allow the soul to act on the body. In the Chain of Being, three types of living things are distinguished:

o Plants o Animals o Humans

The divisions correspond to three types of soul o Nutritive o Sensitive o Rational

The types of soul are responsible for distinct sets of living functions o Nutritive: reproduction, growth, and maintenance of the body o Sensitive: sense-perception and locomotion o Rational: thinking

The vital spirit is shared by all living things – plants, animals and humans o It is produced in the liver and flows through the veins to all parts of the body,

nourishing it, and driving it to feed and reproduce itself The animal spirit is only present in animals and humans

o It is produced in the right ventricle of the heart, and flows through the arteries, giving the parts of the body sensation, allowing the various sense organs to communicate their information to a central organ that coordinates and assembles the sensations into a picture of the world, and, through something like instinct and rudimentary cognition, allows the animal to move its organs based on that sense information

The rational spirit is only present in humans o It is produced in the brain and flows through the nerves. The rational spirit

carries mental images, representations of the information from our senses, which the rational soul reflects on in order to make judgements, form opinions, and carry out all other higher-order cognitive functions.

See texts (d), (e), and (n) for examples.

Phil 2006: Natural Magic IV: Giordano Bruno Sean Coughlin December 1, 2011

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December 1, 2011 Natural Magic IV: The Burning of Giordano Bruno and the Rise of the Witch Hunts Contact Information: Sean Coughlin [email protected] UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: Giordano Bruno, On Magic [WebCT] Next Time: Exam Review Lecture I. The Question II. Giordano Bruno III. The 17th Century Aftermath I. The Question The Point of the Course (from Robert Butts): To “maintain the values of human freedom in a world of unequally distributed power,

[of] providing the cognitive resources necessary for making rational choices.” Why is this important? “If we fail to study and to philosophically ruminate on the dark side of human history,

we lose perspective when confronted with present evils. For we, not the witches are the authors of evil.”

Exposition When we read of the witch hunts, the witch trials, the torture and execution of thousands at the hands of a few, it’s quite normal to become enraged. And the hindsight of history lets many of us look back safely on this episode as a period characterized by two things: (1) irrationality; and (2) immorality. In the first unit of the course, we looked at the ways contemporary historians, sociologists, anthropologists, have tried to understand the causes of the Witch Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries. From the vantage point, it seemed as though we might be able to get a handle on why such terrible things happen. Why a certain part of Western European society – poor, marginalized women – who had been around forever might all


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of a sudden be singled out as guilty by suspicion of committing crimes so atrocious they warranted some of the most brutal, violent and hateful executions in Modern European history. Throughout the last unit, we have been combing the depths of the philosophical systems that formed the intellectual grounding for these events. We have learned that the fear of witches and of magic, of heresy and of the devil, was grounded in a particular world view in which God permits demons to trick and possess us in order to test our faith in God and in order to carry out Divine Punishment. But demons were also used to explain, according to the natural science at the time, phenomena of action at a distance, of disease and madness, of climactic upheaval and personal hardship. They were woven into the very fabric of reality, in nature itself. Doubting their existence, their influence or their danger was the height of irrationality. So when Ficino began to develop an alternate view of the universe, one based on a prisca theologia of Hermes Trismegistus and Plato, one where magical sympathies and antipathies based on the attraction of earthly and heavenly spirits for one another, it is perhaps not surprising that Pope Innocent VIII saw in his work a new and insidious kind of learned necromancy. Innocent believed in the power of demons to corrupt the faithful. He had no reason not to. Everyone agreed about this—even the new magicians paid lip service to the fact that some spirits were fallen and could trick and harm us. And Innocent VIII heard reports from the frontiers of Germany of a new danger, a new sect of devil worshipping men and women who practiced magic for the benefit of Satan and the harm of all. But because magic was being seriously proposed by powerful and educated men, Innocent was convinced that there must be something to all of this, that magic represented a new and growing threat to the power of the Church and, hence, to the existence of his world. So he commanded his inquisitors to study and devise a method for dealing with this new heresy, and Kramer and Sprenger obliged him with the Malleus Maleficarum, a work which said nothing particularly new, except that the torture and execution of women so much as supposed of sorcery or witchcraft was not only justifiable, but necessary. Philosophy itself never killed any witches. Philosophy is simply a reflection of how we reflect on our world, on our thoughts, and on our selves. But when that reflection edifies, when it becomes static under the auspices of authority, when it is convinced that it finally truly understands what there is to be understood, philosophical and religious systems can ground our decisions to take the most extreme and even violent measures to preserve and protect the world it thinks is the right one. All of us have gone through an education system that teaches us the world that has been determined to be the right one. Even if we are taught tolerance, or even if we come to think our moral beliefs are relative, that is a belief we have been taught to accept. Have you questioned these beliefs? Do you even know how to question your own beliefs? When we read Kuhn, he asks a similar kind of question that can be paraphrased like this: how do one’s starting assumptions, one’s “paradigm”, change how we see the world


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around us, and how we try to understand it? How does a paradigm dictate our methods? And how can we judge the coherence of our world-view if the world-view itself is what we use to ground all of our beliefs about the world and about right and wrong? It is this, one of our greatest intellectual difficulties, that allowed Innocent VIII to be skeptical of the claims of the magicians, and almost certain that the sorcerers and witches posed a true threat to the natural and moral order. For, in his world, how can you know that the procedures of natural magic do not involve illicit rites and the conjuration of evil spirits? How can you know that the actions of a small segment of society aren’t actually going to lead to the damnation of all? II. Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in Rome for heresy on February 17, 1600. His ashes were dumped into the Tiber river, and his works were placed on the index of prohibited books in 1603. The records of his trial are lost, and his works were not recovered for over two hundred years. In the very same room in which he was tried, Galileo was brought for trial 16 years later. Galileo did not suffer the same fate. Bruno was a Copernican, who believed the earth revolved around the sun. He thought the universe was infinite, he believed in the possibility of other worlds, and maintained the universe was in some sense identical to God. In the text I assigned, we see this view of God and the cosmos worked out as it relates to magic. And this text represents a late articulation of the Renaissance Neoplatonist paradigm which was so antithetical to the views at the time. On Magic The following are the main theses from Bruno’s On Magic and their implications. Ficino is important background for understanding Bruno. Thesis: The world is an animated whole, filled everywhere with spirits (p.123)

o some spirits are in subtle matter, i.e., air and fire o some are in dense matter, i.e., water and earth o some in composite bodies, animals, plants o some in unobservable bodies, i.e., the ‘spirits’ which give the wind enough

force to break trees, or cause the earth to quake, in other words – pure power of movement

o some spirits can act within one kind of body, i.e. human spirits can only act in human bodies

o others act in more than one body, i.e., fire can be found in coal, wood or in the upper sphere; demons can be in humans, air, earth, etc.

o Bruno reads Ficino literally – the spirits are not merely psychological ‘types’, but actual entities communicating with us, altering our thoughts


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o The unobservable is the psychological – his examples are fear and love, happiness and sadness, fear or boldness, desire or aversion – which derives ultimately from the principle of self-preservation

Thesis: Demons are material, unobservable bodies, that can penetrate other

bodies and cause thoughts in us (p.124) o How? Example: if someone is at a distance, you need to shout to get them to

think of something o if they are closer, you need only speak; closer, whisper; demons act right on

the internal sense o they don’t give the same information to everyone, but the mechanism is the

same o there are more species of spirits than sensible species (i.e., animals and plants)

Thesis: There are different kinds of demons, and have correspondingly different

levels of intelligence o Some are dumb as beasts – to free yourself of these is a medical issue:

purgation. o Ficino (text k) talked of using hellebore to renew the body and soul – in fact,

body and soul are so related that treating one produces effects in the other o treating the body and the mind is a holistic matter o Bruno recognizes the same thing, but his approach is more similar to modern

medicine, where psychological problems are given physical causes, than analytic psychology, where psychological problems are seen as distinct or independent of the physical mechanisms – psychological problems are seen as something to study independently of the body

o Other psychological characteristics of demons: some are perceptive, but lack reason – they are unable to understand

the difference between the possible and the impossible: these are like people who are dreaming.

Bruno’s point is that there are some psychological phenomena that can be shocked or scared out of us, (say) by threats – we change our behaviour due to these threats.

The explanation for these phenomena are given in terms of demons or spirits that reside in us.

There are other spirits too, which have reason and knowledge (p.125). Some of these live in the air, air in its pure state. and these are unharmed by prayer or ritual, act freely and distort appearances.

And there are spirits who reside in the aether. Aether was posited by Aristotle as a 5th substance that has its own kind of natural, circular motion. The planets were carried around in this substance.

This was to account for the motion of the heavens around the earth without appealing to a world soul, as Plato did in Timaeus.

The idea of aether, however, morphed over time into the idea that the heavenly bodies were made of this aether, which accounted for their luminosity.


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These bodies were identified by Arabic philosophers with the celestial intelligences of Plato and the angels of the Hebrew scriptures. Thus, Bruno is being quite traditional, as traditional as Ficino, when he attributes goodness and friendliness to these spirits, since they are his angels.

The spirits of our world, the lower world, the water and earth spirits, are all harmful and cause injury.

Thesis: All natural changes are to be ascribed to spirits.

o Psychological phenomena that others would attribute to an imbalance in our humours, Bruno attributes to an influence in our spirits.

o These spirits follow an analogous chain in the ‘occult’ unobservable bodies as the sensible ones do in the Chain of Being

o Recall that in the writing of Hermes Trismegistus, the sensible and intelligible worlds were collapsed. Our world shows both order and disorder, but the world can be understood. Ficino says the same thing when he talks about seeds (text b) that exist and can be cultivated by different spirits.

o Bruno is continuing in this tradition, but modifying it by making all things different kinds of material – sensible and spiritual matter, where spiritual matter is always suffused with some kind of invisible living spirit that accounts for the various kinds of movements we see.

Thesis: Unity in natural change is guaranteed by spirits, which bind things

together so that they can act as one thing o Recall our discussion of natural change – if there is nothing that determines

the identity of a composite or an aggregate, then the composite is not one thing, but many things.

o There must be something that binds a composite together, so that you or I are one thing and not just a pile of earth, water, air and fire; or blood and bile.

o It must be the soul or spirit that binds these things together. o All existence can be seen as a love of the soul for its body, or a harmony

between the soul and its body, such that they can be considered one thing. o Think of a stringed instrument: the strings, neck, frets, body, etc., are material

things, each separate and distinct from the other. There is no real unity to a guitar – it is merely an aggregate of parts. But when the strings vibrate, they produce a single harmony of notes, and this harmony is determined by the ratio of the length of the strings. This ratio is one thing and constitutes the unity of the instrument. The harmony in a sense binds the instrument together

o Another example: Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the British Romantics:

And what if all of animated nature Be but organic Harps diversly fram'd,

That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze,


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At once the Soul of each, and God of all?1 Thesis: The harmonies or ‘actualizations / activities’ are like souls; the

sympathies and antipathies between the ‘actualizations / activities’ are ‘loves’ and ‘hates’. These derive from the ‘instinct’ or drive for self-preservation.

o Bruno goes on to say that, in addition to ‘actualizations’ or ‘souls’, there are also loves and hates.

o These are the things I have been calling ‘sympathies and antipathies’. o The terms are from Ficino. These are the attractive and repulsive forces

between things, which the magicians saw as a kind of erotic drive in all of nature to bind or join like things together, and keep unlike things apart.

o Bruno also describes it as the instinct of self-preservation. o Everything wants to remain itself, and this is its primary goal – to maintain its

existence. o This desire or instinct for self-preservation is explains the sympathetic

relationship between things, particularly between the bonding of the soul and its body.

o Bruno thinks the same phenomenon is observed in what we normally take to be inanimate things (recall Bruno thinks, like Plato, that the whole world is a living thing and everything in it is alive): water droplets form a sphere to avoid disintegration; bodies move to the centre of the earth to avoid the same – they are attracted to the centre so that they do not spread out and disassociate; a piece of grass in the fire curls up in its attempt not to disintegrate.

Thesis: The drive of self-preservation is the same in everything because

everything shares the same spiritual reality; however, this reality manifest differently depending on the type of material in which it is realized.

o Bruno explains the bonding of things by making an analogy between spirits (which occupy simply bodies) and composite, sensible living things:

o Bruno sees the whole living world as a reflection of the spiritual world o On the one hand, while the whole sensible cosmos contains the all the material

stuff there is, the material in each part of the cosmos is different. I mean, my matter is different from yours, the matter in Antarctica is different form the matter on Alpha Centuri. The cosmos, in other words, has parts.

o The spiritual world, however, is one and connected –it is identical with itself everywhere.

o He uses the example of a mirror to explain what he means. A mirror reflects an image, and it reflects everything in front of it. Imagine the mirror were broken. Each piece would still reflect the whole image, and not merely a part of the image. Different pieces might also reflect the image more or less clearly: pieces might get tarnished or cracked, so that the image is obscure. But they are still reflecting or manifesting one whole, one reality.

1 Samuel Coleridge, “The Aeolian Harp”, Selected Poetry and Prose, Stauffer, ed., New York, The Modern Library, 1951, p.57.


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o The analogy is meant to show Bruno’s commitment to the Platonic idea that one cosmic soul is multiplied and reflected in its instantiations, and depending on the matter, these instantiations vary, accounting for the diversity of forms we see in the world. These instantiations or ‘copies’ of the one world soul are arranged hierarchically.

Implication: the bonds or sympathies between things are determined by the type

of spirit (i.e., the grade of the soul) manifest in matter. These sympathies account for causation, change and order. They vary widely from the unity of the universal spirit reflected in all things to the effect of beliefs on magic spells, to the power of rulers over their subjects.

o All magic depends on bonding or sympathetic activities or changes. (‘Bonding’ just is the activity/change/motion that results from sympathetic forces. These forces are understood very broadly: from arts to magnets.)

o For the boding or sympathetic action to occur, Bruno states there are three things needed: an agent, a patient with the appropriate disposition the proper circumstances.

o Bruno uses the example of a flute player: the flute player is the agent; the flute is the appropriately disposed patient; the proper circumstances are the proper playing of the flute. If one of these conditions aren’t met, the bonding will fail, in this case, the flute won’t get played if the flute is broken. If the flute player is interrupted, the bonding will fail. If the flute player isn’t any good, the bonding will fail.

o Bruno places much importance on the disposition of the patient. Water mixes perfectly with itself because of a sympathy or awareness it has for itself. But wine does not: parts of it do not completely mix, and it can have parts separated out of the water. Oil is completely antipathetic to water. It will not mix at all.

o In all of this, Bruno sees the physical world manifesting attraction, and he sees no difference between the attraction of water to itself, magnets to themselves, and lovers to each other. They are all manifestations of the same spiritual, animated nature.

Implication: Empiricism – Bruno’s emphasis on different kinds of matter

differently disposed leads to a strongly empirical system of nature. o To figure out how properly to bind things requires one study precisely the

types of things that are mixable and which are not. o Bruno does not distinguish between phenomena like love between two people

and the ‘love’ between an electric eel and a person’s hand. The eel, he says, can shock the fisherman but not his net. In other words, causal relationships between things are not universal, but depend on specific sympathies.


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o Contrast this with, say, the mechanistic picture where everything is simply matter in motion – there is no difference between the force of anything except quantitative.

o Bruno instead sees a world populated by things literally psychologically attracted to one another such that the matter wants to take on the form of the thing it is attracted to. The world is not only alive, but in love.

o All this means that the magician must know the dispositions of things in order to know how to will the matter into the right forms. He can do this either by manipulating the interactions between things with sympathies, or by inducing sympathies in his hearers.

o Bruno also introduces a methodological principle into the mix. He says: “to give a proper explanation, the reason must be found in individual effects and cases. The occult forms and differences in things to not have their own names. They are not observable by means of vision and touch, and explanations of their specific origins are not to be found in visual and tactile differences. All we can say about these occult forms is that they do exist.”

o Unlike the Aristotelians who would attribute all natural change to the interactions of earth, air, water and fire, Bruno is willing to withhold a priori considerations about causation based on visual similarities and identifications, or tactile ones like hot and cold.

o Instead, he thinks the causal relationships must be investigated by a kind of experiment. Only by looking to each case and describing the relationship, only by testing how nature actually works, can the magician infer a specific cause and form a general rule.

o It is a proto-version of the inductive method of the scientific revolution. o Note as well, similar to the scientific method, the purpose is not merely to

understand nature, but to use it for our ends. It is, ultimately, a pragmatic endeavour.

III. The Aftermath What was the aftermath of this fear and rejection of sorcery, a fear of a great evil that Innocent VIII believed would destroy his world? In a sense, Innocent VIII was right to be afraid. The Hermetic magicians and the revival of old knowledge led to the rejection of the Aristotelian cosmos and it heralded a new method of natural philosophy that became known as the scientific revolution, the seeds of which are present in the astrology and alchemy of Ficino and Bruno. But it also heralded a new class of thinkers and judges who would defend their dying world against the new epistemological threat to their authority. Henri Boguet a judge who personally observed the possessions and sorceries of

witches in prison, wrote books detailing his observations, and had 600 executed. He was particularly notorious for his torture and execution of children.

Jean Bodin, the influential judge who wrote on demonology and against the Hermetic magicians, asserted the reliability of any accusations against witches and the justifiability of torture in extracting confessions.


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Nicolas Remy, another judge who said “whatever is not normal is due to the Devil”, and personally oversaw or allowed over 900 executions.

Pierre de Lancre who wrote three books on witch craft and was ordered by the French King to put an end to it in Bordeaux. He personally oversaw the execution of dozens.

And it heralded a whole class of people who capitalized on the witch craze. People like Matthew Hopkins, who, along with his associates, were responsible for more executions of witches between 1645 and 1647 than had taken place in the previous hundred years. Recall, “if we fail to study and to philosophically ruminate on the dark side of human history, we lose perspective when confronted with present evils. For we, not the witches are the authors of evil.” So we have two questions to think about for next term: Which side of this war would you have wanted to be on? Which side of this war would you have been on?

Giordano Bruno Monument in Rome

Phil 2006: Introduction to the Witch Trials Sean Coughlin January 19, 2012

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January 19, 2012 Introduction to the Witch Trials Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT This Time’s Reading (Thurs. Jan. 19): • [KP] 33: Pope Innocent VIII Papal Bull • [KP] 34: Malleus Maleficarum Part III (p.204-end) Next Week’s Reading: • Tuesday:

o [WebCT] E. Currie, “Crimes without Criminals: Witchcraft and Its Control in Renaissance Europe.” Law and Society Review (Vol 3, No. 1, Aug 1968), p.7-32

• Thursday: o [WebCT] “Laws and Punishments” in Rosen (ed.), Witchcraft in England,

1558-1618 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1969), p.51-61. o [KP 45] Jean Bodin, On the Demon-Mania of Witches (1580)

Lecture Pope Innocent VIII Review • Oct. 1484: Ficino publishes his translation of the complete works of Plato at the

conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter • Compels Pico della Mirandola to go to Rome to present his 900 theses, for which he

also wrote the Oration on the Dignity of Man, a work thought to embody the principles of the Renaissance humanists.

• Many of the theses are declared heretical by Innocent the VIII in 1487, Pico is arrested while fleeing to France

Background • Innocent VIII was elected Bishop of Rome on 29 August 1484 and died 25 July 1492 • Greatly concerned about the expansion of heresy • His Papal Bull of 1484, called summis desiderantes affectibus (“Desiring with

supreme ardor”)

mailto:[email protected]


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• The purpose of the Bull is to threaten the authorities in certain regions of Germany with excommunication if they do not follow the orders of two inquisitors, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger

What is a Papal Bull? • A papal bull is a document written by the Pope in which he makes some decree • “Bull” refers to the bulla or metal seal affixed to the document used to show its

authenticity • They are named after the opening line of the bull, in our case, “desiring with supreme

ardor” • It sets the direction for the Church and is meant to be taken seriously by all those

under Papal authority • At this time, that meant pretty much everybody. Why did Pope Innocent VIII write the bull? • As soon as he was elected Pope, two inquisitors approached him with a story about

the dangerous spread of witchcraft in Germany o “It has come to our ears, not without great pain to us, that in some parts of

upper Germany… many persons of both sexes, heedless of their own salvation… give themselves over to devils male and female, and by their incantations, charms and conjurings…ruin and cause to perish the offspring of women, the foal of animals, the products of the earth…;that they afflict and torture with dire pains and anguish…;that…they deny with sacrilegious lips the faith they received in holy baptism…” (p.178)

• More importantly, Innocent VIII was told that the local authorities (both ecclesiastical and secular) were preventing Kramer and Sprenger from exercising their authority as inquisitors. (p.178)

• He wrote the bull to coerce authorities in those regions in Germany to aid the inquisition

o “We…do hereby decree, by virtue of our apostolic authority, that it shall be permitted to the said inquisitors in these regions to exercise their office of inquisition and to proceed to the correction, imprisonment, and punishment of the aforesaid persons for their said offenses.” (p.179)

• If they did not help, they would be punished: o “threatening all opposers, hinderers, contradictors, and rebels… with

excommunication, suspension, interdict, and other still more terrible sentences, censures, penalties, as may be expedient…to this end calling in the aid, if need be, of the secular arm.” (p.179)

Significance • There is nothing significantly new in the Papal Bull. It reasserts the fears of heresy

already stated by John XXII. • It acts as a kind of summary conclusion and plan of action against the conspiracy of

witches and Satan. • The plan of action is strengthened by the pope’s authority. • Two types of authority at play: spiritual and political


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• Unclear which is dominant force at play: o Spiritual: “desiring with supreme ardor…that the catholic faith in our days

everywhere grow as much as possible, and that all heretical depravity be put far from the territories of the faithful…” (p.177)

o Political: “certain of the clergy and of the laity of those parts, seeking to be wise above what is fitting… do not blush obstinately to assert…that [the inquisitors] are not to be permitted to proceed to the punishment, imprisonment, and correction of the aforesaid persons for the offences and crimes above named” (p. 178).

Kramer and Sprenger, The Malleus Maleficarum part III Background • After Innocent VIII wrote the bull, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger set to work

on writing a handbook called the Malleus Maleficarum, the “Hammer of the Witches” • This work became the chief source for information about witches’ activities • The activities described in the Malleus become those which are most often cited in

the 16th and 17th centuries. • It is the chief inspiration for later works against the threat of witchcraft. • The work is divided into three parts:

o First part (of which we read selections) establishes that disbelief in witches is heresy and explains why women are most often witches

o Second part looks to how to investigate witchcraft o Third part, which we are looking at today, details the legal proceedings

against witches, and justifies these proceedings deviation from normal civil and church procedures.

Opening up to civil courts • Inquisitors were men of the church • They were not allowed to spill blood • As a result, they required the secular authority to execute supposed witches • To this end, they write that it is “for the secular judge to carry out the sentence and to

punish” • This was not allowed for other heresies – the most the inquisition could do was

excommunicate a member. • How do they justify this? • “It seems also that in the heresy of witches, though not in the other case of other

heresies [civil courts can try and judge] for two reasons: first because … the crime of witches is not purely ecclesiastical…; and also because special laws are provided for dealing with witches.”

Kinds of Testimony Accepted (pp.205-209) • Enemies can be allowed as witnesses • “there are other serious degrees of enmity (for women are easily provoked to hatred),

which need not totally disqualify a witness, although they render his evidence very doubtful” (p.205)


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• Evidence from enemies is acceptable, but it must be substantiated by independent proofs and other witnesses.

• How to establish if it was enmity that caused someone to be accused: o The judge must ask the prisoner if he or she has any enemies. If she or he

names the accuser, the judge will take this into consideration by asking others about the cause of the dispute. If others substantiate the claim, the judge will reject the evidence.

o If the prisoner names no one, but admits to having quarrels with women, or names an enemy who wasn’t given testimony, but other witnesses say the accuser has testified falsely, the judge must admit it.

• Most courts would outright reject the testimony of enemies. K&S claim “such men are ignorant of the subtlety and precautions of magistrates.”

• Accusers should not be named to the accused • Normally, to defend oneself, one wants to hear the deposition of those accusing them • K&S state that the judge need not do this • The argument:

o If naming the witnesses or informers would put them in danger, then their names can be withheld.

o Witches all have the power to cause maleficia o If witches knew their accuser, they could use magic to harm them o Therefore, the names should be withheld (p.206-207)

• K&S threaten excommunication to anyone who releases the names of accusers indiscriminately.

• However, if there is no danger, then it is a punishable offence not to release the names.

• Accused can have an advocate to aid in the defense • The accused cannot choose an advocate • The advocate is appointed by the judge and must be “neither a litigious nor an evil-

minded man, nor yet one who is easily bribed, but rather an honourable man to whom no suspicion attaches” (p. 208)

• Advocate is not given the names of the witnesses • “It is not a valid argument for [the advocate] to say to the Judge that he is not

defending the error, but the person.” (p.209) • What this means: “if he unduly defends a person already suspect of heresy, he makes

himself as it were a patron of that heresy.” Justification of Torture (pp.209-211) • For a witch to be condemned to death, she must be convicted by her own confession

(p.209) • If she does not confess, but there is indirect or direct evidence for the heresy, “she is

to be exposed to questions and torture to extort a confession of her crimes” (p.209)


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• In other words, if there is sufficient evidence to certainly suspect someone, but they have not confessed, then they will be tortured until they confess

• What are direct and indirect evidence? o “And when the oath has been sworn, he shall question him as to how he

knows that his depositions are true, and whether he saw or heard that to which he swears. And if he says that he has seen anything, as, for example, that the accused was present at such a time of tempest, or that he had touched an animal, or had entered a stable, the Judge shall ask when he saw him, and where, and how often, and in what manner, and who were present. If he says that he did not see it, but heard of it, he shall ask him from whom he heart it, where, when, and how often, and in whose presence, making separate articles of each of the several points above mentioned.” (from Part III, Q.I)

• Why confession? o First: it is direct proof that the accused committed the crime o Second: a kind of “shame” culture. Public acknowledgement of the wrongness

of one’s actions. It is required that one acknowledge that the wrong is wrong (or that the sin is sin) in order to justify the wrong or sin itself.

• Direct evidence: K&S tell the story of a man bargaining with a woman. They could not agree on a price and the woman said “You will soon wish you had agreed”. “For witches generally use this manner of speaking, or something like it, when they wish to bewitch a person by looking at him” (p. 209). The man looked back at the woman, he was bewitched, and his mouth was stretched sideways as far as his ears, and “he remained deformed for a long time” (p.210).

• Direct evidence, testimony and confession are all allowed as independent proofs of heresy.

• Torture must be used carefully • The devil can make the witch insensitive to pain: “unless God, through a holy angel,

compels the devil to withhold his help from the witch, she will be so insensible to the pains of torture that she will sooner be torn limb from limb than confess any of the truth.” (p.210)

• So why bother with torture? • “they are not all equally endowed with this power” (p. 210) • Why do some witches readily confess and others do not? (p.211) • Either (1) the devil is compelled by God to leave the witch • Or (2) the devil deserts the witch of his own will, in order that the torture and horrible

death “he may lead to despair those over whose hearts he could never obtain the mastery” (p. 211)

Application of Torture (p.211-219) • “To be placed under the question” • First, tell her she may get off easy if she confesses, and get her friends to tell her this • If this does not work, “question her lightly without shedding blood” • This “light questioning” is often fallacious and ineffective • Procedure:

o Strip


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o Search clothes for charms or amulets o Ask her to confess o “Bind her with cords, and apply her some engine of torture” (p.213) o Release her and tell her if she confesses she can escape the death penalty (!)

What justifies the promise of escape from death? The witch has confessed, so she must die. Why should she be given life?

If it leads to the evidence and imprisonment of other witches she can be allowed to live

A witch can be allowed to live for a while, but after a certain period she should be burned

One judge can promise her life, and then that judge can resign and another judge can sentence her to death.

In the end, this matter should be left to the judges o If she does not confess, she is to be tortured again, and more frequently o The graver torture should not be used often (likely because she might die) o If she confesses now, she should be questioned again without torture o If she does not confess, she is threatened with more engines of torture o If she does not confess, they are to be used for two more days o If she still does not confess, promise her life o She should not be left alone, lest she kill herself.

Torture as Evidence of a Witch • The accused could be a witch if:

o She does not weep when being exposed to torture, “although she will assume a tearful aspect” (p.215). The more powerful she is, the more likely she is not to weep.

o She does weep. The devil may allow the witch to weep. The Dangers of Witches • Witches can bewitch a judge with their eyes or their touch. • The judge must carry Blessed Herbs or Blessed Wax to ward off the evil. • The witch must be brought into the court backwards so that she cannot look at the

judge and bewitch him. • She must be completely shaved, in case she has charms on or in any part of her body. • Witches can give strength to other witches, even if all charms have been found.

(p.217) The Sentencing • Sentence can be pronounced by secular or church court • Either way, the witch is handed over to the secular authority to be executed. [Not covered on exam] What to do with denials? • Read p.222-224 What about those who use witch-craft for good?


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• Shows a recognition that witchcraft can be used for good, and used in a lawful way • There is difficulty telling whether someone was using legal or illegal magic • The problem: what if someone, in trying to cure a patient, caused more harm than

good? Medical malpractice with dire consequences • Any magic involving divination or midwifery are automatically illegal • If someone in authority has a court magician, they are culpable if the magician

practices illegal conjurations. • At this time, it was quite common to have a court magician. • This is not unlike the Royal Society or the National Academy of Sciences today. • Check out the story of John Dee & Queen Elizabeth!

o http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2010/12/john_dee_magician_astronomer_astrologer.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2010/12/john_dee_magician_astronomer_astrologer.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2010/12/john_dee_magician_astronomer_astrologer.html

Phil 2006: Witchcraft and Social Control Sean Coughlin January 24, 2012

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January 24, 2012 Witchcraft and Social Control Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Next Time’s Reading (Thurs. Jan. 26): • [WebCT] “Laws and Punishments” in Rosen (ed.), Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618

(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1969), p.51-61. • [KP 45] Jean Bodin, On the Demon-Mania of Witches (1580) Next Week’s Reading: • [K c.5] “Classic Accusers: The Possessed” • [KP 56] “The Devils of Loudon” Lecture Elliott P. Currie, “Crimes without Criminals: Witchcraft and its Control in Renaissance Europe” Question: • How do systems designed to control a population impact how deviant behaviour is

perceived and expressed? • Ignore the differences between deviants and non-deviants – take a Martian’s

perspective. What do we see? Thesis First the obvious: society defines the kinds of behaviour it will consider odd, disgusting, criminal Less obvious: the elements of deviance will be affected by the kind of control system that defines and manages deviant behaviour. These elements include the rate of deviance, and the kinds of people identified as deviant. Currie applies this to Witchcraft in Renaissance Europe, specifically, “the way in which phenomenon of witchcraft differed in England and continental Europe, as a result of differences in their legal systems.”



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Witchcraft as deviance • Currie is focusing on the kind of witchcraft we’ve been studying:

o A pact with the devil o power to manipulate “supernatural forces” for anti-social, anti-christian ends.

“Thought crime” • Deviant aspect is not necessarily the practise of magic • It is the adherence to deviant beliefs • Evidence: before Papal Bull and MM, witchcraft was a minor offence • Then:

o Continent – Heresy (penalty death) o England – Felony whose essence was mental (penalty death)

• Two things that happened that influenced the shift in the legal view of witchcraft: 1. Innocent VIII 2. Malleus Maleficarum

• Currie exaggerates the number of executions (by about 5x) • The gist: witchcraft explained all drastic or unpleasant occurrences Results of the new status of witchcraft Problems for social control systems:

1. Ordinary sources of evidence were useless: No one had ever seen anyone making a pact with the devil; and, in fact, it was theoretically impossible

2. Normal procedures for gathering evidence were useless: acts were too occult Responses:

1. English framework: legal order was limited in its suppression of witchcraft, due process of law was followed

2. Continental framework: minimal limitations on activity of legal system, due process went out the window

Continental Europe: Repressive control • Repressive control (rough definition): specialized bureaucratic agency with unusual

powers, and a complete absence of restraints on what it could do. • Characteristics: Accusation, detection, prosecution, judgement all in the hands of

the official control system, rather than private persons, and in one individual for the most part. Secret inquiry; use of torture.

• Why does this happen? To maintain ideological purity of Christendom. Legal process was a tool of the moral order. The use and limits were contingent on the needs of that order.

Erosion of Safeguards 1. Complete proof • There had been safeguards: rigorous conception of proof. • Court required complete proof for capital punishment


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• Complete proof: two eyewitnesses to the act, or, in the case of heresy or conspiracy, written proofs bound by standards of authenticity

• This kind of proof was nearly impossible in the case of witchcraft. So, courts combined confession, which was only strong (but not complete) evidence with testimony of a single witness.

• Result: Confession at all costs; relaxed standards for testimony and use of other lesser evidence; torture.

2. Torture • Before: Needed sufficient indication of guilt to torture and torture could not be used

immoderately (tempered according to strength, age, sex and condition of accused, torture could not be repeated, but could be “continued”)

• After: torture at all costs to extract confessions, regardless of indication of guilt. • Result: Two other uses of confession

o denunciation of accomplices o read at public executions o Both served to reinforce the existence of witchcraft and the legitimacy of

the trials 3. Testimony • Heretics could testify at witchtrials (i.e., confession of accused witches could be

used); they could not testify in any other cases. • Witnesses were liable to be tortured, names of witnesses were withheld from accused,

prisoner who professed innocence was rarely released, acquittal was virtually impossible, verdict was never “innocent” – at best, “not proven”.

• Only proven enmity was excepted as a reason to throw out an accusation Establishing Guilt: Impossible Dilemmas • Accused were treated to impossible dilemmas as grounds for indictment • Example:

o If a person was of good repute, then they would be considered a witch, since witches want to be highly thought of by society to promote their ends.

o If a person was of bad repute, then they would likely be a witch, since no one approves of witches.

Motivation • Economic: seizure of property • Courts would seize property of anyone accused of witchcraft Result: Join a system of unlimited power to a motive for persecution Repressive control system

1. Invulnerable to restraint from other social institutions 2. Systematic establishment of extraordinary powers for suppressing devienace,

either lack of internal restraints 3. High degree of structured interest in the apprehension and processing of deviants


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England: Restrained Control Restrained Control (rough definition): system of local courts with limited power, accountable to higher courts, with high internal restraint. Characteristics: Common law provided institutional restraints on conduct of trials • accusatory system of law with separate functions of prosecution and judgment, trial

by jury, presumption of innocence • accuser/accused equal combatants before a judge • prosecution required private, not state, accuser • trial was public • judge did not investigate • accused could appeal to a higher court, could counter-sue for defamation • accused in capital cases could call witnesses in their defense Upshot: not a tool (generally) of ideological or moral interests Consequence: fewer witches in England, fewer executions, different set of activities around control of witchcraft • but… Weakening of Safeguards 1. Testimony • testimony of one witness was sufficient in felony cases • children allowed to testify 2. Evidence • Torture illegal in England • Consequence: witnesses were rare; confessions were rare • Required other evidence, ‘external’ evidence: pricking, swimming, watching Pricking: devil’s mark insensitive to pain. If you find an unusual mark, prick it. No pain, guilt was indicated. Sufficient for conviction. Swimming: devil’s agents could not sink in water – “ordeal by water” Watching: Witch was attended by familiars; would appear at some point for food; so a watcher was appointed to watch for a number of hours or days until the watcher saw familiars. Result: • Unsystematic process of discovery: kept trying out new techniques to find evidence

of witchcraft • No confiscation of property for suspected witches, although those convicted of a

felony did have their property taken


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Restrained type of control

1. Accountable to and restraint by other social institutions 2. High degree of internal restraint, no extraordinary powers 3. Low degree of structured interested in apprehension and prosecution of deviants

Witchcraft Control as Industry: The Continent Repressive control system; economic motive This Influences:

a. rate of witchcraft; b. kinds of people convicted; c. entire complex of activities around witchcraft

• Inquisition and secular courts needed money, and money came from confiscation • Industry sustained lots of people: required income • Prisoners paid for trial expenses, even instruments of torture • All were paid high wages • More executions means more money • During the trials at Bamberg (which we’ll read) 720,000 florins were taken from

witches in a year. • At trier: “Notaries, copyists, and innkeepers grew rich. The executioner rode on a

blooded horse, like a courtier, clad in gold and silver; his wife vied with noble dames in the richness of her array… not till suddenly, as in war, the money gave out, did the zeal of the inquisitors flag.”

• To maintain level of gain, required expansion: so need to find accomplices through torture

• Witchcraft prosecutions became a profit-making industry First effect: The immense number of witches was determined by the system. This in turn “fed-back” into the public, frightening them, leading to more suppression Second effect: kinds of people accused: more men, and lots of wealthy Cause: lack of restraints on court procedure; confiscation of property Evidence for Currie’s Thesis

• When torture/confiscation became illegal sometimes, number of witches decreased

• Two examples: Hesse: banning torture – no witches for ½ century • Bamberg: no confiscation of property – no arrests after 1630 • Spain: Frias external evidence no confiscation – end of witchhunt in Spain

Witchcraft as Control Racket: England


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• Individual entrepreneurs acting from below could profit from discovery • In England, rackets developed and manipulated climate of distrust • Control structure reluctant to approve of rackets’ activities • State had no means to initiate proceedings, no motivation to (no confiscation) • Fewer trials in England, different sex and status Effect • Trades grew up to fill the need for external evidence: ‘art of witchfinding’ • Paid for by people who believed in witchcraft, e.g. Matthew Hopkins • However: precarious work: claims to knowledge of the demonic opened them up to

charges of fraud and witchcraft • One could make money, or one could be hanged • Scottish pricker in Newcastle was hanged • Hopkins had to defend himself against sorcery charges and fraud and may have been

drowned in a swimming test Consequence: fewer charged, even fewer executed, than on the continent Conclusion Control system explains who was a witch: • English witches were usually women, usually lower class

o No power or motive to stigmatize wealthy o Accusations came from below

• Continent: decline of witchcraft tied to restraints on court proceedings • England: decline tied to shift of opinion against reality of witchcraft – became seen as

illusory or improvable • By the end of 17th century, entire structure collapsed Conclusions about kinds of control Repressive • Power to accuse, convict, certify deviants leads to greater number of deviants and

their successful prosecution • Ability to systematically produce confessions from the innocent • System has greater interest in successful prosecution of deviants • Stigmatize those who will be most useful in terms of the system’s goals: economic

profit, elimination of moral/political dissent, etc. Restrained • System is restricted in its ability to create deviance independently of actual incidence

which leads to a low rate of official deviance • Community generates definitions of deviance, putting strain on system to handle

deviance and keep its procedural standards


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• Foster development of rackets, involving officials, deviants, entrepreneurs operating on the border between licit and illicit behaviour

• Deviant is lower class, will already be the most heavily repressed and powerless who cannot use safeguards the system provides, and are vulnerable to abuse.

Phil 2006: Laws and Punishments Sean Coughlin January 26, 2012

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January 26, 2012 Laws and Punishments Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT This Time’s Reading (Thurs. Jan. 26): • [WebCT] “Laws and Punishments” in Rosen (ed.), Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618

(Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1969), p.51-61. • [KP 45] Jean Bodin, On the Demon-Mania of Witches (1580) Next Week’s Reading: • [K c.5] “Classic Accusers: The Possessed” • [KP 56] “The Devils of Loudon” Lecture Recap & Intro • Period from 1550s to around 1670s characterized by “panics” • Brief spasms of intense persecution during periods of public anxiety • They lasted for brief periods of time in different areas • They were brought about by a shift in thinking about witchcraft that began with

Innocent VIII’s Papal Bull and the MM • They characteristics of these panics were determined by the kind of control system in

place: • Repressive control (Europe): specialized bureaucratic agency with unusual powers,

and a complete absence of restraints on what it could do. o Power to accuse, convict, certify deviants leads to greater number of deviants

and their successful prosecution; ability to systematically produce confessions from the innocent; system has greater interest in successful prosecution of deviants; stigmatizes those who will be most useful in terms of the system’s goals: economic profit, elimination of moral/political dissent, etc.

• Restrained control (England): system of local courts with limited power, accountable to higher courts, with high internal restraint.

o System is restricted in its ability to create deviance independently of actual incidence which leads to a low rate of official deviance; community generates definitions of deviance, putting strain on system to handle deviance and keep its procedural standards; fosters development of rackets, involving officials,



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deviants, entrepreneurs operating on the border between licit and illicit behaviour; deviant is lower class, will already be the most heavily repressed and powerless who cannot use safeguards the system provides, and are vulnerable to abuse.

Laws and Punishments Europe Overview of Political History • 1524-1648 – 120 years of religious wars in Europe • 1562-1598 – 30 years of wars of religion in France between Huguenots and Catholics • 1618-1648 – Thirty Years’ War, sides drawn on religious lines (Holy Roman Empire,

France, Sweeden, most everyone else as well) Jean Bodin (1530-1596) • Wrote Six Books of the Commonweal (1576) • Theory: State needed an unlimited and invisible sovereign. • Regarded by his contemporaries as a brilliant economist, political theorist, and

skeptic • Published "On the Demon-mania of Witches" in 1580 • Died in 1596 of plague La Démonomanie des sorciers • Bodin believed the existence and danger of witches was a clear theological and

empirical truth • “…there was a woman in the village of Verigny who was charged and acused of

many evil spells, and because of the difficulty of the proof, released. Later I learned from the inhabitants that a countless number of livestock and people had died. She died in April, 1579. Since her death, all the inhabitants of Verigny and their livestock have been at peace and no longer die as before. This shows clearly that with the end of the chief cause, comes the end of the effects, even though God brings down afflictions on those whom He pleases.” (p.302)

• Attacked all who were skeptical of witches, especially Johann Weyer (actually accused him of being a witch and called for his prosecution)

• 10 editions before 1604 Bodin’s Motivation • "There are two ways in which states are maintained in their status and greatness:

reward and punishment... [a]nd if there is a lapse in the distribution of these, one must expect nothing but the inevitable ruin of the states..." (p.290)

• Bodin thinks there must be laws in a state that reward and punish appropriately. • What is appropriate is based on two kinds of law:


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• Natural law: the view that what is right and wrong (the principles of practical rationality, i.e., what one is morally obligated to do) are determined by what is natural, since what is natural is the same as what is good.

o Example: what we naturally desire is good; it is natural to desire the opposite sex who is not a close relative; it is good to desire this; therefore, we ought to do it.

o Example: women are naturally inferior to men; it is better that the naturally superior be in a position of authority over the naturally inferior; men should be in positions of authority over women.

• Divine law: the view that what is right and wrong are determined by what is dictated by God in scripture, since what God dictates is the same as what is good.

o Example: Exodus 22:18 states, “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” o The Decalogue

• Bodin thinks the stakes in the case of witchcraft are high • Punish the witch not just to punish the crime, but also:

o To "appease the anger of God" o To "obtain the blessing of God" o To "strike fear and terror into others" o To prevent infection o To reduce the number of witches

• All serve to maintain the stability of the state, which rules according to God’s law The Charge • Heresy: "...true heresy is the crime of treason against God, and punishable by the

fire." (p.291) • Not just heresy, but apostasy (rejection of God and religion): "the witch whom I have

described does not just deny God in order to ...take up another religion, but he renounces all religion." (p.292)

Other Charges (15 in descending order) • scorn God and even idols • pay homage to the Devil • promise children to Satan before they are baptised, even before they are born • make a promise to the devil to lure others into his service • incest • murder • cannibalism, especially of children • killing with poisons, spells • kill livestock, cause famine & sterility • sex with Satan Guilty of one, guilty of all • "This does not mean that all witche are guilty of such evils, but it has been well

established that witches who have a formal compact with the Devil are normally guilty of all or most of these evil deeds." (p.293)


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Punishment • For Court-Sorcerers: "he shall be exposed to torments and tortured without making

allowances for his rank. This law should be engraved in gold letters on the doors of princes."

• Otherwise, death by burning • Reason: this is what Europeans have always done. Appeal to custom. A Problem? • "Since the proof of such wickedness is so hidden and so difficult, no one would ever

be accused or punished out of a million witches if parties were governed, as in an ordinary trial, by a lack of proof." (p.302)

Solution: Allow Weaker Evidence • "The difficult lies solely with the proof, and judges find themselves hampered by that.

If there are no valid witnesses, or confessions of the accused, or factual evidence [...] one most distinguish whether the presumptions are weak or strong. If the presumptions are weak, one must not convict the person as a witch -- nor acquit her either. [...] But if the presumptions are strong, one may consider imposing the death sentence because of the importance which separates this crime from others." (p.294)

What kinds of proof lead to strong presumptions? • possessing toads, lizards, communion wafers, strange bones or ointments • being seen coming out of a neighbours house whose livestock later die • if someone whom a woman thought to be a witch has threatened later dies • Bodin’s Analogy: "I certainly admit it is better to acquit the guilty than condemn the

innocent. But I say that one who is convicted on acute presumptions is not innocent: for example the one who was discovered with his bloody sword near the murder victim with no one else around..." (p.296)

• While he thinks a death sentence is understandable in these cases, Bodin thinks corporal punishment is sufficient.

What counts as “factual evidence”? • finding lizards in the company of one suspected of witchcraft, or body parts, or

hearing one talk to the Devil • These are not direct evidence even of the crime of heresy, but signs or indirect

evidence • Assuming the “evidence” is reliable, this is what Currie could refer to as a "thought

crime" Other Notable Charges & Punishments • Judges who do not follow the law of custom and sentence witches to be burned

should be charged with treason and also be burned • Alchemists, magicians, sorcerers:

o 1st offense: forbidden to practise it ever again


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• Those ignorant of magic’s connection with Satan: o 1st offense: some penalty o 2nd offense: corporal punishment o 3rd offense: death

England Overview of Panics: • Brief spasms of intense persecution during periods of public anxiety. • Last few years of Elizabeth’s Reign • First few years of James’ Reign Dates of Monarchs: • Tudor

1509-1547 Henry VIII 1558-1603 Elizabeth I

• Stuart 1603-1625 James I

Dates of Monarchs and Laws: • Tudor

1509-1547 Henry VIII *1542 1558-1603 Elizabeth I *1563, 1580

• Stuart 1603-1625 James I *1604

Generalities about the Acts: • Although acts sound savage, application was limited and not uniform. • Numerous prefaces to witch pamphlets make appeals for implementation of existing

laws and aggressive response from the public. • Evidence that authors were concerned that the law didn’t have sharp enough teeth. General Notes: • Many potential cases were not sent to trial, many were simply acquitted or sentenced

to prison and pillory. • Assizes held twice yearly where juries were sworn in to see if (a) a case existed, or

(b) to decide on the cases accepted. • Otherwise, most suspects brought before Justices of the Peace, either at Quarter

Sessions, or informally. Not a Bad System… • Examinations of accused and testimony given were recorded and certified to traveling

justices who ran the assizes. • So, system ran well in tradition of Common Law, and with well-defined areas of

responsibility.


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…But Standards Were Low… • “Age of Reason” was 14, but younger children often accepted as key witnesses at

felony trials. • Hearsay evidence was allowed. • The word of an honest person who claims to have suffered bewitchment after a

previous disagreement with the accused was accepted without question. • Visions of the bewitched were allowed as circumstantial evidence. • One case in which a witch’s familiar was reporting on the activity of another witch,

accepted as circumstantial evidence. • Confessions were accepted as absolute proof of guilt. …frighteningly low. • Familiar, unnatural teat, insensible marks all regarded as damning physical evidence. • Inability to say the Lord’s Prayer correctly in English a sign of guilt. • Failing the Swimming Test • Inability to weep in court. • Behaviour of the bewitched when confronted by the witch. Possible Sentences: • Pillory • Gaol (jail) • Death Pillory: • Those sentenced to time in pillory had their heads and hands restrained in stocks in a

public place, a market or fair. • Passersby could taunt or assault them (image of throwing rotten tomatoes at someone) • Meant to be a public admission of their guilt. Gaol: • Basically means prison, but there was some contact with the outside world. • Gaolers were often corrupt, and amenities could be purchased with a blind eye from

the gaoler. • In many cases, even the basic necessities had to be purchased. • In some cases, there was little or no review of who was “inside” and those without

some outside support were undoubtedly forgotten and died in gaol. Remember: Witchcraze Begins 1560 Elizabeth’s First Addition: • 1559 – Elizabeth introduces Act. • Did not pass both Houses (Commons and Lords) till 1563, beginning of Continental

Witchcraze. • A.D. 1563. 5 Eliz., c.16


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• “An Act against conjurations enchantments and witchcrafts.” 1563- Preamble • “Where at present, there is no ordinary nor condign punishment provided against the

practisers of the wicked offences of conjurations and invocations of evil spirits…” 1563 - Preamble • “Since the repeal whereof many fantastical and devilish persons have devised and

practiced invocations and conjurations of evil and wicked spirits, and have used and practised withcrafts, enchantments, charms and sorceries, to the destruction of the persons and goods of their neighbours and other subjects of this realm, and for other lewd intents and purposes contrary to the laws of Almighty God, to the peril of their own souls, and to the great infamy and disquietness of this realm: …”

Sentencing: Witchcraft Causing Death • “For anyone who uses witchcraft to kill or destroy a person, sentence is death.” • However: “Saving to the wife of such person her title of dower, and also to the

heir and successor of such person his or their titles of inheritance succession and other rights, as though no such attainder of the ancestor or predecessor had been had or made.”

1563 - Provision • Represents a remarkably forward looking agenda on that front. • On Continent, conviction of a parent would be sufficient grounds to initiate “first

degree” inquisition on a spouse or child. • Elizabeth extends protection of individual liberty, property, and nobility. 1563 – Stipulation of Crimes • If anyone uses witchcraft and causes a person “to be killed or destroyed” • Or: • If any commission of an act of witchcraft “whereby the death of any person doth

ensue” • Penalty is death as a felon, and loss of privilege and benefit of sanctuary and clergy. 1563 – Sentencing for Witchcraft Causing Death • “For anyone who uses witchcraft to kill or destroy a person, sentence is death.” • However: “Saving to the wife of such person her title of dower, and also to the

heir and successor of such person his or their titles of inheritance succession and other rights, as though no such attainder of the ancestor or predecessor had been had or made.”

Treason in Elizabeth’s Times: • Sentence: • Drawn openly through streets of London, • Hanged, let down alive,


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• Privy parts cut off, • Entrails taken out and burnt in your sight, • Head cut off, • Body divided into four parts • “to be disposed of at her Majesty’s pleasure.” 1563 – Witchcraft Causing Harm • “…whereby any person shall happen to be wasted, or impaired, then every such

offender or offenders, their counsellors and aiders, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall for his or their…

1563 – Causing Harm, 1st Offence • “…first offences, suffer imprisonment by the space of one whole year, without bail

or mainprise, and once in every quarter of the said year, shall in some market town, upon the market day, or at such time as any fair shall be kept there, stand openly upon the pillory by the space of six hours and there shall openly confess his or her error or offence.”

1563 – Causing Harm, 2nd Offence • “…and for the second offence, being as is aforesaid lawfully convicted or attainted,

shall suffer death as a felon, and shall lose the privilege of clergy and sanctuary: saving to the wife (as above).

1563 – Witchcraft Not Causing too much Harm but still not being a good thing to do… • Using witchcraft to find lost treasure, where lost or stolen goods are hidden…(as in

edict of 1542…) • Using sorcery, enchantment, charm, or witchcraft to the intent to provoke any person

to unlawful love, or to hurt or destroy any person in his or her body… • FIRST OFFENCE: One year prison term, quarterly public pillory. • SECOND OFFENCE: Life imprisonment, forfeiture of all goods and chattels to the

Crown. Elizabeth’s End: • Died at the age of sixty nine from frailty and insomnia, interred next to her half sister

Mary in Westminster Abbey. • “Partners both in Throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in

the hope of one resurrection.” • Plaque erected in the time of James I. • Critics of her successor remarked “Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen” Important Events for James I: • Born 1566, only child of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart • 1590s – Royal Commission in Scotland, see Klaits Ch.6 • 1597 – Demonologie


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• 1598 – The True Law of Free Monarchs • 1599 – Basilikon Doron • 1603 – Ascend the Throne • 1604 – A Counterblaste to Tobacco • 1604 – Legal Act Against Conjurations • 1605 – Guy Fawkes • 1611 – The King James “Authorised Version” of the Bible • 1625 – Dies Treason Against King James I… • “Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot.” • Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators decided to blow up the House of Lords on

Opening Day, November 5th 1605. • Why then? Because the King would be in attendance. Gunpowder Plot: • 4 Nov 1605: anonymous letter to Lord Mounteagle, cellar searched, Fawkes found

with the gunpowder. • 12 Nov 1605: all conspirators either killed or captured • 27 Jan 1606: tried for treason, convicted • 30-31 Jan 1606: executions (hung, drawn, quartered, etc.) 1604 – Legal Act of James I • “An Act against conjuration witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits.” • A response to the 1563 act under Elizabeth, James’ is meant to “utterly repeal” it. • “And for the better restraining the said offences, and more severe punishing the same,

be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid…” 1604 – Scope of Crimes • “That if any person or persons […] shall use practise or exercise any invocation or

conjuration of any evil and wicked spirit, or shall consult covenant with, entertain, employ, feed, or reward any evil and wicked spirit to or for any intent or purpose; or take up any dead man, woman, or child out of his, her, or their grave, or any other place where the dead body resteth, or the skin, bone, or any other part of any dead person, to be employed or used in any manner of witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or enchantment; ·or shall use, practise, or exercise any witchcraft, enchantment, charm, or sorcery, whereby any person shall be killed, destroyed, wasted, consumed, pined, or lamed in his or her body, or any part thereof; that then every such offender or offenders, their aiders abetters and counsellors, being of any the said offences duly and lawfully convicted and attainted, shall suffer pains of death as a felon or felons, and shall lose the privilege and benefit of clergy and sanctuary.”

1604 – First Offence • Attempting to find lost gold, lost or stolen goods, provoking unlawful love, causing

impairment to persons or goods, destroy persons in their bodies…


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• “…although the same be not effected and done…” • Suffer imprisonment for one year, quarterly public pillory. 1604 – Second Offence • Death, forfeiture. • But “saving to the wife of such person…” • And “That if the offender shall happen to be a peer…” Study Advice: • ORGANIZE this material by Act, by Charge, by Punishment, and by Conditions for

which given punishments could be included in a sentence. • Know the differences among the acts, and when and who enacted them.

Phil 2006: Witches and the Possessed Sean Coughlin January 31, 2012

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Witches and the Possessed January 31, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [K c.5] “Classic Accusers: The Possessed” • [KP 56] “The Devils of Loudun” Next Time: Testimony • [KP 53] “The Prosecutions at Bamberg” • [WebCT] David Hume, “Of Miracles”, An Enquiry Concerning Human

Understanding, Section X • [WebCT] CAJ Coady, “Testimony and Observation”, American Philosophical

Quarterly 10 2 (1973), p.149-55 Lecture Story -- “The Devils of Loudun” • The story ends on the 18th of August, 1636, when the Royal Commissioners of

Cardinal Richelieu and French King Louis XII pronounced a sentence on Urban Grandier, the handsome, charismatic, and some say licentious, parish priest of the town of Loudun in Poitiers, France.

• “We have decreed and shall decree the said Urbain Grandier duly arraigned and convicted of the crime of Wizardry, Sorcery and Possessions occurring by his deed, in the persons of several Ursuline nuns of this town of Loudun, and other members of the secular clergy; together with other incidents and crimes resulting from this. For expiation of which, we have condemned and shall condemn this Grandier to make honorable repentence, bare-headed, a rope around his neck […] to ask pardon of God, of the King, and of justice; and this accomplished, to be taken to the public square of Sainte Croix, to be attached to a stake on the pyre, and there to be burned alive with the pacts and signs of sorcery lying on the pyre […]. We have decreed and shall decree each and every of his possessions to be acquired and confiscated by the King […]. And prior to proceeding to the execution of the present sentence, we order that the said Grandier will be subjected to ordinary and extraordinary Torture.” (KP, p.356)



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• The story starts in 1617, when Jesuit Urbain Grandier, arrives in Loudon (a town in Poitiers, France) to serve as parish priest.

• Loudun: o Located at the edge of Huguenot heartland o Suffered a devastating outbreak of the plague from May to September of

1632, which killed 3,700 of 14,000 inhabitants of the town. o As the plague subsided, a new convent of Ursuline nuns containing well-

connected aristocrats, began to be visited by demonic agents, though it had not suffered the plague.

• Grandier was a known man. He was well-connected, but also made many enemies. • He was thought to have the favour of rich mistresses, and was said to have written a

treatise against celibacy and dedicated it to “his dearest concubine” • He was charged with immorality, but his connections restored him to full clerical

duty. • Not long after this, perhaps because his escapades had made him the enemy of the

local bishops, the abbess of the Ursulines, Mother Joan of the Angels confessed to another priest that Grandier had afflicted on her a demon and compelled her to blaspheme and behave indecently.

• She later wrote: “My mind was often filled with blasphemies, and sometimes I uttered them without being able to take any thought to stop myself. I felt for God a continual aversion… The demon gave me moreover a strong aversion for my religious calling, so that sometimes when he was in my head I used to tear my veils and such of my sisters’ as I might lay hands on […]. All this was done with great violence; I think that I was not free…. “The demons have me very evil desires and feelings of quite licentious affection for the persons who might have helped my soul, so as to lead me to further withdrawal from communication with them.” (Klaits, p.116)

• Her accusations against Grandier were taken up by the priest’s enemies in Loudun. • Priests began to perform exorcisms on the nuns • Several of them began to have violent spasms, shrieking and exposing themselves to

the priests, making sexual motions towards them. • They would bark and scream, blaspheme and contort their bodies. • Grandier attempted to use his connections and asked the archbishop for help. The

archbishop sent a doctor to examine the nuns and found no signs of possession. The exorcisms were ordered to cease.

• Grandier’s enemies needed to find other ways to remove him. They sent emissaries to Cardinal Richelieu, the most powerful man in France.

• The emissaries told Richelieu of the failed exorcisms and sent along a copy of a libellous satire Grandier had written about Richelieu. Richelieu, whose relative was at the convent, sent the Royal Commission to arrest and investigate Grandier as a witch.

• The exorcisms resumed, this time in public. Thousands attended. • They became a dramatic kind of religious sideshow, with nuns perverting themselves

in public, writhing and contorting, screaming and barking.


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• The effect of this was to not only set the public against Grandier, but to also influence the local Protestant Huguenots to convert to Catholicism.

• A trumped up written pact with the devil was produced, signed by Grandier and several demons in blood. Grandier was then shaved and searched for the devil’s marks, of which they found several.

• He was tortured using the Spanish boot, in which the legs are fixed together, and planks are driven between them, breaking the bones. Grandier would not confess.

• Richelieu made sure to avoid the secular courts, so that Grandier could not appeal the Parliament of Paris. Instead, Richelieu’s Royal Commissioners took charge of the whole trial and found him guilty on all counts.

• Although Klaits might suggest otherwise, after Grandier’s execution, the possessions did not cease. To be sure, Mother Joan was cured of her possession.

• But the exorcisms had become such a tourist attraction, they continued until 1637, when Richelieu’s niece reported to him that the possessions were frauds.

• Richelieu, satisfied that the possessions had attained their end, terminated the inquisitions.

Questions: What is possession? What were the social responses to possession and how did it become associated with witchcraft? Mysticism: • Klaits notes that “[d]emonic possession became a leading theme in witchcraft trials of

the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (p. 104), but the idea of demonic possession was ancient.

• Long been the belief that people could have a direct experience with God, not mediated by anything or anyone else.

• Root of the notion of Prophecy • Also the heart of all forms of religious ecstasies. Ecstasies: • Klaits writes generally about the anthropological attitudes towards ecstasies. • Forms of transcendence in which the person is removed from their body or from their

entire “self” to experience some contact with a higher holy power. • Christian mysticism has included prophecy, visions, miraculous healing, etc. Possession: • A foreign intelligence inhabits the body of a living thing. • Can be angelic • Demonic, as in cases we will read today. • Victims can be humans, occasionally other animals. Identifying Possession:


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• There were accepted tests to determine whether or not someone was possessed or merely behaving oddly.

o Ability to speak languages that the person had never learned o Reading letters through sealed envelopes o Identifying consecrated bread among unconsecrated bread o Demonstrating unnatural physical strength or resilience

Societal Response to Possession: • “Courts were receptive to this kind of accusation, in part because the authors of

demonological tracts had held for centuries that an ability to order the possession of an innocent Christian’s body was one of the powers Satan granted to witches. The witch was said by these writers to regard the inflicting of demons as one of her highest duties, because this was one of the worst forms of malefice.” (Klaits, p.111)

Practical Problem – Practical Solution • “A practical advantage to society of associating demonic possession with witchcraft

was that the connection suggested an effective cure for the disorder. Executing the witch was an appealing remedy, all the more so because other ways of dealing with the possessed seemed less reliable.” (Klaits, p.112)

Catholic Response to Possession: • Holy Rite of Exorcism “…the ritual in which a priest, acting in the name of God,

orders the offending demon to leave the victim’s body.” Klaits p.112 • Catholic authorities went out of their way to demonstrate benefits of exorcism, large

public events, charismatic priests, etc. • French Catholic leaders made exorcisms a form of propaganda for their faith.

Problem was that effective exorcisms often weren’t permanent. Temporary Solution: • “The ritual was only a temporary cure, for, although it was thought that a demon must

obey the priest’s explicit command to depart, there was nothing to keep him from returning afterward.

• “For this reason, outbreaks of possession often led to a wearisome round of repeated exorcisms and re-infections, sometimes continuing for months or even years.” (Klaits, p.112)

Common Story for Us: • The Exorcist • Rosemary’s Baby • The Omen • Invasion of the Body Snatchers • Aliens • 28 Days Later • Manchurian Candidate (Both)


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Protestant Response to Possession: • Catholic response to cases of suspected demonic possession has typically been the

Holy Rite of Exorcism, itself a sacrament of extraordinary proportions. • Protestant reaction to supposed cases of possession was to recommend prayer,

fasting, other forms of appeal for divine grace. • Why the disagreement? Protestant Attitudes to Exorcism: • One of the typical protestant complaints made against Catholics was the notion that

they were purveying (basically selling) cures and sacraments. • The Rite of Exorcism, in Protestant eyes, suggested that the Exorcist Priest presumed

to have some power to command the assistance of God’s…who allowed the demon to infest the victim in the first place.

Case Study: Elizabeth de Ranfaing • Location: Lorraine • Year: 1620 • Daughter of an upper class family, she was very religious although her family may

not have been so fervent in their faith. Elizabeth’s Life: • Married at age 15. • Husband was 57, professional soldier. • He brutalized her, and she had six children in a nine year period. • He died nine years after marriage. Elizabeth’s Journey: • Free to pursue her religious devotions again, she went on a pilgrimage. • Became ill, was treated by a Doctor Poirot. • She later claimed that he had administered a love potion in her food and drink. Under the Spell: • She was held under the Doctor’s control. • His breath could cast a spell on her. • She eventually was invaded by “The Other” • Sank into convulsive seizures • Uttered outrageous blasphemies • Notion of another agency within a physical individual who displaces the

consciousness normally found therein. The Treatment: • Elizabeth was sent for treatment to Doctor Poirot, whose hold on her increased. • Elizabeth sent to town of Nancy where Exorcists removed “The Other” • The cure was effective until she met Dr. Poirot again. • Further exorcisms were ineffectual.


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Symptoms of Possessed: • Speaking in tongues, able to see through opaque materials, capable of identifying

sacred items amid profane ones. • All symptoms which had been listed in the Roman Ritual of Exorcism • Rite had been issued in its codified form only a few years earlier. Conjunctions of Events: • In the case of possession, like the cases involving testimony, torture and external

evidence, the accounts provided by convicted witches all bore stark similarities. • Possibly because they had been genuine workers of malefice… • …or perhaps because they were asked all the right questions under torture, or the

investigators had simply found what they were already looking for (recall Kuhn). • Accounts of the witches sabbat.

o Bestiality, unnatural acts, blasphemies • Witch-Finders found similar marks on people’s bodies while looking for the devil’s

marks. o Folds in genitals, moles, birth marks.

Poirot’s Story: • He was passing through Nancy when Elizabeth spotted and denounced him. • He was arrested, interrogated, shaved, searched for the devil’s mark. None was found. Poirot’s End: • Months later he was accused by another peasant girl. • He was taken in again, searched again, and this time a mark was found. • Despite intervention, even by royalty, he was found guilty. • Both he and the girl were strangled, and their bodies were burned at the stake. Elizabeth’s End: • Slowly recovered over following years. • In 1631 named Mother Superior of the convent of Notre-Dame-du-Refuge in Nancy • After her death, her body lay in state, and her heart was sent as a sacred relic to the

headquarters of her order at Avignon. Another Diagnosis: • Modern Psychiatry has suggested a psycho-pathological interpretation.

o Neurotic tendencies o Strict upbringing o Harsh treatment from husband o Her own unacknowledged spiritual inclinations o Served to create notion of bewitchment and mania


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Residual Questions: • Why did the Doctors, clergy, and the judges (24 of them) all agree that Elizabeth was

possessed? • Why did they continually reinforce the suggestible woman’s belief in diabolical

contamination? • Why did cases like this become so common during the witch-craze? Possession in the Cloister Exorcism as Propaganda: Kp.113 • “France had a long history of demonic possession in the period of the religious wars,

when exorcisms were used as Catholic weapons in the campaigns against Protestant groups.

• 1599, after Henry IV granted limited toleration for Huguenots (protestants), devils “spoke” through a woman to say how delighted Satan was with the new policy.

Holy Orders - Mendicant • Mendicant orders travel from place to place, and are very engaged in the outside

world. • Ex: Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits • Missionary work • Educational work • Evangelization • Searching for Heresy Holy Orders - Cloistered • A “cloistered order” removes itself from worldly affairs and lives in a fortified keep

or “abbey”. • Convents are all female communities. • Stress is on abstention, devotion, prayer, meditation, spiritual and mental purity. • Environment of profound introspection and confession of impure thoughts. Three Cases from the Cloisters: • Elizabeth de Ranfaing & Dr. Poirot (K.104) • Madeleine de Demandolx de la Palud & Fr. Gaufridi (K.113) • Mother Joan of the Angels & Fr. Grandier (K.115) Second Case: Madeleine de Demandolx • Madeleine de Demandolx de la Palud, from Marseilles • Parents sent her at age 12 to the newly founded Ursuline convent at Aix. • Other girls had been sent there by their parents, not necessarily because they wanted

to be nuns. • After two years she was sent back to live with her parents as a result of severe

depression.


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Madeleine in Marseilles: • While back at Marseilles she entered the Ursuline convent there, and was aided in her

recovery by the local confessor Fr. Gaufridi. • Gaufridi was a family friend, popular confessor for many women in the family’s

social circle. • Her private meetings with Gaufridi started rumours, and she had fallen in love with

him. Madeleine back at Aix: • When she began her novitiate at Marseilles, she started reporting intimate and erotic

episodes with the priest, and was transferred back to the convent at Aix. • Christmas 1609 began to suffer episodes of shaking and cramps • Saw devils, claimed one of the devils was responsible for the act in which she

publicly destroyed a crucifix. The Exorcist: • The Ursulines’ spiritual director Jean-Baptiste Romillon confirmed she was

possessed, and performed a series of exorcisms on her. • Romillon had been a Huguenot who converted as a young man to Catholicism. • Led efforts to suppress mediaeval customs that hinted at sexual license in the clergy,

and other forms of clerical abuse. Romillon’s Activities: • “For instance, Romillon had tried to ban the traditional celebration that followed a

monk’s first mass, at which the daughter of a local family acted as the new priest’s partner during the festivities.

• The dancing, kissing, and other liberties customary at such occasions mortified Romillon, but,when he intervened to break up one of these parties, the unreformed monks are said to have waylaid him and beaten him with clubs they had concealed under their robes.” (Klaits, p.114)

A Sympathetic Listener: • Romillon heard Madeleine’s confessions, and was the first to bring charges against

Gaufridi in 1610. • During investigation of possession in the cloister, other nuns started having

convulsions. • One young nun, Louise Capeau, claimed Gaufridi had seduced her as well, and that

he was tormenting her body with demons. Higher Authority: • The Grand Inquisitor Michaelis, papal judge, moved their case to Ste. Baume, where

exorcisms were witnessed publicly by large crowds of spectators. • They didn’t work, and the Inquisitor decided to investigate Gaufridi.


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The Story Continues: • Gaufridi was initially exonerated, countercharged calumny and slander, Romillon not

impressed with this. • 1611 brought to trial again by the Parlement of Aix, kept in a dungeon for weeks,

shaved, inspected, marks of devil were found. • Madeleine and Louise experienced numerous “episodes” during the trial. Courtroom Drama: • Like other victims of possession in the 17th century, she repeatedly attempted suicide. • A typical day in court found her first confessing that her allegations were “all

imaginings, illusions and had not a word of truth in them.” • But then she proclaimed in Provencal how she yearned for Gaufridi’s love, after

which she was seized with lascivious tremblings “representing the sexual act, with violent movements of the lower part of her belly.”

In the End: • Gaufridi eventually confessed to being a “Prince of the Synagogue”, later tried to

retract his statements but this was ignored. • Tortured, publicly dragged through the streets, strangled, burned at the stake. • Louise’s possession continued after Gaufridi’s death, later accusations “brought

another victim to the stake”. Madeleine’s End • Madeleine’s possession ended with Gaufridi’s death. • At age 49 she was charged with witchcraft. • Charges could not be proved, but they were never dropped. • Examined, devil’s marks found on her body. • Fined heavily, imprisoned for life. Third Case: Joan of Loudun • Mother Joan of the Angels • Ursuline nun at Loudun • Possessed by a demon who compelled her “to blaspheme and behave indecently” Realities of Cloistered Life: • Intense scrutiny and mechanisms of thought control • Sexual frustration and an abjuration of physicality • Reformist religion and absolute evangelization of everyday life • Political rivalry between orders and communities • Presence of a dominant male figure with whom residents share all of their impure

thoughts, desires, fantasies, urges towards sin and blasphemy. Accusations and Assumptions: • “…nature of the accusations stemmed, at least in part, from the assumptions of the

authorities.”


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• Those assigned to counsel the possessed were usually religious persons who interpreted the sufferer’s behaviour in accord with their previous knowledge of demonic possession.

• Began their sympathetic therapy by reinforcing the suggestible victim’s fear that he or she was suffering from a supernaturally induced disorder.

Cultural Backdrop: • 17th C. period when restraint and self-control were becoming highly valued personal

traits. • Behaviour of possessed was loud, violent and sexual, and spontaneous. • Recall the efforts of religious reformers to radically alter popular habits. • Follow Par. 2 on p.118 [Not Covered in Lecture, not on Exam] Phenomenon of Mass Possession: • The publicity of these cases undoubtedly contributed to the increase in their scope. • Possession in cloisters was contagious, but so were cases in the outside world. • Reality was that the cultural backdrop, and persistent fear in the power of the Devil to

work through witches and warlocks provided the right environment for localized mass panics.

Case Study: Mora, Sweden • Upwards of 300 children were thought to be possessed. • King Charles XI, 1699, appointed a royal commission to investigate the initial

charges from a 15 yr. old girl. • Commission attempted a cure through sermons and mass prayer (exorcisms were

forbidden in Lutheran areas). • Thousands of people heard these sermons, and many newly possessed children

appeared. Case Study: Basque Region • “Much the same pattern had occurred in the Basque trials of France and Spain around

1610, when hundreds of children were inspired by powerful, suggestive stimuli to see themselves as unwilling participants in the witches’ sabbat.”

• Klaits, p.119 The Accusers: Women and Children • Even before their cures, the protagonists in convent possession outbreaks were, in

effect, presiding over a female subculture. • Like members of female possession cults the world over, their religious ecstasy freed

them of restrictions placed on them by a male-dominated society. • Together with other weak and downtrodden groups, women have been especially

susceptible to ecstatic experience.


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• Prestige derived from supposed contact with the spirit world secured a degree of recognition and power otherwise unavailable to them.

Final Question: • If there wasn’t such a public treatment of these cases, perhaps the mass possessions

wouldn’t have occurred.

Phil 2006: Identifying Witches I: The Problem of Testimony Sean Coughlin February 2, 2012

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Identifying Witches I: The Problem of Testimony February 2, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [KP 53] “The Prosecutions at Bamberg” • [WebCT] David Hume, “Of Miracles”, An Enquiry Concerning Human

Understanding, Section X • [WebCT] CAJ Coady, “Testimony and Observation”, American Philosophical

Quarterly 10 2 (1973), p.149-55 Next Time: • [WebCT] Barstow, “Controlling Women’s Bodies: Violence and Sadism.”

Witchcraze (Harper Collins, 1995), p.129-145. • [WebCT] The Swimming Test Lecture Recap • Possession comes from the mystical tradition of ecstasy, which is a kind of direct

intuition of God or a spirit associated mainly with women • Ecstasy and women who had a direct intuition of the divine were revered in past

times (Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, the Oracle at Delphi) • The same phenomena that were revered at other times came to be seen as something

demonic during the witch craze. • Possession was often thought to indicate the presence of a witch • The testimony of the possessed was used to accuse people of being witches • Societal Response to Possession: accept this kind of accusation by the possessed as

reliable testimony, because the authors of demonologies had written that Satan granted power to witches to possess their bodies with demons. (Klaits, p.111)

• Possession was rarely cured by exorcism, and it had a tendency to spread. • As a result, there arose a practical advantage to society for associating demonic

possession with witchcraft: a cure for possession. (Klaits, p.112) • As Bodin would say, remove the cause, remove the effect.

o Kill the witch, end the possession.



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Mass Possession • One of the interesting features of these cases: the phenomenon of possession was

thought to be contagious. • This has led many modern scholars to posit physical causes of the phenomenon of

mass hysteria: hallucinogenic drugs or toxins in food; diseases like syphilis (we’ll look at these in Unit V).

• But there are contemporary instances of mass hysterias very similar to those described in Loudun or Salem.

A Recent Example – Mass Hysteria in Upstate New York (http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/01/mass_hysteria_in_upstate_new_york_why_lori_brownell_and_13_other_teenage_girls_are_showing_tourette_s_like_symptoms_.html) • 16-year old Lori Brownwell collapses and passes out at a show. She then passes out

again, and again, and it progresses. • The doctors first believe she has some disorder associated with depression. They put

her on Celexa, an SSRI used to treat anxiety, panic disorder, and major depression. It doesn’t work.

• She begins twitching and making strange noises. • Doctors then decide she has Tourette’s Syndrome, and is taken off Celexa. • The symptoms then spread to 14 other students. It’s an epidemic. • Authorities decide that it must be either due to environmental causes (including man-

made toxins) or it’s mass-hysteria. • The problem with mass hysteria: it doesn’t explain what’s causing the outbreak – it

merely puts the case of Brownwell and others into a class of cases for which we have no adequate explanation.

• This class includes all past cases of demonic possession and ecstasy: a group of people, primarily women, suffer cramps, convulsions, spasms, outbursts, all caused by something psychological.

• By claiming it is psychological, are we told what is causing this phenomenon? Or does it sound a bit like citing occult forces, or the powers of witches and demons? How, at any rate, can the mind act on the body, especially without you knowing?

• A further set of questions: is it a toxin or disease? Is it psycho-somatic? Are they faking it?

• What does it mean when someone says it is psychological not physiological? • If it is just in their heads, are they faking it but don’t know? • How can we believe them? New Questions about Testimony • Recall the possessions of the Ursuline nuns at Loudun. • The possessions at Loudun became very famous in France, and were talked about

throughout the Salons. • The question: how can we trust the testimony of the possessed, given that we assume

they are infected with a demon? Isn’t the nature of the demon to deceive? And so wouldn’t the possessed be liable to deceive? How do we know what they say is true?

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/01/mass_hysteria_in_upstate_new_york_why_lori_brownell_and_13_other_teenage_girls_are_showing_tourette_s_like_symptoms_.html




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• At this same time in the Parisian Salons, Descartes is talking to people, trying to

finish his Meditations on First Philosophy, which begins from the assumption that we cannot know if we are possessed or not, and so we cannot know if anything we see, feel, hear, or even think is real.

• From this assumption, he is pretty much able to exorcise the demon of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy, of occult forces and demons, of a world of permanent ideas and their sensible exemplars, from the world, forever.

Next Three Classes • But before we get to Descartes, we’ll look at the question of evidence in witch trials.

We’ll look at Testimony today, and then external evidence from tests on Tuesday, and Torture next Thursday.

Testimonial Knowledge • From Coady, p.149 • We all claim we know things. We rarely ask ourselves how we know those things. • Coady asks: “How do you know?” “Why do you believe something?” • At least four possible answers:

o Observation: Sense – “I saw it” o Deductive Inference: Reason – “It follows from this” o Inductive Inference: Induction – “This is how it usually happens” o Testimony – “Someone told me”

• Philosophers talk a lot about the first three; no one really talks about the fourth… • …except for… David Hume • “…there is no species of reasoning more common, more useful, and even necessary

to human life, than that which is derived from the testimony of men and the reports of eye-witnesses and spectators” (Coady, p.149; Hume §88)

• Hume is a Scottish philosopher, born in Edinburgh • Dates: 1711-1776 • So, writing during the generation at the end of the witch hunts:

o Enquiry published in 1748. He’d likely be composing it for some time before this.

o The last witch trial in Scotland occurred in 1727. o The Witchcraft Act of James I (of 1604, which we read) was repealed in 1736.

• Hume is most famous for his naturalistic, empiricist philosophy, and his skepticism. Hume on Science and Philosophy • Believed (contrary to Plato and his philosophical descendants, the rationalists and

idealists) that all philosophy must start from observation, not from abstract thought. • But, to get a science going, we cannot just rely on observation and memory: we need

to put ideas together. • How? Causation.


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• But Hume challenges the notion of causation we’ve encountered so far: namely, that if the cause exists, the effect exists (which leads to: destroy the cause, destroy the effect).

Hume on Causation • What justifies our ascription of causes to effects? • Hume thinks there are two things might ground such a causal inference:

o (1) Relations of ideas, or (2) Matters of fact. • Relations of ideas are necessary truths – they could not possibly be other than they

are • Matters of fact are contingent truths – they could possibly be other than they are • We can distinguish by relations of ideas and matters of fact by applying a test:

o If something cannot be conceived to be different than it is, it is a relation of ideas.

o If something can be conceived to be different than what it is, then it is a matter of fact.

• Catchphrase: conceivability entails possibility. If something can be conceived to be other than it is, it is a matter of fact.

Relations of Ideas • Relations of ideas are necessarily true. I cannot conceive of a relation of ideas being

otherwise than it is. • Examples: three times five is equal to half of thirty; all bachelors are unmarried

males. • It is not conceivable that three times five is equal to half of forty, or that a bachelor

can be married and still be a bachelor. It is not conceivable because it leads to a contradiction.

Matters of Fact • Matters of fact are not necessarily true. I can conceive of a matter of fact being

different from what it is. • Example: “the cat is on the mat”, “the witch is on the broomstick” • It is conceivable that the cat is not on the mat, or that the witch is not on the

broomstick. There is no contradiction. Justifying Causes • Hume thinks relations of ideas cannot justify the inference from cause to effect.

o I can imagine a cause existing without the effect. I can conceive it, so it is not impossible. Therefore, it is not a relation of ideas.

• So, causation must be a relation of matters of fact. • And so we discover causal relations when we see that two events, a cause and an

effect, are correlated what Hume calls, “constantly conjoined.” • These are not necessary relations.


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The Sun Also Rises • I say “I know the sun will rise tomorrow.” • How do I know that? • My experience is that the sun rises every day. I cannot be certain, it is not absolutely

necessary that the sun rise tomorrow. But it is probable, because that is what has always happened.

• This is the inductive principle: the future will resemble the past. Problem of Induction • But what are the grounds for thinking that things will always happen like they have

happened? What justifies the inductive principle? A relation of ideas or a matter of fact?

• It cannot be a relation of ideas o I can conceive of the sun not rising tomorrow. So it is possible it will not. So

it is not necessary that it will. o I don’t know this the same way I know that 3*5 = 30 / 2. I cannot conceive

that 3*5 would not equal 30 / 2. • But, if the inductive principle isn’t justified by a relation of ideas, it must be justified

by a matter of fact. • As a matter of fact… in the past the future always resembled the past • But matters of fact are justified by the principle of induction! • We seem to justify the inductive principle using the inductive principle! • We are reasoning in a circle! • It seems induction can never give us a justified way of knowing anything! • All we can say is that two events, one which we call a cause, one which we call an

effect, are constantly conjoined. Hume’s View of Testimony • Why should we believe testimony? • Application of the inductive principle:

o We believe testimony based on the experience that testimony has been true in the past.

o Belief in testimony is grounded in the inductive principle, in cause and effect. • “[N]o objects have any discoverable connexion together, and that all the

inferences, which we can draw from one to another, are founded merely on our experience of their constant and regular conjunction; it is evident, that we ought not to make an exception to this maxim in favour of human testimony, whose connexion with any event seems, in itself, as little necessary as any other.” (§88)

Justifiably Accepting Testimony • We are justified in believing testimony for the same reason were are justified in

making inferences of cause and effect: because in the past we have found a correspondence between testimony and the facts we directly observe.

• In other words, Hume sees testimony as just another kind of event (like “causes” and “effects”).


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• The constant conjunction of “a particular kind of report” and “any kind of object” that we find in our past experience justifies our belief in testimony.

• However, there is no guarantee that testimony will always be true: • “And as the evidence, derived from witnesses and human testimony, is founded

on past experience, so it varies with the experience, and is regarded either as a proof or a probability, according as the conjunction between any particular kind of report and any kind of object has been found to be constant or variable.” (§88)

• Hume, in effect has reduced testimony to a kind of matter of fact, and our justification for believing testimony will be the same as our justification for believing any matter of fact – the inductive principle.

• This is why Coady calls Hume’s view, the “Reductive Thesis” – Hume reduces testimony to inductive inference (i.e., this particular piece of testimony is true because testimony from this person is usually found to be correlated with what I have observed to be true), and inductive inference is itself a form of observation.

Testimony and Reality • For Hume, then, there is no necessary reason to believe testimony • There is no necessary reason because there is no necessary connection between

testimony and reality • He goes on: “The reason why we place any credit in witnesses and historians, is not

derived from any connexion, which we perceive a priori, between testimony and reality, but because we are accustomed to find a conformity between them.” (§89)

• In the end, we are only justified in believing testimony when we have already established a connection or correlation between the testimony and what we observe with our own senses.

So Many Miracles, the Magic Miracles • For Hume’s argument in this part of the Enquiry, the conclusion is meant to

undermine the testimony of the Bible with respect to miracles: the only people for whom it is justifiable to believe miracles are those who witness them directly with their own senses.

• In every case, however, the constant conjunction of events in nature, which we all observe, must be taken to be proof against the testimony that a miracle occurred:

• “A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined. […] There must, therefore, be a uniform experience against every miraculous event, otherwise the event would not merit that appellation. And as a uniform experience amounts to a proof, there is here a direct and full proof, from the nature of the fact, against the existence of any miracle; nor can such a proof be destroyed, or the miracle rendered credible, but by an opposite proof, which is superior.” (§90)

• The argument goes like this: • A miracle is, by definition, an event occurring against the laws of nature, and hence,

something that is not (in the normal course of life) observed.


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• Testimony is only justified by a correlation or constant conjunction between observation and testimony.

• There can never be a correlation between testimony and the observation of a miracle: o Either you witnessed the miracle, in which case you do not need to justify it

with testimony o Or you did not witness the miracle, in which case you have no means of

comparing the miracle to reality • Either way, one is never justified in believing the testimony of someone who claims

to have seen a miracle: • “When anyone tells me, that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately

consider with myself, whether it be more probable, that this person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact, which he relates, should really have happened. I weigh the one miracle against the other; and according to the superiority, which I discover, I pronounce my decision, and always reject the greater miracle. If the falsehood of his testimony would be more miraculous, than the event which he relates; then, and not till then, can he pretend to command my belief or opinion.” (§91)

• If it would be more miraculous that a person’s testimony be false than the miracle itself occurred, then Hume will believe the testimony. (Hint: this can never happen).

Contested Cases • Imagine this: women are claiming to be possessed and to be visited by the vision of

the local parish priest, whose spirit performs sexual acts on the women at night. • How can this conform with experience when no one has ever seen a spirit visiting the

woman? • Hume’s response: • “…when the fact attested is such a one as has seldom fallen under our observation,

here is a contest of two opposite experiences; of which the one destroys the other, as far as its force goes, and the superior can only operate on the mind by the force, which remains.” (§89)

• We have two experiences, the one experience of the testimony that says the spirit visited the woman, the other experience the experience of never having seen a spirit.

• [Immediately, we see the importance of mass-hysteria, of priests claiming to have been possessed or to have seen Satan and demons.]

• But, since it is experience that grounds testimony – namely, the experience of something happening gives us reason for believing testimony that such a thing occurred – Hume goes on:

• “The very same principle of experience, which gives us a certain degree of assurance in the testimony of witnesses, gives us also, in this case, another degree of assurance against the fact, which they endeavour to establish; from which contradiction there necessarily arises a counterpoize, and mutual destruction of belief and authority.” (§89)

Is Testimony Justified? • Hume thinks that we are justified in not accepting testimony, even though it might be

true, if it does not conform to what we have already experience – to all those things.


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• This is what we’ve come to know as “scepticism” • Someone is sceptical when she doesn’t believe everything she is told, and investigates

the phenomena herself. Coady’s Response (Briefly) • Coady accuses Hume of a fatal ambiguity or equivocation • Equivocation is an informal fallacy when one “word” (really, one sound or set of

marks on a page) is used in two senses in the same argument without justification. • Hume could be using “experience” in two senses:

o Common experience o Individual observation

• Coady, then, sets up a dilemma: either Hume when Hume uses “experience” he means “common experience”, or he means “individual observation.”

• Coady then draws out the implications for each horn of this dilemma. • In the end, Coady concludes that, on either horn, Hume’s argument fails. First Horn: Common Experience • Coady thinks it is self-evident that “common experience” must refer to a kind of

testimony, and thus Hume’s argument is circular (i.e., it does not prove anything) • But, he gives textual evidence from Hume’s text that this might be what Hume meant: • “[W]e find Hume speaking of ‘our observation of the veracity of human testimony’

and ‘our experience of their constant and regular conjunction.’ And it is clear enough that Hume often means to refer by such phrases to the common experience of mankind and not to the mere solitary observations of David Hume.” (p.150)

• Coady is referring to this passage: “It is no miracle that a man, seemingly in good health, should die on a sudden: because such a kind of death, though more unusual than any other, has yet been frequently observed to happen.” (§90)

• Coady’s Conclusion: “Evidently then, R.T., as actually argued by Hume, is involved in vicious circularity since the experience upon which our reliance upon testimony as a form of evidence is supposed to rest is itself reliant upon testimony which cannot itself be reduced in the same way.”

• Coady’s argument, essentially, is that Hume himself suggests that we depend on testimony to form those correlations that form the basis of our claims about regular occurrences or “laws of nature.” Thus, Hume commits himself (unintentionally) to the claim that we use testimony to form our beliefs about the “observed” world, the observations which we then use to check others’ testimony.

Second Horn: Individual Observation • If Hume intends “experience” to mean “individual observation”, then Coady thinks

the argument is false. • Coady gives the following interpretation of Hume’s view of testimony:

o “We rely upon testimony as a species of evidence because each of us observes for himself a constant and regular conjunction between what people report and the way the world is. More particularly, we each observe for ourselves a


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constant conjunction between kinds of report and kinds of situation so that we have good inductive grounds for expecting this conjunction to continue in the future.” (p.151)

The Soft Problem • Coady then raises this problem for Hume: • We rely on testimony as a kind of evidence because, in the past, we have observed a

constant conjunction between testimony and the way the world is. • But if I am to justifiably believe a piece of testimony, I will have had to have

witnessed either (1) a conjunction between the testimony and observation of everything, which, even on a charitable reading, no one ever does, or reasonably can be expected to do; or (2) a conjunction between “kinds of report” and “kinds of object”.

• (2) The notion of “kinds of report” is incredibly vague: kind of speaker? Kind of situation being reported?

• “There is a sick lion at the Taronga Park Zoo” • What kind of situation is the testimony about?

o How do you know it’s at the Taronga Park Zoo? o How do you know it’s a lion? o How do you know it’s sick? o How do you know it exists?

• The problem: we can’t even determine what things we are supposed to be correlating when we first encounter testimony.

The Hard Problem • In a nutshell, Coady wants to show why the second horn of the dilemma leads to an

impossibility • Hume seems to think we know what testimony is independently of knowing whether

or not it is a reliable form of evidence about the world • But, imagine a world in which there is no correlation between reports and the way

the world is. • In such a world, you would never think everyone is lying to you or given you false

testimony. • In such a world, you would never come up with the idea of testimony at all. Conclusion • Is our belief in the reliability of testimony something innate? • Coady doesn’t want to say. • The most he is willing to conclude is that testimony is not a form of evidence

reducible to or justifiable in terms of observation. • But what about cases where we learn from observation that some piece of testimony

is unreliable? • If observation reveals the reliability or unreliability of testimony in some cases, why

can’t it do so in all cases?


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• Coady claims this is a hasty generalization – you can’t argue from a few instances to a general rule.

• And, in fact, sometimes it seems we change our beliefs about our observations based on testimony; and so, why couldn’t we equally say testimony determines the reliability or unreliability of sense experience in all cases?

Phil 2006: Identifying Witches II: Tests and External Evidence Sean Coughlin February 7, 2012

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Identifying Witches II: Tests and External Evidence February 7, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [WebCT] Barstow, “Controlling Women’s Bodies: Violence and Sadism.”

Witchcraze (Harper Collins, 1995), p.129-145. • [WebCT] The Swimming Test Next Time: • [K c.6] “In The Torture Chamber: Legal Reform and Psychological Breakdown” • [KP 53]: The Prosecutions at Bamberg Lecture The Story of Mother and Mary Sutton • Story comes from a pamphlet published in London in 1613 • This occurs 9 years after James I enacted stricter laws against the use of maleficent

magic and witchcraft in 1604 • Mother and Mary Sutton were suspected of causing harm to Master Enger’s livestock,

damaging his cart through a familiar spirit (a black sow), bewitching and seducing one of his servants, and killing his young son.

• There was no clear evidence linking Mother and Mary Sutton to these crimes • Some other form of evidence was required to “prove” the Sutton women were guilty • The reasoning seems to be, if the women could be proven to be witches, then they

would also be shown to be guilty of causing those crimes • Note the speciousness of this inductive reasoning: even if the women were witches, it

doesn’t necessarily follow they caused the crimes for which they were suspected. • A visitor tells Master Enger of a test that is used “in the North” to determine whether

someone is a witch • The Swimming Test: throw the woman, with her arms bound across her chest, into

the water, with ropes around her to prevent her from drowning. • If she sinks, she is innocent • If she “swims” (i.e., floats), she is to be examined for the devil’s mark • If a mark is found, she is to be subjected to the swimming test again, this time with

her left thumb bound to her right toe, and right thumb to her left toe.



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• [Critical Note: the author doesn’t tell us what to do if no mark is found. Might this suggest a mark was always found? Seems a fairly accurate test…]

• If she “swims” again, she is certainly a witch. • If she is a witch, she is guilty of the crimes • Mary is subjected to the test and found to be a witch • She confesses to the crimes, and her mother follows • They are both executed, Tuesday, March 31, 1613 External evidence • Currie claims external evidence became more important in England than elsewhere

(p.19) • Reasons: lack of confessions, little external evidence, illegality of torture in England • Three tests: (1) Swimming, (2) Pricking, (3) Watching • These three tests were often used in sequential order to confirm the accused is in fact

a witch Swimming • Suspected witch is bound and thrown into water • If she “swims” (i.e., floats), she is to be examined for the devil’s mark • If a mark is found, she is to be subjected to the swimming test again, this time with

her left thumb bound to her right toe, and right thumb to her left toe. • If she “swims” again, she is certainly a witch. Pricking • Suspected witch’s body is examined for devil’s marks or witch’s teat • The test used pins or knives to “prick” a suspected mark • If it bleeds or the accused feels pain, it is not a devil’s mark • If it does not bleed and (or?) the accused feels no pain, it is a mark • If the accused is marked by the devil, then she is a witch • To confirm, she is “watched” for evidence of visiting familiar spirits Watching • "Watchers" keep a woman awake for a minimum of 24 hours • The woman is stripped naked and strapped cross-legged to a stool or table • The Watcher waits for the appearance of her familiar • The familiar could be any kind of animal, bird or insect • If the familiar appears, the witch is expected to confess • If this does not produce confession, the accused is forced to run or walk in her cell

until she is exhausted • Her utterances are then recorded as evidence How the Swimming Test Works • From The Deaemonologie of James I:

o And besides that, there are two other good helpes that may be vsed for their trial: the one is the finding of their marke, and the trying the


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insensiblenes thereof. The other is their fleeting on the water: for as in a secret murther, if the deade carcase be at any time thereafter handled by the murtherer, it wil gush out of bloud, as if the blud wer crying to the heauen for reuenge of the murtherer. God hauing appoynted that secret super-naturall signe, for tryall of that secrete vnnaturall crime, so it appeares that God hath appoynted (for a super-naturall signe of the monstruous impietie of the Witches) that the water shal refuse to receiue them in her bosom, that haue shaken off them the sacred Water of Baptisme, and wilfullie refused the benefite thereof […]. (Bk. 3, ch.4)

• The “trial” or test works because God has given a sign for testing whether someone is a witch

• If the accused is a witch, God has appointed that the purity of water will reject her from it

• The reason: the witch has renounced the holy waters of baptism • This is an instance of ANTIPATHY we learned about last term: unlike repels unlike Trial by Ordeal • It is tempting to interpret these tests as “quasi-” or “pseudo-” scientific experiements. • However, this is not likely how they were understood in the 17th century. • Instead, they were thought to be a kind of trial by ordeal (more of this in Klaits

Chapter 6) • In a trial by ordeal, a person is subjected to a trial • Their innocence or guilt will be demonstrated by a sign from God or the gods. • Ordeal by water goes back to the Code of Hammurabi • Difference: innocent was supposed to sink & survive • Other ordeals:

o ordeal by fire (walking on hot coals, holding a hot iron, and not developing a scar)

o ordeal by poison (ingesting poison and not dying) o ordeal by ingestion (ingesting something sacred or holy, and suffering or

dying) • In all cases, guilt or innocence is revealed through the ordeal by a sign from some

divine or occult being. Ordeals in England • After the laws of James I, these tests (particularly swimming and pricking) became

more common in England. • Reached their peak during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) • During the “troubled years” (1644-1646), English legal system ceased to operate • Particularly, the travelling local courts, known as assizes, no longer happened • Political unrest also led to increases in uncertainty and fear • Result: professional “witch-finders” and “witch-prickers” became a popular solution

to the lack of state courts • Witch-finders charged a fee for investigating accusations against supposed witches


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• During the troubled years, Matthew Hopkins and his associates “found” and had executed between 100-200 “witches”

• More than at any other time in English history • The basis for their “discoveries” was the test for the devil’s mark How Were So Many Marks Found? • One possible reason: Confirmation Bias • Confirmation Bias is the tendency to favour information or facts that confirm our pre-

existing beliefs. • When we seek patterns in the world, we tend to pay more attention to data that

supports what we think those patterns are • This is a problem with inductive reasoning • Instead of looking for evidence that would disconfirm our hypotheses, we only look

for evidence that confirms our hypotheses. • Not only that: we also ignore evidence that disconfirms our hypotheses. • Leads to over-confidence in our beliefs • In some cases, even strengthens our resolve in the face of contrary evidence Barstow: Confirmation Bias in Contemporary Historiography • Barstow’s project is to uncover the biases in contemporary historians who see the

witch craze resulting solely from legal, religious and sociological changes in the 16th and 17th centuries.

• Barstow claims that all these writers ignore one, very obvious, fact: • 80% of accused witches, and 85% of those executed, were women Barstow’s Question • How do we analyze the witchcraft persecutions of the 17th century? • “By accepting that in this instance women were victimized and by accusing those

who were in power. It is only by learning what happened to the bodies of the accused and naming the agents of their torment, by “acknowledging the imbalance of power in a male-dominated society,” that we can move ahead in analyzing this particular "explosion of patriarchal power.” (p.131)

Barstow’s Discourse • Concerned with the difference in power that existed between women and men, and

probably intends for us to ask whether or not this imbalance still exists, and in what ways.

• This is the framework in which she examines the witchcraze – the premise from which she proceeds.

• She focuses on the effects of the power differential as it was deployed on the bodies of the accused.

Understanding Power • Most of us agree that we all have the power to act and choose • We all have certain power over ourselves, and power to influence others


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• Others also have a complimentary power over themselves, and to resist • The witch craze is an example of men’s power without women’s complimentary

power. • It is a case simply of “Power Over” • “Though it is essential to pursue, as we have, what power women exercised in early

modern Europe, as workers, healers, even as witches, a study of women’s power will not take us to the heart of the witchcraze. In matters involving violence, there is no complementarity, there is only 'power over.'" (p.131)

Understanding Power • Women were first prosecuted in criminal courts on charges of witchcraft • Before this, women were treated by the courts as minors – not capable of being

legally culpable of a committing a crime • Once in the courts, women became helpless victims – an accused witch had no power

or control over anything that was to happen to her • Barstow, therefore, views all instances of tests as a form of torture Understanding Motives • It is difficult to understand the torture deployed during the witch trials without

including observations of the psycho-sexual nature of the acts. • What were men after by torturing so many women? • Information alone? External Evidence? Confessions? • Were there other motives? • To answer this question, Barstow looks to the cases themselves Cases • Nisette de Pas-de-Calais, 1573 • During her fourth marriage she was convicted of witchcraft. • Had her head flamed with a chapeau d’étoupe (burning circle of flax or hemp) • Then flogged and banished. Cases • Eunice Cole • Was stripped to the waist, breasts bared in public • Publicly whipped. Cases • Aldegonde de Rue • Had her “interior parts”, mouth and “parties honteuses” (shameful parts) probed by

Jehan Minart de Cambrai, Inquisitor. Cases • Catherine Boyraionne • A priest tried to force a confession from her.


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• Had boiling fat poured on her eyes, armpits, stomach, elbows, thighs, and “dans sa nature” (into her vagina).

• She died in prison. Cases • Catharina Latomia of Lorraine • Pre-pubescent child suspected of witchcraft • Raped twice in her cell and nearly died from it. Cases • Magdalena Weixler, from Ellwangen • Tried to exchange sexual favours for exemption from torture. • She was tortured and executed anyway. Common Threads • These cases are similar in their use of mental and physical torture, and the public

humiliation involved • Mental Torture: Inquisition concerning a woman’s supposed sexual contact with the

devil, and with their husbands and lovers as well. • Physical Torture: Stripping, shaving, probing the genitals, whipping the naked body,

fondling and beating, molestation, repeated rape by jailors and inquisitors. • Public Humiliation: Answers to questions, and physical abuse, were made public. What Were Their Motives? • Rape: “When one woman was raped and murdered in jail, blame was placed on the

devil. Women, sex, and the devil were constantly mixed in with witch lore.” (p. 132) • Searching: The Witch’s Mark

o Location was suspected always to be near or on the genitals o “secret parts” o “the contrary part” o “parties honteuses” o “dans sa nature” o “The very concept of the devil’s teat is based on the female function of

providing breast milk; it is an inversion of a natural female function, a parody turned into a deadly jest.” (p.129)

• The Blame, then, falls squarely on the woman. • In cases of rape, their “feminine” nature invited it • In cases of misfortune, the court is working with a notion of causality that implicates

them Why Did They Do It? • “The prurient interest priests took in possessed women’s bodies and sexual fantasies

while exorcising these women was demonstrated clearly at the public exorcisms of Sister Jeanne of the Angels at Loudun, and of Elisabeth de Ranfaing at Nancy.” (p.132)


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• “It appears that jailers, prickers, executioners, and judges all could take their sadistic pleasure with female prisoners.”

• And so could respectable ministers and judges. • Puritan official Cotton Mather at Salem, in trying to calm a 14 year old

suspect/victim, exposed and fondled her breasts publicly. Why They Did It: Socially Approved Assault • Men took advantage of positions of authority to indulge in pornography sessions, • They didn’t just want convictions. • Wanted “unchallengeable sexual power over women” (p.132). • Men had never before had access to a large number of imprisoned, helpless women to

experiment on. • “The prurient interest priests took in possessed women’s bodies and sexual fantasies

while exorcising these women was demonstrated clearly at the public exorcisms of Sister Jeanne of the Angels at Loudun, and of Elisabeth de Ranfaing at Nancy.” (p.132)

Barstow’s Conclusions • Witchcraze was powered by an obsession with deviant sexual conduct. • Among legal charges were:

o Adultery o Bearing illegitimate children o Abortion o Infanticide o Incest

A Gender Issue • These crimes were broadly speaking, specific to women. • Only charge levied more often against men than women was sodomy. • Sodomy (qua lesbianism) was also a charge levied against women. The Bigger Question • Does this same imbalance exist today? • Can it exist in different ways?

Phil 2006: Identifying Witches III - Torture Sean Coughlin February 14, 2012

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Identifying Witches III - Torture February 14, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [K C.6] “In The Torture Chamber: Legal Reform and Psychological Breakdown” • [KP 53] “The Prosecutions at Bamberg” Next Time: • Midterm: Thursday, February 16th • B&GS 1056 at 1:30pm sharp Lecture

Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. And I for winking at your discords too Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish'd. (Act V, Scene III)

Read aloud: • Johannes Junius letter from the prosecutions at Bamberg. The Claim: • “Without torture there would have been no witchcraze.” (Klaits, p.128) The Argument: • Some witch trials would have occurred without torture. • But the number of trials would not have reached their “immense scale” • Torture, a coercive technique in criminal law, spread and was used throughout Europe

by the 17th century. • Even in England and other places without widespread torture, authorities’ ideas about

witchcraft were “strongly influenced” by continental writers (cf. Jean Bodin) whose evidence came from confessions extracted by torture.



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England Influenced by Europe • “Even in England and New England, where most forms of torture were forbidden, the

authorities’ ideas about witches were strongly influenced by continental writers who drew their evidence from confessions extracted by torture.”

Case Study: Bamberg, Germany • Johannes Junius. • Convicted of witchcraft, wrote a letter to his daughter about the treatment he had

received. • Was forced to name accomplices, and was named as an accomplice by others. • They all knew about their mutual implication, and forgave each other for their

accusations because of the way they had been obtained. Forced Confession • Jailers actually pleaded with him to confess something since he was already found

guilty. • This would have prevented further torture and hastened his execution. • “It were surely better that I just say it with mouth and words, even though I had not

really done it; and afterwards I would confess to the priest, and let those answer for it who compel me to do it…And so I made my confession, as follows; but it was a lie.”

Junius’ Final Confession • “…whoever comes into the witch prison must be a witch or be tortured until he

invents something out of his head.” Breaking Prisoners • Illustrates the power of torture to break a prisoner’s resistance. • Note the method that led to an ever widening net of suspects by being forced to name

others. Political and Legal Centralization • “Legal reform was one of the most important weapons of centralizing rulers in early

modern Europe. Since the late 1400s, ambitious princes had been engaged in a continual effort to subject law courts to firmer direction from above. One example of the rulers’ attempts to exert control over judicial officials was the promulgation of elaborately detailed written law codes meant to standardize and regularize court procedure.” (p.131)

Exceptional Crime • New legal reforms were meant to draw on the Roman Law’s treatment of treason. • Middle Ages: heresy seen as treason against God. • Reformation: clerical and lay officials deemed heresy the ultimate crime. • Divine Right of Kings made witchcraft a crime of treason against the ruler as well as

against God.


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• “To become a heretic was to subvert the principle of hierarchy that held society together, for all relationships rested on legitimation by divine authority.” (p.134)

Goal was Order and Peace • Codes were the legal embodiment of the monarchical claims to sovereignty. • New statutes challenged the family-centered customs of feud and vendetta that had

prevailed for centuries. • New principle was the supremacy of the King’s law over all loyalties to clan, region,

or order. • Personified sovereignty was intended to provide a higher level of civil peace. And the Down-Side… • “One of the unanticipated side effects of legal change was the creation of a judicial

apparatus and criminal law procedure conducive to large-scale witch-hunting” (p.132).

• New codes mostly taken from the law of Imperial Rome and the church’s Canon Law. (NOT in England)

• Medieval legal traditions were run under papal inquisitorial method • Inquisitor is both prosecutor and judge. • “Under the inquisitorial procedure a firm line between guilt and innocence, a

hallmark of modern criminal law, was blurred almost beyond recognition” (p.133). Black Box Justice: • Recall from Bodin – the Rights of the Accused:

o No right to be informed of the charges against them. o No right to be informed of the accuser’s identity. o Testimony taken in private o No opportunity to confront unfriendly witnesses. o No right to cross-examination. o Defense attorneys generally unknown.

• “This method, which had first been applied in medieval church courts to the exceptional crime of heresy, now became the norm for all criminal cases” (p.132).

In for a Penny… • Torture had long been used to elicit confessions in inquisitorial procedure in late

middle ages. • Feature was adopted by 16th and 17th C. legal reformers when they adopted

inquisitorial method. • “Judicial Torture” became a regular element in criminal procedure. • For witch-hunting this was the most important element in legal reform. Degrees of Torture: • “Judicial Torture was administered in graded degrees of severity • Highest was “third degree,” • Lesser degrees of torture included use of thumbscrews and tearing out of fingernails.


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• More severe forms included stretching victims on the rack, or crushing their legs in “the boot”

• Others included “the strappado” where victims were bound with weights, raised, and dropped to the floor.

Easiest Form: • “Not as technologically inventive a torture method, but just as effective, was a

deprivation of sleep for days on end. Often the mere threat of these brutal treatments was enough to gain the desired confession.”

• Sleep deprivation still used as an “aid” to information gathering. Not Black and White: • Accused prisoners often subjected to punishing physical pain even before conviction. • “Under the inquisitorial procedure a firm line between guilt and innocence, a

hallmark of modern criminal law, was blurred almost beyond recognition” (p.133) Guilty by Suspicion: • “For example, the German imperial law code of 1532, called the Carolina after

Emperor Charles V, allowed the use of torture whenever there was probable cause to believe a defendant guilty.

• “Probable cause meant one eyewitness – two were enough to convict without a confession – or the presence of circumstantial evidence (for example if a suspect was caught with the weapon and the loot).”

• Probable cause implied at lease semi-guilt, and warranted torture. Some Protection: • Still, suspects were in some degree protected by the probable cause stipulation. • French version went further, called on judges to exhaust all other investigatory means

and mandate the approval of a panel of legal advisors before application of judicial torture could be sanctioned.

Evidentiary Problem: • A requirement that the judge first determine that a crime had been committed. • Torture could then be employed. • Weapons and rewards of witchcraft were usually less obvious than other crimes. • How could a judge certify that a death, illness or misfortune was the result of

unnatural causes? • Maleficent magic supposedly accomplished through supernatural means, and were

“deeds whose traces vanished with the act.” • Judges’ sole recourse was to obtain a confession, and this required torture. Legal Changes: • Terrible fear of witches and their powers eroded safeguards against wrongful use of

torture built into legal codes.


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• After 1560, rulers and judicial officials systematically discarded protections built in by their predecessors.

Case Study: England • Tradition of common law prohibited most types of torture. • We can use England to see what witch trials would have looked like without torture

commonly used on the continent. • Although witchcraft 2nd most prosecuted crime in kingdom, compared to other

countries England had relatively few trials. France: Bodin’s Children • The situation was different in Europe • Bodin’s treatise on witches inspired many judges to extract confessions with torture: • Henri Boguet, Nicolas Rémy, Pierre de Lancre • Consistently used torture to obtain confessions and implicate new suspects • Their procedures were encouraged by measures that centralized power in the judges’

(and political leaders’) hands, and that did away with appeals • These judges, appointed by rulers, encouraged the spread of the trials • Also gave the trials more credibility Germany • Similar pattern of centralization and standardization • Previously independent courts now had to hear advice from university law faculties • Eventually, legal opinions of law faculties became binding • As elites’ preoccupations shifted to devil worship, so did the accusations and trials in

local courts • Saxony Criminal Constitution of 1572: “if anyone, forgetting his Christian faith, sets

up a pact with the devil or has anything to do with him, regardless of whether he has harmed anyone by magic, he should be condemned to death by fire” (p.138)

• “[The Witch’s] crime was now being redefined: it lay in what she was, not primarily in what (if anything) she did.”

Leading Questions • Torture used not only for extracting confessions • Investigators also used standardized set of leading questions • These often included questions meant to denounce others • In the Carolina, denunciations by alleged accomplices were dubious grounds for

torture • During the witch panics, these became accepted forms of evidence, and led to the

torture of many others • The trials then spiraled out of control Grounds for Torture • Accusation by another witch • Association with a known witch


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• Possession of powders or unguents • Also: common rumor, fear on the prisoner’s face, blasphemous language, inability to

shed tears, having a parent accused of witchcraft • In other words: “these criteria could send almost anyone to torture (p.143). No Simple Answer • Absence of restraint on the part of authorities – confession at any cost • A single accusation could lead to a chain reaction and panic • Accusations might start from malefice made plausible by family rivalries, disease,

and fitting the stereotypical image of a witch (old hag) • Then the torture machine would begin producing more and more suspects • Teachers, clerics, officials, lawyers, merchants • “The wide spectrum of victims makes it impossible to suggest any kind of simple

social analysis for these large-scale panics” (p.145) • Klaits suggests these panics lacked rational meaning: “because of the way torture was

used, whatever social utility (in functionalist terms) each panic may have had at its outset was eventually lost as more and more victims were implicated” (p.146)

Conclusion • Relationship between political centralization and witch hunting is complicated • Centralizing monarchs established legal codes based on Roman and Canon law that

legitimated torture but also restricted judges’ authority to use it • After 1560, those restrictions were eroded due to judges’ and princes’ impulses desire

to enact spiritual reform and state sovereignty • Authorities expanded the grounds for torture and imposed professional judges and

academic jurisprudence on criminal procedure • In this way, political centralization made way for the witch hunts The Psychology of Torture - Briefly • One might argue that the use of torture was primarily aimed at extortion or the

appropriation of victims’ money, goods or land (cf. Currie) • Klaits argues a more plausible way to understand the use of torture involves accepting

“the spiritual concern expressed by the witch hunters” (p.149) • The unconfessed were doomed to hell; must confess to save their souls • The judges saw it as their duty to induce reluctant prisoners to confess • Confession is the self-recognition of guilt, and an acknowledgement of the wrongness

of the act to the public – reinforcing the law Love and Violence • Erotic desire and violent desire intimately connected in early modern society • Shows up explicitly later in works of Marquis de Sade (there is a film version of his

100 Days of Sodom, called Salo; this film is incredibly disturbing, far worse than that human centipede movie or any of the contemporary torture-porns like Saw or Hostel).

• Combination shows up in mystical artwork (cf. Bernini’s Theresa)


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• Also lived in increasingly popular public executions and tortures (cf. the Pappenheimer case presented at the beginning of last term)

• Torture, like the mystical ecstasy, was seen as a way of communicating directly with God

• What we (post-Freudians) see as unconscious drives for sex and death, they saw as drives towards communion with the divine

Torture as Ordeal • We tend see torture as an illegitimate and ultimately dubious method of extracting

evidence • Then, torture was seen as a test, an ordeal which a suspect must endure to establish

her guilt or innocence • If one could withstand the torture, or if God protected the accused from the pain, the

innocence of the accused would be made manifest • Belief that God would protect the innocent – much as Hammurabi’s code assumes an

innocent will emerge from the trial by water unharmed • This is a result of the Aristotelian and (Neo)Platonic world view, where the Cosmos

was alive or at least suffused with God’s personal and moral direction • God would rather perform a miracle than let the innocent suffer • Thus: people accepted torture willingly, knowing themselves to be innocent • When they inevitably felt pain, they held two contradictory beliefs:

o Belief in providential God o Belief in their personal innocence

• Recall cognitive dissonance: the discomfort of holding contradictory beliefs • In these cases, the victims must reject one of their contradictory beliefs • It was, more often than not, their belief in their own innocence, rather than their belief

in God, that was rejected

Phil 2006: Unit IV: The Decline of the Witch Hunts, The Rise of Science Sean Coughlin February 28, 2012

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Unit IV: The Decline of the Witch Hunts, The Rise of Science February 28, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [KP 60] Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft Next Time: • [KP 61] Michel de Montaigne, “Concerning Cripples” Lecture Witchcraft, Science & Skepticism

“Thus one must consider as fools or madmen those people who see the strange actions of witches and spirits, who because they cannot understand the cause, or because it is impossible in nature, do not want to believe any of it.”

Bodin, Preface to On the Demon-mania of Witches • By the end of the 17th Century, defenders of demonology and witchcraft desperately

tried to halt skepticism and disbelief among educated classes of Europeans • By the 18th Century, those who wanted to end the witch hunts were triumphant • The last witch trials in major centres were held in the first half 18th Century • Some continued in the periphery of Europe, but ceased by the end of the century • By the end of the 18th Century, witchcraft had become a topic of historical interest What changed? • Social Improvement? Perhaps witches were hunted because they gave people what

felt like control over an uncertain world; once social conditions improved, there was no longer any need to hunt witches.

• Unlikely: general economic conditions remained the same in the late seventeenth century were not significantly different than earlier; conditions of life for most remained unchanged; disease and famine persisted; great technological innovations did not occur until the 1800s.



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• Decline of Popular Witch beliefs? Perhaps people felt that the regular persecution of witches brought no end to the problems that plagued early modern life, and so the general population became skeptical of the reality of witch craft.

• No Evidence: sources are mostly silent, but there are references to vigilante groups acting against accused witches in the 18th Century. It seems that villagers continued to feel anxious about birth, death, disease and climate during the 17th and 18th centuries, and continued to see witchcraft behind many misfortunes. But there is very little evidence about popular beliefs.

• Decline in witchcraft beliefs of the elite classes? Perhaps the beliefs of the ruling

classes changed, and their new way of understanding the world resulted in the decline of witch persecutions.

• Possible: The 17th century saw the rise to prominence of three profoundly influential ways of thinking

o Skepticism: Scientific basis for belief in witches and demons was systematically eroded over course of 17th Century

o Mechanism: ways of explaining natural phenomena shifted from explanations involving matter and spirit to explanations involving matter and motion alone

o Empiricism: new methods in science began to be accepted by elite and used in judicial cases

Signs and Causes “Thus one must consider as fools or madmen those people who see the strange actions of witches and spirits, who because they cannot understand the cause, or because it is impossible in nature, do not want to believe any of it.” Recall • Witchcraft and demonology were rooted in the best science of the time • Along with magic, alchemy, astrology, they formed the basis of both the educated and

popular ways of understanding the world • Originally, to know something was to know the cause of something • However, in the case of witchcraft, the causes were explicitly occult • One could not determine empirically the cause of any particular event caused by a

witch • Instead, the assumption was made that witches cause bad events • From this assumption, one only needed to find signs that someone (often a woman)

was a witch to account for any bad events • According to Bodin, we don’t even need to know either how witches cause what they

do (since it is beyond our understanding), nor do we need to discover that witches caused particular instances of harm (because it is beyond our perceptual abilities); we only need to find signs that someone is a witch


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A Distinction: Causes vs. Signs Causes • a cause explains why something happened • they are rationally comprehensible • they are discovered • causes fall into types—they explain many things • they yield laws of nature Signs • signs do not explain, but refer to things • they are linguistic • they are interpreted, not discovered • stability in signs are reinforced by authority • they yield a privileged, authoritative language Signs, Signs • Causes of maleficia were unknown, occult • Bodin and others wanted to be able to be sure of the existence of the witch by reading

the signs • No link was made, however, between the fact that there was a witch and something

bad happened • The question then is: how do we know there is a causal connection between the witch

and the effect? Reginald Scot • We first encountered Scot last term (Oct. 18) • He was skeptical of the reality of witchcraft, and his treatise The Discoverie of

Witchcraft influenced James VI of Scotland to write his Daemonologie • Scot’s criticism of Bodin, Kramer & Sprenger, and others, focuses on this distinction

between knowing signs and knowing causes • Note carefully these two texts. • What is Scot’s argument in each case? How is the distinction between sign and cause

at play in them?

"And though by lawe, single witnesses are not admittable; yet if one depose she hath bewtiched hir cow; another, hir sow; and the third, hir butter: these saith (saith Malleus Maleficarum and Bodin) are no single witness; because they agree that she is a witch." (p.395)

"First, in that the Turkes and infidels, in their witchcraft, use both other words, and other characters than our witches doo and also such as are most contrarie. In so much as, if ours be bad, in reason theirs should be good. If their witches are said to renounce Christ, and despise his sacraments: so doo the other forsake Mahomet, and his lawes, which is one large step to christianitie." (p.400)

Phil 2006: Montaigne, “Concerning Cripples Sean Coughlin March 1, 2012

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Montaigne, “Concerning Cripples March 1, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [KP 61] Michel de Montaigne, "Concerning Cripples" Next Time: • [WebCT] Francis Bacon, selections from The Advancement of Learning and the

Novum Organum Exam Overview Statistics Mean: 70.75% Std. Dev.: 12.85% Median: 71.25% Mode: 77.5% Min: 30% Max: 90% A+: 2 A: 10 B: 14 C: 11 D: 4 F: 3 Observations The marks on this exam are roughly where one might expect them to be for a second year course in philosophy. For the most part, people seemed to have recalled key texts and concepts satisfactorily. Areas to make sure to review: Innocent VIII’s Papal Bull and the Malleus Maleficarum; Klaits c.6; Extra Credit – 10%



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For those who want, I am offering an extra-credit assignment worth up to 10% on top of your grade. Objective To engage critically with the readings To apply concepts from the readings to contemporary issues To improve overall performance in the class Assignment Each week on Friday, I will post a question on WebCT relating concepts from the week’s readings to a contemporary issue. You are to answer the question in a short writing assignment, roughly 300-600 words. You do not need to do any external research. The only thing you’ll need to write the assignment is the week’s readings, the concepts from class, and the highly-relevant and timely theme I choose. Evaluation The assignments will be graded old school: Fail, Pass, cum laude These will be assigned a number: 0, 1, 2

What these mean: Fail – you didn’t hand it in

Pass – you handed something in that was legible, on time, and within the word limit Cum laude – you handed something in, it contained a thesis, it contained a defense of your thesis, it explained and made use of the relevant material from the reading in the defense of your thesis.

Deadlines, &c. Assignments are due by midnight, one week after they are assigned. This means Friday at Midnight every week (00:00hrs on Saturday morning for those used to 24 hr time). Late assignments will not be accepted unless you have sought accommodation from your academic advisor. Assignments that do not meet the word limit will not be evaluated. Lecture Where are we? Historically • Legal and political centralization carried out to increase civil peace • Central law codes based on inquisitorial law (allowed torture) and Roman law

(treason as highest crime) • Belief and fear in witches began to increase • Because of occult nature of the crime of witchcraft, safeguards in legal codes against

use of torture were eroded


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Philosophically • Two world-systems:

• Aristotelian (medieval church, universities) • Neoplatonic/magic (Renaissance humanism) • These will be replaced by the Mechanistic world-view in the 17th & 18th centuries

What changed that allowed the witch hunts to end? Historical consensus: changes in understanding of the natural world

• Skepticism • Empiricism • Mechanism

Today: Skepticism Reborn

"I find that in almost every case we ought to say: 'That is not so at all.' And I would often use that reply, but I dare not, for they cry out that it is an evasion produced by feeblemindedness and ignorance…. And few people fail, especially in things of which it is hard to persuade others, to affirm that they have seen the thing or to cite witnesses whose authority stops us from contradicting. Following this custom, we know the foundations and causes of a thousand things that never were."

-Montaigne, KP p.403

“By a twist of the human mind, obscure things are more readily believed.” -Tacitus

Michel de Montaigne: • 1533-1592 • Montaigne is one of the greatest humanists and essayists to have graced the earth. • An early author in the new French philosophical tradition. • "That such a man has written, joy on earth has truly increased…If my task were to

make this earth a home, I would attach myself to him." - Nietzsche • After a long time in public life, he sequestered himself in the tower of his father’s

castle in 1571 and devoted his life to the essaies. Dawn of the Age of Reason • The scientific revolution was a broad, unsystematized movement that abandoned

received science, and took people and their curiosity back to the world, and into the operations of the mind itself.

Some New Questions • What is the proper application of reason? • What are the limits of intellect? • What is the role of the imagination?


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• What are the criteria for truth? Revolutions • 1492 – Geography (Columbus, New World) • 1502 – Time (Heinlein, Pocket Watch) • 1518 – Medicine (Royal College of Physicians) • 1519 – Religion (Luther, Reformation) • 1580 – Agriculture (Spain, Maize and New World Crops) • 1582 – Calendar (Gregory XIII, Gregorian Calendar) • 1586 – Cosmos (Galileo, Telescope) • 1590 – Microcosmos (Janssen, Microscope) Skepticism Reborn • Skepticism was an established philosophical school in the classical world. • This is an epistemological method (distinguish from incredulity which is a position

we take with respect to the testimony of others, i.e., “I don’t believe it”) • Two varieties of old-school skepticism:

o Pyrrhonian: suspended judgement on all matters o Academic: denied possibility of knowledge

• Method: produce arguments refuting both of two contrary positions, i.e., arguments for and against something

• Goal: peace of mind, literally freedom from disturbance (Pyrrhonian) and intellectual honesty / modesty (Academic)

Montaigne’s Skepticism: • produce arguments in favour of various and sometimes contradictory positions • Goal: cultivate free enquiry, train to be free of dogmatism (unquestioning belief in

basic principles of a system) and vanity Human Reason • “I was just now musing, as I often do, on how free and vague an instrument human

reason is. I see ordinarily that men, when facts are put before them, are more ready to amuse themselves by inquiring into their reasons than by inquiring into their truth. They leave aside the cases and amuse themselves treating the causes. Comical prattlers!

Reason Limited in Scope • “The knowledge of causes belongs only to Him who has the guidance of things, not to

us who have only the enduring of them, and who have the perfectly full use of them according to our nature, without penetrating to their origin and essence” (p. 402)

The Error • "They pass over the facts, but they assiduously examine their consequences. They

ordinarily begin thus: "How does this happen?" What they should say is: "But does it


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happen?" Our reason is capable of filling out a hundred other words and finding their principles and contexture." (p.402-3)

The gravest case… • “To kill men, we should have sharp and luminous evidence; and our life is too real

and essential to vouch for these supernatural and fantastic accidents.” (405) Evidence in Witch Trials • Consider the kinds of evidence we have studied in the histories of the witch hunts.

o Confessions o Accusations based on witness of two people commonly regarded as honest o Suspicion based on reported activities o Suspicion based on marks on the body

Montaigne on Confessions • “As for druggings and poisonings, I put them out of my reckoning; those are

homicides, and of the worst sort. However, even in such matters they say that we must not always be satisfied with confessions, for such persons have sometimes been known to accuse themselves of having killed people who were found to be alive and healthy.” (p.405)

In “Of Cripples” He Writes: • “The witches of my neighbourhood are in mortal danger every time some new author

comes along and attests to the reality of their visions. To apply the examples of Holy Writ offers us of such things, very certain and irrefragable examples, and bring them to bear on our modern events, requires greater ingenuity than ours, since we see neither their causes nor their means.”

Implicit Concerns • There are limits to the human capacity of reason. • If we can employ our “ingenuity” to arrive at conclusions, we are not simply

exercising reason, but the imagination also. • Although the employment of reason must in some sense involve imaginative activity

(to hypothesize, e.g.) we must either restrain or subjugate the imagination beneath some stable standard of truth and falsity, of proof and evidentiary standards.

Put Faith in God • “It belongs perhaps only to that most powerful testimony to say to us: “This is a

miracle, and that, and not this other.” God must be believed in these things, that is truly most reasonable…”

Don’t Put Faith in People • “…but not, by the same token, one of us, who is astonished at his own narrative (and

he is necessarily astonished unless he is out of his senses), whether he tells it about someone else or against himself.”


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Fear of Admitting our Ignorance • “Many abuses are engendered in the world, or, to put it more boldly, all the abuses in

the world are engendered, by our being taught to be afraid of professing our ignorance and our being bound to accept everything that we cannot refute. We talk about everything didactically and dogmatically.”

Appearance, Reputation and Marks • “…and among others one old woman, indeed a real witch in ugliness and

deformity, long very famous in that profession. I saw both proofs and free confessions, and some barely perceptible mark or other on this wretched old woman…”

• “I would have prescribed them hellebore rather hemlock.... As for the objections and arguments that worthy men have brought against me, both on this subject and often on others, I have not felt any that are binding and that do not admit of a solution more likely than their conclusion.”

Montaigne on Reality of Witches: • One might think that Montaigne could either believe in the existence of witches, or

not, depending on how we construe ‘belief’: o Were real and had esoteric power o Were not real but had convinced themselves that they were o Were not real and hadn’t convinced themselves that they were, but were

believed to be witches anyway What can we really conclude? • “In those other extravagant accusations, I should be inclined to say that it is quite

enough that a man, whatever recommendations he may have, should be believed about what is human; about what is beyond his conception and of supernatural effect, he should be believed only when some supernatural approbation has sanctioned him. This privilege that it has please God to give to some of our testimonies must not be cheapened and communicated lightly.”

• “After all, it is putting a very high price on one's conjectures to have a man roasted alive because of them.”

Phil 2006: Francis Bacon Sean Coughlin March 6, 2012

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Francis Bacon March 6, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • Selections from Francis Bacon’s Novum Organum and The Advancement of

Learning Next Time: • [WebCT] Robert Boyle: “The Excellency of the Mechanical Hypothesis” Lecture Montaigne (cont’d) The gravest case… • “To kill men, we should have sharp and luminous evidence; and our life is too real

and essential to vouch for these supernatural and fantastic accidents.” (405) Evidence in Witch Trials • Consider the kinds of evidence we have studied in the histories of the witch hunts.

o Confessions o Accusations based on witness of two people commonly regarded as honest o Suspicion based on reported activities o Suspicion based on marks on the body

Montaigne on Confessions • “As for druggings and poisonings, I put them out of my reckoning; those are

homicides, and of the worst sort. However, even in such matters they say that we must not always be satisfied with confessions, for such persons have sometimes been known to accuse themselves of having killed people who were found to be alive and healthy.” (p.405)

In “Of Cripples” He Writes: • “The witches of my neighbourhood are in mortal danger every time some new author

comes along and attests to the reality of their visions. To apply the examples of Holy Writ offers us of such things, very certain and irrefragable examples, and bring them



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to bear on our modern events, requires greater ingenuity than ours, since we see neither their causes nor their means.”

Implicit Concerns • There are limits to the human capacity of reason. • If we can employ our “ingenuity” to arrive at conclusions, we are not simply

exercising reason, but the imagination also. • Although the employment of reason must in some sense involve imaginative activity

(to hypothesize, e.g.) we must either restrain or subjugate the imagination beneath some stable standard of truth and falsity, of proof and evidentiary standards.

Put Faith in God • “It belongs perhaps only to that most powerful testimony to say to us: “This is a

miracle, and that, and not this other.” God must be believed in these things, that is truly most reasonable…”

Don’t Put Faith in People • “…but not, by the same token, one of us, who is astonished at his own narrative (and

he is necessarily astonished unless he is out of his senses), whether he tells it about someone else or against himself.”

Fear of Admitting our Ignorance • “Many abuses are engendered in the world, or, to put it more boldly, all the abuses in

the world are engendered, by our being taught to be afraid of professing our ignorance and our being bound to accept everything that we cannot refute. We talk about everything didactically and dogmatically.”

Appearance, Reputation and Marks • “…and among others one old woman, indeed a real witch in ugliness and

deformity, long very famous in that profession. I saw both proofs and free confessions, and some barely perceptible mark or other on this wretched old woman…”

• “I would have prescribed them hellebore rather hemlock.... As for the objections and arguments that worthy men have brought against me, both on this subject and often on others, I have not felt any that are binding and that do not admit of a solution more likely than their conclusion.”

Montaigne on Reality of Witches • One might think that Montaigne could either believe in the existence of witches, or

not, depending on how we construe ‘belief’: o Were real and had esoteric power o Were not real but had convinced themselves that they were o Were not real and hadn’t convinced themselves that they were, but were

believed to be witches anyway


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What can we really conclude? • “In those other extravagant accusations, I should be inclined to say that it is quite

enough that a man, whatever recommendations he may have, should be believed about what is human; about what is beyond his conception and of supernatural effect, he should be believed only when some supernatural approbation has sanctioned him. This privilege that it has please God to give to some of our testimonies must not be cheapened and communicated lightly.”

What does this mean? Why does he mention “things beyond his conception and of supernatural effect”? What does it mean for something to be an occult quality or power? What does it meant for something to be supernatural or beyond nature? Who have we seen who has said pretty much the same thing about testimony of supernatural events? • “After all, it is putting a very high price on one's conjectures to have a man roasted

alive because of them.” Francis Bacon: The Great Instauration Two Main Themes: • Limits on human reason: (not direct realism but) the four idols • Proper procedure in science: (not Aristotelian demonstration or syllogistics but)

empiricism Introduce Bacon’s life • Dates: 1561-1626 • One of the most important intermediary figures between Renaissance and Early

Modern philosophy • After studying at Cambridge, left the academy to enter political life • Rose to prominence under James I • Impeached for corruption as a judge Bacon’s Works • Great Works: The Advancement of Learning and The Novum Organum • Parts of what was to be The Great Instauration (not completed in Bacon’s lifetime) Bacon’s Project • The problem: what method do we use to understand the natural world? What method

should we use? • The Aristotelians have a method that we looked at last term. • Bacon proposes a new method, one which will differ from the Aristotelian with

respect to the goal or end of science, the order of demonstration, and the starting points of inquiry


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• First: he thinks, to answer the question of method, we need to ask a prior question: what is the goal of science?

• For Aristotle and the Scholastics, and even for the Renaissance humanists, Bacon thinks the aim was arguments and to defeat your opponent in a debate

• Bacon believes the aim of science must be arts or technical skills and technology to improve the lot human kind – “to command nature in action”

• Given this end, he thinks we must set out to seek the principles of nature, and not be content articulating the principles of Aristotelian science; and we must not search for probable reasons in accordance with those principles, but the technical application of them

• The goal is a “Great Instauration” of a working science that will provide us with the ability “to command” the natural world and use it for our benefit.

[I’m not sure how much of this I will cover in class during the Bacon lecture, how much in the Boyle lecture, and how much I will cover in both. For the notes, the whole review will be contained in both lectures.] The Rejection of Aristotelianism • We are moving to the rejection of an entire world-view, that of scholastic

Aristotelians • Let’s take a minute to recall the most important features of this world-view Recall Aristotelian Cosmology • The cosmos is a unity; it is finite and continuous • All beings in the cosmos form a hierarchical “chain of being” with God at the top and

inanimate matter at the bottom • The heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars, and planets) move in perfect circles around a

static earth • The cosmos is eternal and uncreated Recall Aristotelian Epistemology: the four causes • When we want to explain what a thing is, we are explaining why some matter has

some attribute • The four causes are answers to the question: why is S P? • Any answer to this question will start “because…” • Then one would state one of the four causes

1. Material Cause – the matter out of which something is made Example: The material cause of a house is bricks and timber.

2. Formal Cause – the form, shape or function that matter has Example: the formal cause of a house is a certain shape, namely bricks built into walls with a roof on top.

3. Efficient Cause – the agent that made the matter have that form Example: the efficient cause of a house is the house-builder, the person who knows how to make bricks and timber into the shape of the house.

4. Final Cause – the purpose or end or goal of the thing


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Example: the final cause of the house is to shelter or to protect us from the elements.

• They could be called the “four becauses”

Recall Aristotelian Metaphysics: hylomorphism • There are two main kinds of things in the world: form and matter • These cannot exist independently (contra Plato) • Together they form substances • Everything is composed of form and matter • Matter: is continuous and uniform • Properties of matter are determined by form (what a thing is, i.e., a human being) and

by qualities (what a thing is like, i.e., white or hot or wet) • Some qualities are powers to do things (hot is a power to heat) • Some qualities are hidden or occult (sympathies are occult powers of attraction) • Powers to do things are agents (when we use this to explain why something exists or

has a certain quality it is an efficient cause) • All powers in Aristotelian powers are powers for some goal – that is, they operate

telologically Recall Aristotelian Physics • All change is change from a state of privation to form • Another way of saying this is all change is from potentiality to actuality

o When I build a house, I am taking matter that is potentially a house (bricks, stones, wood, etc.) and making it actually a house (bricks, stones, etc. with a certain configuration, namely one that shelters me from the weather)

• All change involves an agent which acts and a patient which is acted upon • In artificial cases, like houses, the agent is distinct and outside of the materials • In natural cases, like plants and animals, the agent is in the thing itself • This agent is a living thing’s soul • These agents are not changed when they act • Because they are unchanged, they account for the stability and regularity of all natural

change Finally: Recall Aristotelian methodology • How do we investigate the natural world? • Following Plato: On the assumption that this is the best possible world, what sorts of

features would we expect it to have? • Plato gives a priori reasons for the way the world is. • These reasons coincide with observations. • We begin with certain principles or hypotheses and attempt to derive other things in

terms of these principles: the system is axiomatic like geometry • Aristotle: starting from observations of what things exist, he investigates what they

are for, i.e., what is their function • These are the starting-points of investigation – everything else is explained in terms

of how they are necessary for or otherwise contribute to this function


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The Four Idols – Common Errors in Judgment Perceptual Errors • Our senses sometimes deceive us • How can we tell when our senses are veridical i.e., show us the world as it is? • Aristotelians: when they conform to our principles • What about when they don’t? Wouldn’t it make sense to re-think our principles? • “The axioms now in use are derived from a scanty handful, as it were, of experience,

and a few particulars of frequent occurrence, whence they are of much the same dimensions or extent as their origin. And if any neglected or unknown instance occurs, the axiom is saved by some frivolous distinction, when it would be more consistent with truth to amend it.”

Anticipating vs. Interpreting Nature • Bacon thinks it’s not only our senses which deceive us • Our reason, also, is lead to think things are certain based on various preconceptions

we have about how the world works • We think certain generalities exist in nature after looking at only a few instances • Bacon claims the Aristotelians then spend their time doing “arm-chair science” • He calls this way of doing science, “the anticipation of nature” • His own project, he calls, “the interpretation of nature” • “Interpreting nature” will be dealt with in the next section • The problem with the anticipation of nature is that it’s goal is its own coherence, with

no guarantee it conforms at all with the natural world: • “Anticipations are sufficiently powerful in producing unanimity, for if men were all

to become even uniformly mad, they might agree tolerably well with each other.” • Science cannot progress until we abandon our anticipations and begin interpreting

nature anew • “It is in vain to expect any great progress in the sciences by the superinducing or

engrafting new matters upon old. An instauration must be made from the very foundations, if we do not wish to revolve forever in a circle, making only some slight and contemptible progress.”

• How do we lay these new foundations? Provide “helps” or tools (i.e., a method) to reason

• “Our method and that of the sceptics agree in some respects at first setting out, but differ most widely, and are completely opposed to each other in their conclusion; for they roundly assert that nothing can be known; we, that but a small part of nature can be known, by the present method; their next step, however, is to destroy the authority of the senses and understanding, whilst we invent and supply them with assistance.”

The Four Idols • Bacon describes four “idols” or “phantoms” which cause us to err in our natural

investigations • These are the idols of the tribe, the idols of the den (sometimes, ‘cave’), the idols

of the marketplace and the idols of the theatre


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• “The idols and false notions which have already preoccupied the human understanding, and deeply rooted in it, not only so beset men’s minds that they become difficult of access, but even when access is obtained will again meet and trouble us in the instauration of the sciences, unless mankind when forewarned guard themselves with all possible care against them.”

• The implication: human mind is not a blank slate: it does not receive an undistorted image of the world

• Instead, the human mind is at best a fun house mirror: it is distorted, and we must recognize those distortions before we can come to know anything as it is

• Recall the class experiment on confirmation bias • Still, we can learn what these distortions, and so science is possible! The Idols of the Tribe “The idols of the tribe are inherent in human nature and the very tribe or race of man; for man's sense is falsely asserted to be the standard of things; on the contrary, all the perceptions both of the senses and the mind bear reference to man and not to the universe, and the human mind resembles those uneven mirrors which impart their own properties to different objects from which rays are emitted and distort and disfigure them.” The Idols of the Den “The idols of the den are those of each individual; for everybody (in addition to the errors common to the race of man) has his own individual den or cavern, which intercepts and corrupts the light of nature, either from his own peculiar and singular disposition, or from his education and intercourse with others, or from his reading, and the authority acquired by those whom he reverences and admires, or from the different impressions produced on the mind, as it happens to be preoccupied and predisposed, or equable and tranquil and the like; so that the spirit of man (according to its several dispositions), is variable, confused, and, as it were, actuated by chance and Heraclitus said well that men search for knowledge in lesser worlds, and not in the greater or common world.” The Idols of the Marketplace “There are also idols formed by the reciprocal intercourse and society of man with man, which we call idols of the market, from the commerce and association of men with each other: for men converse by means of language, but words are formed at the will of the generality, and there arises from a bad and unapt formation of words a wonderful obstruction to the mind. Nor can the definitions and explanations with which learned men are wont to guard and protect themselves in some instances afford a complete remedy words still manifestly force the understanding, throw everything into confusion, and lead mankind into vain and innumerable controversies and fallacies.” The Idols of the Theatre “Lastly, there are idols which have crept into men's minds from the various dogmas of peculiar systems of philosophy, and also from the perverted rules of demonstration, and these we denominate idols of the theatre; for we regard all the systems of philosophy hitherto received or imagined, as so many plays brought out and performed, creating


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fictitious and theatrical worlds. Nor do we speak only of the present systems, or of the philosophy and sects of the ancients, since numerous other plays of a similar nature can be still composed and made to agree with each other, the causes of the most opposite errors being generally the same. Nor, again, do we allude merely to general systems, but also to many elements and axioms of sciences which have become inveterate by tradition, implicit credence, and neglect.” Other Problems • We find more order than there really is • We tend to pay attention to things which confirm what we already believe, and ignore

or explain away those things which do not: the example of the shipwreck and the votive tablets

o “It is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human understanding to be more moved and excited by affirmatives than negatives, whereas it ought duly and regularly to be impartial; nay, in establishing any true axiom the negative instance is the most powerful.”

• We are limited in our experience, and we tend to relate even the most remote things to those few things we think we know

• We tend to search for final causes because we are unsatisfied with not knowing the purpose of the world being the way it is

• “But by far the greatest impediment and aberration of the human understanding proceeds from the dullness, incompetency, and errors of the senses; since whatever strikes the senses preponderates over everything, however superior, which does not immediately strike them.”

Conclusion: The Need for Experiment “The human understanding is, by its own nature, prone to abstraction, and supposes that which is fluctuating to be fixed. But it is better to dissect than abstract nature: such was the method employed by the school of Democritus, which made greater progress in penetrating nature than the rest. It is best to consider matter, its conformation, and the changes of that conformation, its own action, and the law of this action or motion; for forms are a mere fiction of the human mind, unless you will call the laws of action by that name.” Next Time: The Great Instauration: Empiricism and the New Science

Phil 2006: Bacon, Boyle, and the Mechanical Hypothesis Sean Coughlin March 8 & 13, 2012

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Bacon, Boyle, and the Mechanical Hypothesis March 8 & 13, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • Boyle, “About the Excellency and Grounds of the Mechanical Hypothesis” Next Time: • [WebCT] Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy Lecture International Women’s Day Bacon (cont’d) Review: • Great Instauration • “The human understanding is, by its own nature, prone to abstraction, and supposes

that which is fluctuating to be fixed. But it is better to dissect than abstract nature: such was the method employed by the school of Democritus, which made greater progress in penetrating nature than the rest. It is best to consider matter, its conformation, and the changes of that conformation, its own action, and the law of this action or motion; for forms are a mere fiction of the human mind, unless you wilt call the laws of action by that name.”

What is Bacon’s Inductive Method? • The Pyramid: begin with instances of particular events. Compile into a natural

history. Make hypotheses of slightly increased generality. Look for disconfirming instances. Continue up gradually making more general claims.

Contrast with Aristotelian Science • Begin with some empirical work based on uncritical acceptance of experience • Generalize some principles • Use those principles to deduce other things Aristotelian Assumption



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• the mind is like a mirror held up to nature; direct experience provides us with the forms of things

• Example: heat & weight • The power to warm belongs to the nature of fire. Heaviness belongs to the nature of

earth. • Heat and weigth are the first principles of science. And science rests on its first

principles—everything will be explained in terms of them. • Any fact that is not self-evident can be deduced from these first principles. • So, for example: some living things are hot; we don’t see inside living things; but we

can deduce there must be a kind of fire in the living thing itself, perhaps in the heart or in the breath.

• Wood falls to the earth, but floats on water. That must mean that it falls because of the preponderance of earth in it. But it floats on water; that must mean that it floats because it has some air in it. So it is light relative to water, but heavy relative to air.

So far, so good. • So what is the problem? Bacon thinks that such a science can never teach us anything

new. Since all facts are proven by reference to a few first principles, all the system really does is tell us what follows from those principles. But it cannot tell us anything we don’t already know – namely, that fire is hot, earth is heavy, air is light. All it explains are matters of common knowledge.

• We can say Aristotelian science explains. But it does not discover. A further problem • The principles upon which Aristotelian science are based come from uncritical

acceptance of sense experience. For Aristotelians, our senses give us true principles of nature. Aristotle can believe this because his science involves final causes. Final causes are the purposes of things. Animals all have sense organs, and so those sense organs must have a purpose. What is their purpose? Well, it must be to come to know and understand the world in which we live. What sense would it make for an animal to have sense organs that, when healthy and properly functioning, regularly lead us to make false judgments.

• But what if our principles are wrong? • Bacon thinks that our senses, even when properly functioning, lead us to believe false

things. That is, unless we take steps to guard against errors that result from common biases that result from errors in judgment. Some things are simply too small for us to perceive. Some things happen too quickly for us to see. Sometimes, our senses are in a state where they cannot perceive a difference between things. All these sources of error are due to limitations of our senses.

The Four Idols Finally, there are other sources of error: those are the four idols. Idols of the Tribe are those that are common to all humans. These include our tendency to always think that we are right, and that anything that contradicts these must be wrong. The result is we are much more inclined to believe things that confirm our beliefs and opinions than things that do not.


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Idols of the Cave or Den are those errors that result from our own particular interests. For instance, a politician might think the world’s ills come from those who have different political beliefs from him. Astrologers think everything would be better if people paid more attention to the alignment of the bodies in the heavens. Idols of the marketplace result from our language. We often use words we simply do not understand. Think of specialist jargon. Very often, people simply end up rearranging words in ways that sound convincing without knowing clearly what those words mean. This especially happens when great authorities use words that few other people are likely to grasp the meaning of. The word, “witch”, for example, was regularly used, but it seems that it didn’t refer to anything real. Idols of the theatre are those which derive from the acceptance of systems of philosophy. What is Empiricism? • Bacon proposes a new method that will avoid all of these errors. What we need is to

begin from sense experience again, but with knowledge of these common errors of reason, and ways to correct them.

• For the Aristotelians, we move from experience to general principles or axioms, and then move to explain more particular cases.

• For Bacon, we move from experience very gradually to some more general axioms. Only at the last can we move to the most general axioms.

Empiricism vs. Rationalism • Empiricism: knowledge comes to us primarily from sense experience. We test our

knowledge not by thinking a priori whether it is consistent with our other concepts. We, instead, test a hypothesis against the world – we look for confirming and falsifying instances.

• Rationalism, on the other hand, is the view that all our knowledge and justification comes from reason alone. We can treat sense experience, but only insofar as it corresponds to our reason. The sources of knowledge are (i) intuition, or (ii) innate ideas.

• The motivation for rationalism is that it gives us a way out of skepticism. So how is it meant to work? • Example of what heat is • Aristotelian: go out into the world; see that fire is hot and it is hot because it has the

power to make other things hot. So, fire is hot because it has the power to heat things. The nature of fire is heat. All other things heat because they have some fire in them.

• Bacon: Start by coming up with a ‘natural history’. Not history in our sense, but “an inventory of the stock of mankind”. In other words, Bacon thinks we need to have a catalogue of all of the various correspondences between things.


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• Not only must this list include things that everyone knows, but all those things which people do not. He says, it must include things which are, according to common opinion, impossible.

• The next thing we must do is come up with a ‘calendar’ or list of experiments that we want to do, and that would be most useful.

• His example is of condensation. It would be useful to have a means of condensation; so we should start doing experiments about various ways that things condense, so that we can apply any general principles we get from those experiments to the task.

Bacon’s Empircism • So, Bacon’s science is empirical and its aim is to provide us with means of

controlling nature. • Imagine we were to try to understand the nature of heat. We would gather a “table of

instances”. In this table, we only look for material and efficient causes – namely, what does what to what. We are not interested in formal causes, unless we redefine formal causes to mean “laws of nature”. We are not interested at all in final causes.

• Knowledge of these general laws of nature Bacon calls “magic.” Bacon’s Magic • Bacon likes magic: it shares his goal of developing a science that operates in the

world. • But he criticizes magic as it is normally practiced for two reasons: their method and

their goals. • First, they fall into the same trap as Aristotelians when they assume there are simply

two kinds of efficient causal relationships: sympathy and antipathy. They haven’t sufficiently established the truth of these principles.

• Second, if their techniques don’t produce the right kinds of things. Most of what they come up with, Bacon says, is wonderful or novel than of any use. Not only that, but they try to come up with almost ridiculous things: eternal youth, methods of numbing pain, love potions, things that make you see things, transmutation of base metals into gold, the representation of distant objects, the revelation of hidden objects. All these seem fanciful to Bacon.

Bacon’s Method—The Example of Heat • What is heat? • Take a bunch of examples of things that produce heat and name some things that go

along with them: o Flame is hot and is always in motion o Simmering, boiling liquids are always moving o Heat is increased by motion, i.e. of the air with a bellows, or a projectile

through the air o Heat is extinguished when a hot thing is compressed o Lots of heat destroys the thing itself that is hot

• What can we infer from this? • Where there is heat, there is motion. • Where there is no motion, there is no heat.


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• Therefore, heat is a kind of motion Not too fast • Notice just how tentative a generalization this is. • Doesn’t say anything more about heat than that it is motion • You ask: So what about heating? Does that come from motion? • Bacon stops here. He won’t give the causes of heating. They need to be investigated. Problems with Bacon’s Method • Does anyone see any problems with Bacon’s method? • Does it lead to any general propositions or scientific principles? • At what point can you make the jump from instances to generalization? • We are not yet at mechanism, however. Bacon does not claim that all there is matter

and locomotion. For this we need to wait for Descartes in France and Boyle and others in England.

Boyle & Mechanism Nature as a Machine In the 17th Century, a new approach to understanding natural objects and processes emerged. Nature was conceived us as a great machine, both in its parts and in the whole thing. This means that, when we give an explanation of something in nature, we would explain how it works the same way we would explain how a machine of our own making would work. Planetary motions, embryonic development, magnetism and lightning will all be given the same kind of explanations as a pocket watch. Some Distinctions between Mechanism and What Came Before Principles • Distinguish this from what went before: Aristotle – many different kinds of principles

(forms, qualities, souls, natures); many different kinds of motion (substantial change, quantitative, qualitative, etc).

• For the mechanists there are only two things. Matter and motion. The Natural and The Artificial • Aristotle: there is a distinction between the natural and the artificial. Natural things

have an internal principle of motion and rest. Artificial things are made by human contrivance.

• Mechanists: no difference. • So, we are all simply machines, operating according to natural, mechanical laws that

govern all behavior. The Clock • According to Boyle, the world “is, as it were, a great piece of clock-work”


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• What is this analogy supposed to be? • Nature is a machine, and can be fully understood just like a machine. • We no longer need to think of living things as organisms, where all the parts are

instruments for the soul • We no longer need to think of the cosmos as a living thing The Content of the Analogy • A clock’s behavior is regular, just like natural phenomena • In many cases, the mechanisms in a clock are hidden from plain view, just as in

nature, those mechanisms are hidden. • Clocks and machines can appear to be alive and to act purposively, but we know that

they are not – we can explain all the movements of a machine just with reference to its parts. We see a clock regularly chiming every day at noon. We see a rooster crowing every day at noon. It appears to be different from the clock, it appears to be alive. If we can explain its behavior, however, without an reference to souls or final or formal causes, that is, if we can explain the regularity of its behavior only with reference to the movements of its constituent parts, then it is not alive – it is just a machine. Or, being alive just is being a certain kind of machine.

The Mechanical or Corpuscularian Philosophy Defining the term • Though Descartes and Hobbes are generally considered to be mechanical

philosophers, the phrase "mechanical philosophy" was not coined until the 1660s, by Robert Boyle, after Descartes and Hobbes had finished writing their most famous works.

Robert Boyle • 1627-1691 • Most famous for: Boyle’s Law: pressure and volume of a gas at constant temperature

are inversely proportional. • pV=k or p1V1=p2V2 • What is the mechanical philosophy according to Boyle? • He tells us it consists of two "grand principles": matter and motion. • In other words, all physical objects, properties, processes, etc. will be ultimately

explained by appeal to matter and its motion. • All changes will ultimately be the result of change of place, which the texts call "local

motion." The obvious next question is: how does Boyle characterize matter and motion?

Characterization of matter • For Boyle, the only (mechanical) characteristics of matter are: • for individual bits of matter

o size ("bigness") o shape


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o orientation ("posture") • for collections of bits of matter • order (e.g., which bits are at the top vs. which bits are at the bottom) • texture (e.g., a sponge vs. a stone) • Lastly, Boyle (like Descartes and Hobbes) considers all matter to be "altogether

unactive" (p.141); in other words, matter is completely passive and inert. (This will contrast with the Paracelcian chemists.)

Characterization of motion • A body in motion can (i) break up bodies, and (ii) impart its motion to other bodies. • There are no (Aristotelian) 'natural places': that is, certain types of matter all by

themselves do not strive or tend to go up or go down. Occam’s Razor • pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate • “do not posit a plurality unnecessarily” • The principle of parsimony • Boyle and the mechanists believe it is best to work from the fewest number of

principles, i.e., matter and motion • Nothing else is needed to explain anything in their system Further aspects of Boyle's mechanical philosophy. • By calling his view 'corpuscularian,' Boyle intentionally avoids the questions about

the existence of atoms (indivisible bodies) and the void (though Boyle himself believed in it).

• He also includes claims about the beginning of the universe. At the time of creation, God:

o (i) arranged matter into (more or less) its present form of animals, plants, etc. (He thought Genesis should be interpreted literally)

o (ii) imparted motion to matter; o (iii) established "rules of motion" ("laws of nature")

• After the universe is created, “the phenomena of the world... are physically produced by the mechanical affections of the parts of matter... according to mechanical laws.”

• That is, after God sets up the matter and lays down the laws of motion, God does not need to intervene to produce any non-miraculous physical events.

Advantages of the Mechanical Philosophy • “For no intelligent man, whether chemist or Peripatetic, flies to his peculiar

principles, after he is informed that the moon is eclipsed by the interposition of the earth betwixt her and it, and the sun by that of the moon betwixt him and the earth. And when we see the image of a man cast into the air by a concave spherical looking-glass, though most men are amazed at it, and some suspect it to be no less than an effect of witchcraft, yet he that is skilled enough in catoptrics will, without consulting Aristotle or Paracelsus, or flying to hypostatical principles and substantial forms, be


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satisfied that the phenomenon is produced by the beams of light reflected, and thereby made convergent, according to optical and consequently mathematical laws.”

1. The “intelligibleness or clearness of Mechanical principles and explications.” • Boyle thinks this is a great advantage over Aristotelian notions like matter and form,

and Paracelsian / Chemical notions such as astral influences. It is not entirely clear what is meant by these terms, and people can disagree about what exactly they mean.

• Boyle thinks this contrasts sharply with the notions of shape, size, and motion -- everyone can agree what such terms mean, and fully understand other people's claims about the shape, size and motion of a particular thing.

• Furthermore, when an Aristotelian or a Paracelsian finds a purely mechanical explanation, they usually prefer the mechanical explanation: for example, Aristotelians do not invoke their planet-moving 'motor intelligences' when they explain the solar eclipse: it is just the moon coming between the earth and the Sun.

2. Its principles are fundamental, chronologically and conceptually. • Chronologically: the universe as we know it could not begin without both matter and

motion. • Conceptually: neither the concept of matter nor that of motion can be reduced to any

simpler concepts (or to each other). • Aristotle and Plato claimed there are matter and motion, but they conceived of these

very differently from the mechanists. • In particular, these were not principles of nature. Natures, souls and forms were the

principles. • The Mechanists replace the Platonic and Aristotelian by “laws of nature” • You might ask: “where do these laws of nature come from?” • They would reply: the natural scientist doesn’t need to ask these questions. And these

can be discovered by observing and experimenting with matter in motion. • Induction! • Even if matter and motion had existed from eternity, you would need them both to

explain any change. • Need a persisting subject of change; and you need change, which is all motion is. 3. Its principles are "comprehesive" or universal. • The number of different shapes, sizes, and motions are all virtually infinite -- and so

is the number of combinations of smaller parts. • Because of these many possibilities, it appears that mechanical accounts can be given

of basically everything. Boyle gives an alphabet analogy, to convince his opponents who think mechanical explanations can only be given of a few types of phenomena. With just 26 letters, infinitely many books can be written, on any topic, and in several languages.

• Additionally, Boyle points out that the same mechanical causes produce the same mechanical effects on very different scales of size: the basic design and operation of a wristwatch is the same as a huge town clock -- the hands and gears are just bigger in


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one. Therefore, Boyle concludes, the mechanical principles hold good for very large things, very small things, and everything in between.

Comparing the Mechanical Philosophy to its Rivals. • Boyle's basic claim is that any apparent competitor to the mechanical philosophy is

either unintelligible, not fully informative, or else compatible with the principles of natural philosophy.

• Platonists. For example, the Platonic soul of the world or anima mundi, which we saw in the Timaeus and in the Neoplatonists, might be compatible with the mechanical philosophy: Boyle points out that it sounds very similar to Descartes' "subtle matter," which pervades the stars and heavens.

• But if the soul of the world (or angels, or seminal reasons, or whatever) act in non-physical, non-mechanical ways, then, Boyle says, it is impossible to understand how they cause any change in the world. As he puts it: if an angel supposedly causes a change without changing the arrangement or movement of matter, then how is there any change at all?

• Chemists / Paracelsians. A typical chemical explanation that a Paracelsian might give is: ‘This material burns easily because it has a great deal of the sulphuric principle in it.’ Boyle says these explanations “are not the most fundamental and satisfactory: for the chemical ingredient itself, whether sulphur or another, must owe its nature and other qualities to the union of insensible particles in a convenient size, shape, motion or rest”.

• That is, we still want an explanation of why sulphur is flammable. Furthermore, material alone is never a sufficient explanation: knowing that a watch is made of a certain amount of metal and glass does not explain how it keeps time.

Boyle on Witchcraft “The famous Sennertus and some other learned physicians tell us of diseases which proceed from incantation: but sure it is but a very slight account that a sober physician, that comes to visit a patient reported to be bewitched, receives of the strange symptoms he meets with and would have an account of, if he be coldly answered that it is a witch or the devil that produces them; and he will never sit down with so short an account if he can by any means reduce those extravagant symptoms to any more known and stated diseases, as epilepsies, convulsions, hysterical fits, &c., and, if he cannot, he will confess his knowledge of this distemper to come far short of what might be expected and attained in other diseases, wherein he thinks himself bound to search into the nature of the morbific matter, and will not be satisfied till he can, probably at least, deduce from that, and the structure of a human body, and other concurring physical causes, the phenomena of the malady. And it would be but little satisfaction to one that desires to understand the causes of what occurs to observation in a watch, and how it comes to point at and strike the hours, to be told that it was such a watchmaker that so contrived it; or to him that would know the true cause of an echo to be answered that it is a man, a vault, or a wood, that makes it.”

Phil 2006: Descartes: The Meditations on First Philosophy Sean Coughlin March 15, 2012

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Descartes: The Meditations on First Philosophy March 15, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [WebCT] Descartes, Meditations I and II • [KP 64] Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (selection) Next Time: • Guest Lecture: Kevin Marron on Contemporary Witchcraft Lecture Boyle, recap Comparing the Mechanical Philosophy to its Rivals. • Boyle's basic claim is that any apparent competitor to the mechanical philosophy is

either unintelligible, not fully informative, or else compatible with the principles of natural philosophy.

• Platonists. For example, the Platonic soul of the world or anima mundi, which we saw in the Timaeus and in the Neoplatonists, might be compatible with the mechanical philosophy: Boyle points out that it sounds very similar to Descartes' "subtle matter," which pervades the stars and heavens.

• But if the soul of the world (or angels, or seminal reasons, or whatever) act in non-physical, non-mechanical ways, then, Boyle says, it is impossible to understand how they cause any change in the world. As he puts it: if an angel supposedly causes a change without changing the arrangement or movement of matter, then how is there any change at all?

• Chemists / Paracelsians. A typical chemical explanation that a Paracelsian might give is: ‘This material burns easily because it has a great deal of the sulphuric principle in it.’ Boyle says these explanations “are not the most fundamental and satisfactory: for the chemical ingredient itself, whether sulphur or another, must owe its nature and other qualities to the union of insensible particles in a convenient size, shape, motion or rest”.

• That is, we still want an explanation of why sulphur is flammable. Furthermore, material alone is never a sufficient explanation: knowing that a watch is made of a certain amount of metal and glass does not explain how it keeps time.



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The Devils’ Return • Recall: The Execution of Urbain Gradier. On the 18th of August, 1636, the Royal

Commissioners of Cardinal Richelieu and French King Louis XII pronounced a sentence on Urban Grandier, the handsome, charismatic, and some say licentious, parish priest of the town of Loudun in Poitiers, France.

• “We have decreed and shall decree the said Urbain Grandier duly arraigned and convicted of the crime of Wizardry, Sorcery and Possessions occurring by his deed, in the persons of several Ursuline nuns of this town of Loudun, and other members of the secular clergy; together with other incidents and crimes resulting from this. For expiation of which, we have condemned and shall condemn this Grandier to make honorable repentence, bare-headed, a rope around his neck […] to ask pardon of God, of the King, and of justice; and this accomplished, to be taken to the public square of Sainte Croix, to be attached to a stake on the pyre, and there to be burned alive with the pacts and signs of sorcery lying on the pyre […]. We have decreed and shall decree each and every of his possessions to be acquired and confiscated by the King […]. And prior to proceeding to the execution of the present sentence, we order that the said Grandier will be subjected to ordinary and extraordinary Torture.” (KP, p.356)

• There is a story that goes like this: at the trial of Grandier, there was a great legal question that took hold of the minds of judges and thinkers. If, they thought, Grandier was a sorcerer and could possess people at will, could this sorcerer influence and deceive a judge and jury? What means would we have of figuring out whether or not they had been deceived by a demon?

• Not just the question of whether or not the testimony of the possessed and the witch could be considered reliable. In these cases, the question was how could we trust the testimony of someone accused of being a servant of Satan? Even worse, how could we trust the testimony of the possessed?

• But this raises an even bigger problem. Who is to say that it wasn’t the clergy and the judges who were possessed? Who is to say that this was not a case of the devil trying to persuade the church and the state to kill an innocent man?

• This problem is obviously more than a legal question: who is to say that what we think we know is not all tricks and illusions? Even when we think we know something, who is to say that we simply haven’t been led to believe these things because of some devil’s design?

What if not only our senses are in error? What if our ability to reason is itself flawed? Empiricism and Rationalism Everyone agrees that empiricism is liable to skeptical doubt. But what about all of those truths we are supposed to know from reason alone? Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, I & II Context Descartes did not have a reputation for modesty. After he wrote his meditations, he sent them to various philosophers, theologians and scientists to promote his views and to ask for possible objections. Pierre Gassendi—the French polymath whose ideas about


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atomism went on to influence Boyle, Locke, Huygens and Newton—sent in a series of responses beginning with the words, “I am most impressed by your excellent arguments, your intellectual acumen and your brilliant style. And I am happy to congratulate you on the highly intelligent and successful way in which you have attempted to extend the sciences…” (CSM II, 179). Descartes, in response to Gassendi, replied, “you have not so much used philosophical arguments to refute my opinions as employed various debating skills to get round them; but this is itself a source of pleasure to me, since it leads me to suppose that it will not be easy to produce any further arguments against me…” (CSM II, 241). Perhaps, then, it is a bit of a historical irony that such a certain and proud thinker—so very different from the tentative, self-effacing writing of thinkers like Montaigne—would push philosophical skepticism to its farthest possible point. And maybe it’s fitting that only Descartes could reach the point of such extreme doubt, and return to earth more certain in his own knowledge than he had ever been before. In the 17th century, a new skeptical movement arose in certain philosophical circles. These thinkers became known as the new pyrrhonists, and they represented a rebirth of the ancient Greek school of Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus, a school whose goal was the total disavowal of knowledge. The purpose of this skeptical doubt was a kind of tranquility of the soul (if we even have one). By training ourselves to see that every well-reasoned proposition has an equally well-reasoned opposite, we are able to free ourselves from our attachments to this world that might cause us more pain than they are worth. In fact, we find we had no good reason for forming those attachments in the first place. We have seen that Pyrrhonism, this rather absolute form of skepticism, had been revived already by the time of Montaigne and had been developed in England by Francis Bacon. The method of these new skeptics was to use the skeptical doubt developed in this ancient school in order to clear out the intellectual baggage of hundreds of years of scholastic dogmatism and to throw doubt upon the questionable methods and principles of the still freshly-revived Platonist schools of magic and alchemy. Although there are differences among the various new skeptics, their methods all shared two things in common: they all doubted that our senses give us certain knowledge of anything, and they all rejected the possibility of finding a criterion of truth. Doubt with respect to our senses is an old worry. If our senses ever deceive us, what reason could we ever have to trust them? Fool me once… At first, the doubt arises at a rather mundane level. Sometimes we might mistake a shadow for a specter, or two colors. Sometimes, if we are sick, something that normally tastes sweet might taste bitter. Occasionally, we recall events differently from our friends. All of these instances of may give us reason to question particular events or occurrences, but rarely does our doubt extend beyond these particulars. Instead, we figure after the fact that something caused our senses to fail, and we can discern between those times when our senses are working properly, and those times they lead us into error. But the doubt can be extended to throw experience itself into question. Using Descartes’ own example, and one perhaps familiar to us, if we were to live in a dream, and everything we have ever experienced were to be an illusion, how


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could we ever come to know this? How would it ever occur to us that the world within a world is not real? And even if it did occur to us—if, like in “Inception,” we could remember that all of this is a dream—how could we ever determine this with certainty without actually waking up? And even if we did, how could we be sure that we are not just living a dream within a dream? What standard could we possibly use to determine this? The serious problem of skepticism, then, is not that the world might be an illusion. Skepticism is not simply a claim about the reality or unreality of certain beliefs, or about the reality of the world in general. It’s a problem about what we know: whether or not it is in principle possible to tell the difference between our appearances and reality. According to the skeptics, if we have no criterion, no rule against which we can measure what appears to us in order to determine if it is real, then it seems we can’t ever come to have true knowledge—what the Latins called scientia, and what we call wisdom. But if we can never have certain wisdom, then how can we arbitrate between different beliefs? How can we know what things are worth believing in, and what things aren’t? For many of the new pyrrhonists, the best way to deal with this problem was to accept it humbly and move on with their work. It might, according to them, just be a brute fact that we cannot know with absolute certainty whether what we experience is real or just an illusion. But if we lower our expectations for scientific knowledge and grant the unreliability of our senses, then we can still develop a perfectly useful science based on the notion of probability, and we leave to the theologians knowledge of what is absolutely true. We might not be able to attain certain knowledge of the world, but we can still judge what is likely to be the case based on our own empirical observations and those of others, or, if we can’t say what is likely, we can discern which of several alternatives is more likely than another. Even if the whole world is a dream in a dream, we can, as Bacon shows us, come up with helps or aids to our reason: heuristics for discovering new connections (like disconfirming instances) and criteria for deciding what kinds of thinking commonly lead to more confusion than clarity (the four idols). Just because experience doesn’t lead to certain knowledge doesn’t mean that it can’t be of any use to us. If we have probable reasons for believing something —which are ultimately, at least according to Bacon, practical reasons for believing—that’s at least enough to get science off the ground. The acceptance of this kind of truth—probable truth—was a step the 16th and 17th century demonologists and witch hunters and judges were unwilling to take. They believed they knew with absolute certainty that evil was the result of the devil’s activities in the world. Well, as we’ve seen, they either claimed to know this, or they knew that others believed it and used those beliefs to manipulate the public for their political and personal advantage. Bodin could even assert the reality of witchcraft knowing full well that we did not understand precisely how it works, how demons cause events to occur in our world. He could believe such a thing because he refused to doubt his experiences of unexplainable harm and hardship, and the experiences of others, could be signs that refer to anything other than the existence of witches, demons, and their unintelligible causality. What else could it signify other than that somehow God was responsible? Bodin could not but


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accept that, in these cases, our senses do not lie. And even if they do, then this is all the more reason to believe in demons. Our senses do not err because our senses are essentially liable to error. Our senses err when we are deceived, and that deception must arise either ourselves, like when we are ill, or worse, from a demon, when it has possessed our bodies and projects on our mind a world of demonic illusion. For Bodin, the causes might well be unknown, but these causes are—to paraphrase a past U.S. defense secretary—at least known unknowns. Methodological Doubt: Rough Outline Candidates for sources of knowledge: Memory • much of what I “know” is based on memory, but memory is often false • so I should not trust any knowledge based on memory Candidates for sources of knowledge: Sense perception • there are sensory illusions • there are dreams • there is madness • it seems that all sensory “knowledge” of the material (corporeal) world should be

doubted Candidates for sources of knowledge: Reason • mathematical knowledge (e.g. 2+3 = 5) • but maybe God, who is omnipotent, is deceiving me • but that is impossible since a good God would not be a deceiver • perhaps there is a “malicious demon” of the utmost power and cunning who employs

all his energy and skill to deceive me in everything. • The supposition of the “malicious demon” (aka “evil genius”, Fr. “malin génie”) is

then the instrument of methodological skepticism: o Is there anything about which such a demon could not deceive me?

A good enough foothold? • I think, therefore I am. • I doubt, therefore I think. • I am deceived, therefore I think. Some Terminology: “Think” • What does “think” mean here? • not “do hard intellectual work” • more like: “am conscious” Some Terminology: “I” • What does “I” mean here? • not: a human being with a body and power to move that body in various ways. • “I” means simply a thinking thing, a conscious thing — a consciousness, if you like.


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• Moreover, “I” does not mean René Descartes specifically... • it means anyone at all who undertakes this process of methodological doubt. Question: What is Descartes trying to establish with his claims about the piece of wax?

Phil 2006: Unit V: Witchcraft and the Irrational Sean Coughlin March 22, 2012

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Unit V: Witchcraft and the Irrational March 22, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft amongst the Azande • Evans-Pritchard, Sorcery and Native Opinion (selections) Next Time: • Andreski, “The Syphilitic Shock” Lecture Triumph of and Conclusion to the Age of Reason and the Irrationality of Magic Throughout the course, we’ve been looking at various beliefs and philosophical systems in order to try to make some sense of a dark chapter of western history, and to understand how that chapter came to its end. During the period known as the ‘witch craze’, from around 1550-1700, 80-100,000 people were hung or burned at the stake, most of them women. The charge was heresy, but grounding this charge was a belief that pure evil in the guise of Satan was at work in the world, that certain people gave themselves to his service, that he granted them powers of magic to cause harm to God-fearing Christians, and that these people met in shadow groups to increase their power and recruit others. Faced with the reality of these atrocities, it’s common to assume that Europe was overtaken by a craze, an uncontrollable and irrational 150 years which, ultimately, could only occur because of superstitious beliefs in Satan and magic. This view is comfortable for us, and it’s comfortable for the following reason: it gives us a way out of trying to understand just what happened. If we say that they were acting irrationally, not only do we come dangerously close to attributing the cause of human suffering to something we can never hope to understand – namely, the whims of human passion and emotion – but we also are trying to distinguish ourselves from them. They were acting irrationally. Why? Because they held irrational beliefs that we no longer hold. But isn’t this just another kind of magical thinking? Another kind of occultism?



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The question we’ve been exploring in the course is whether the beliefs in magic and the occult could be rational, and whether we can say that their acting according to these beliefs was rational. In the unit we’ve just covered, it seems clear that critics from the age of reason and scientific revolution certainly didn’t think so. They thought all of these beliefs were irrational to an extreme. We looked at three different themes in the history of the development of modern science as examples: skepticism, empiricism and mechanism. On all of these views, magic can be considered an irrational belief. For the skeptic, it’s irrational if we talk about the causes of certain phenomena without knowing whether or not they even happened. It’s also irrational if we confuse signs for causes. For the empiricist, belief in magic is irrational if the causes we’re trying to know are by their very nature occult—if they cannot be observed—but are believed to exist based on idols of the understanding. And for the mechanist, it’s irrational to believe in magic if by magic one means anything that doesn’t operate through mechanical means—as Boyle tells us, such a kind of cause is unintelligible to him. Still, at the same time, it’s hard to tell sometimes what beliefs are magical and which aren’t. Take these examples: Kepler: derived the elliptical orbits of the heavens, but believed sincerely that their orbits were in a proportion that described a beautiful music: the harmony of the spheres. • Saturn: a major third: 4:5 • Jupiter: a minor third: 5:6 • Venus: a semi-tone: 24:25 • Described in his harmonices mundi Newton: rejected Cartesian mechanisms’ claim that only matter and motion are sufficient to explain phenomena. Claimed that there was a universal attractive “force” of “gravitation” which bound all things in the cosmos together. This doesn’t sound too different from the Renaissance magician’s claim that there is a cosmic sympathy binding all things together; nor does it doesn’t sound too different from Coleridge’s Aeolian harp: “And what if all of animated nature Be but organic Harps diversely fram'd, That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze, At once the Soul of each, and God of all?” Not only did he imagine a great sympathetic force permeating the cosmos, Newton was, throughout his life, a believer and practitioner of alchemy. In fact, he gave himself a pseudonym in his alchemical treatises, a common secretive practice amongst alchemists. He called himself, “Jehovah Sanctus Unus”—Jehovah, the Holy One. He also believed


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himself to be close to finding the philosopher’s stone and was appointed to the head of the royal mint to ensure the quality of their gold and to find ways of preventing counterfeiting. So, were or are beliefs in magic rational? What makes them more or less rational than other beliefs? Edward Evans-Pritchard among the Azande • Born in 1902 • Went to Oxford, read history at Exeter college, found it tedious • Excited by exotic study of different cultures • Anthropology – a science • Students asked what social institutions did to find out how a society worked • E-P wanted to know what people believed: their mental lives • Beliefs and ideas not as pre-logical thinking (recall Frazer), but as entire systems of

thought • Believed it was a mistake to treat the thinking of other societies, of ‘primitives,’ as if

they were different from us because they hadn’t got it right, or because their emotions got in the way.

Witchcraft and the Azande • Distinction:

o Witchcraft (mangu) / Magic-Sorcery (ngwa) • Similarities:

o Neither are likely real o Both have common functions: used to cause harm for private ends o Magic/Sorcery: spells, rites, ideas, traditions, taught o Witchcraft: operates through different channels, but in similar situations

• Differences: o Sorcery: herbal medicine o Witchcraft: results from abominable condition (mangu)

Mangu • Mangu is a physical object located in certain people: an oval, blackish swelling or

sack containing small objects, about an elbow’s width, in the upper abdomen near the bile tract

• Mangu cannot be observed while one is alive • It can be extracted post mortem, and is sometimes hung from a tree bordering a path

to the chief’s court Two important physiological characteristics • Located in the abdomen, near where the breast-bones meet • Hereditary trait passed from parent to child, from father to son only or from mother to

daughter only


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• “Mechanism” of procreation: two spirits or principles, male and female. • If male principle dominates, a son is conceived. If female principle dominates, a

daughter is conceived. • Witchcraft is associated with nocturnal animals (bats and owls) and witchcraft is

especially thought to be active (and visible) at night. • Witchcraft operates by a kind of light which is only visible during the day to

witchdoctors and witches, but which others can see at night. • Like the light of fireflies or sparks from a fire, but much bigger and brighter Mangu Effects • The spirit of mangu operates while the witch is asleep. It (spiritually) devours the

spirit of its victim. Only a witch knows precisely how this works, but it is “known” to occur.

• Witches join together. Use ointments to increase their power. Rubbed on bodies, or rubbed on drums to summon other witches. Experienced members preside and instruct novices. Social structure resembles normal Zande social groups.

• Child witches have a weak force that usually grows as they do. Children are not a threat to adults, but are sometimes a threat to other children.

• Eventually, a witch will be killed by vengeance or by another witch or sorcery. • Witches may continue to live beyond the grave as evil spirits. Universality Witchcraft • Mangu is everywhere: food-gathering, domestic life, communal life; influence on

laws, morality, etiquette, religion. • Blamed for failed crops; failed hunts; failed sexual advances; moody chiefs; failed

magic • All misfortune is attributed to mangu unless there is strong evidence and oracular

confirmation that a sorcerer or evil spirit caused it: only if the husband had touched his wife’s menstrual blood or seen her anus would he attribute misfortune to some such cause

• Example: A boy strikes foot against a stump in the middle of a path, a pretty normal thing. The wound festered and wouldn’t heal. It was witchcraft. E-P advised the cause was carelessness, and to watch where he was going. Boy said certainly it wasn’t witchcraft that put the stump there. Mangu, however, blinded him to the stump even though he had been watching where he was going.

• Furthermore, wounds usually take little time to heal, but this one was taking longer than normal. Reason: mangu.

• Another example: E-P feels sick. Could it be the bananas? No, unless witchcraft is behind it.

Not all injuries are due to witchcraft. • Clearly, sometimes they are due to unforeseen circumstances. But the Zande have

magic charms to protect them from these. If these charms combined with his knowledge fail to protect, the cause must be mangu.


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• If the cut festers or fails to close, then one can be certain the cause is witchcraft and one will consult oracles to determine who is the cause.

Oracles • Procedure: place names before a lesser oracle or iwa. • Iwa chooses a name, and the name is confirmed before a greater oracle: benge. • Now they know the name of the witch. Cannot assault the witch immediately. Courses of action • Public accusation face to face • Public declaration without naming the witch, so only the witch will know who he is

referring to • In the second case, the witch will appreciate that the victims didn’t name him, and

will know that if he continues to torture his victim, he will be avenged. Self-preservation and self-respect will make him stop.

• If this doesn’t work, another procedure: kuba • Read names one at a time and give strychnine to a chicken with each name • If the chicken dies, guilty; if not, innocent • Cut off a wing from each dead hen; put it on the end of a stick and fan out the feathers

and take it home. Then, they consult with a chief’s deputy and tell him the name of the man / men accused of witchcraft. Or, they ask the iwa to name some good men and choose one to notify the witch. Sends a messenger to the witch with one of the wings, lays it in front of the witch, saying his master sent him because of the illness of so and so. Witch generally protests his innocence and ignorance.

• Accused asks for a draught of water from his wife, takes some in his mouth, spits it out over the wing, and claims he is unaware of his possession and beseeches the mangu inside him to stop.

• If this is sincere, the illness will cease. Messenger tells deputy, deputy tells family, they wait.

• If the sickness ceases, they praise the benge. If it continues, they go back to the benge, ask him if the repentance was pretense, or whether some new or other aggressor is involved.

The Rationality of Witchcraft (and this is E-P’s big point!) • These procedures maintain order: if one brings an accusation against a witch without

oracular support, they would be laughed at or beaten. If an accused with did not act humbly but became enraged, it would strengthen the others suspicions.

• Mangu procedures give rise to a well-known traditional sequence of behaviours which regulate and control in a social context the unruly passions and emotions of people.

Phil 2006: Unit V: Psychedelics Sean Coughlin March 27, 2012

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Unit V: Psychedelics March 27, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [WebCT] H. Sidky, “Hallucinogenic Drugs and Witches” Next Time: • Andreski, “The Syphilitic Shock” Lecture Magic and Rationality • Last time we saw how E-P’s work on witchcraft among the Azande in Africa raised

the question whether their beliefs and practices surrounding witchcraft were rational. • But what do we mean by “rational”? And what do we mean by “belief”? • We need to clear the conceptual ground a bit. Questions about Belief and Rationality • What is a belief? (For the moment, let’s distinguish the reasons for holding a belief

from the beliefs themselves.) • We have various reasons for believing things: testimony, authority, empirical

evidence, personal whim, gut feelings, etc. • Then there are the beliefs themselves: “She is a practicing witch”, “people are

naturally self-interested”, “fire is hot to the touch”, “Magic does not exist”, etc. • Beliefs all seem to be assertions about whether something is true or not or about

whether something is true of something else or not • What is rationality? • This is difficult to define. We say a belief is rational if the belief is arrived at through

a correct process of reasoning, but this is a circular definition. • This leads us back to the questions from last term (Oct. 18, 20, 25) about our methods

for arriving at knowledge of the world. • There, we looked at whether a rationally coherent world-view or paradigm could be

more rational than another. The answer seemed to be no (recall the duck-rabbit). • But, can we give explanations of witchcraft phenomena which are coherent with our

worldview? Can we explain flying on broomsticks and demonic sex using different explanatory tools?



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• If we can, does that put us in a better position to judge whether the witch hunters were justified in their hunts?

Sidky: Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease

"It is not to be omitted that some wicked women, perverted by the Devil, seduced by illusions and phanatsms of demons, believe and profess themselves [...] to ride upon certain beasts with Diana [...] and in the silence of the dead of night to traverse great spaces of earth[...]"

-Canon Episcopi Sidky’s Critique • Historians spend too much time trying to understand how witch-hunters thought • Historians ought to figure out what they did that resulted in the testimony we have Sidky’s Solution • give a scientific treatment of the witch-hunts • focus on what "really" happened What Really Happened? • assume witch-hunting literature is essentially accurate • find physical phenomena that correspond to witchcraft beliefs • drugs, disease, torture, etc. • Sidky’s stated assumption: physical causes are real, psychological / cultural ones are

not Transvection • Why would people believe in the possibility of transvection (preternatural transport

across great distances)? • At the time: supported by biblical authority -- Satan carried Jesus through the air • But why did people think they were actually being transported? Why was this

actually a phenomenon that was up for debate? • Sidky's answer: hallucinogenic compounds Evidence • testimony about use of salves and ointments • salves and ointments contained herbs with known hallucinogenic properties • witchhunt adversaries knew the witches were only hallucinating What Sidky is not claiming • that witches’ salves were solely the fabrication of demonologists • that there were ‘drug-using sects’ whose members were persecuted because of their

dreams or hallucinations


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Sidky’s Two Claims (in brief) 1. There were experts in the use of botanicals who were feared because they had the

ability to heal or poison -- the veneficae a. These were influenced by gypsy practices involving a known hallucinogen,

datura, or thorn-apple

2. Torturers, exorcists and executioners used drugs to induce nightmarish confessions in recalcitrant witches

Phil 2006: The Syphilitic Shock Sean Coughlin March 29, 2012

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The Syphilitic Shock March 29, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • [WebCT] Andreski, “The Syphilitic Shock” Next Time: • [WebCT] Hahn, R and Kleinman, A. “Belief as Pathogen, Belief as Medicine:

‘Voodoo Death’ and the ‘Placebo Phenomenon’ in Anthropological Perspective.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly (vol. 14, no. 4, Aug. 1983), p. 3,16-19.

Lecture The Syphilitic Shock

It is a repulsive breed, that of the witches, especially the female among them, who, with the help of evil spirits or magic potions, bring to mankind endless harm... Mostly they make people possessed by demons[...]. Many people suffer most dreadful illnesses and do not know they are bewitched

- Abbot Trithemius to Maximilian I (1508) Why did the witch craze occur precisely when it did? • Trevor-Roper has demonstrated:

o Thinkers before the witch craze were skeptical about witchcraft o Killing witches was outlawed

• What changed? One Explanation (this was also discussed in Klaits) • Peasants continued to believe in witches • Intellectuals abandoned skepticism and became as, if not more, fearful of witches as

peasants • Their organization led to the great hunts • Andreski thinks this doesn’t account for enough about the witch craze



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What Andreski thinks an account of the witch craze should explain: 1. Its duration 2. The geographical extension 3. Its generality / classlessness 4. Its bias against women 5. Its contrariety to the direction of intellectual progress 6. Its bias against midwives 7. Its loose association with wars 8. The prominent role of monks and Puritans

Criticisms of Other Theories • Bias against women

o (Honegger) Witch trials were motivated by the move to subjugate women (recall Brauner)

o Criticism: too many men and boys were killed (10-15% of victims) o Criticism: Women can be subjugated without killing them -- "it's better to

have a slave than a corpse" • Its geographical extent

o (Thomas) Influence of capitalism on rural life led to a clash between duty to help unfortunate and the desire to pursue self-interest

o Criticism: If witch hunts were by-product of capitalism, it should have been most virulent where capitalism started: Italy, Netherlands, England. This was not the case.

o In fact, greatest hunts were in Germany and France, where villages were hardly influenced by capitalism

• Its classlessness o (Favret) Witch hunts instigated not by peasants but by judges whose motive

was fear of counter-culture o Criticism: peasants believed in witches, the primary target (old women)

wouldn't make a very dangerous counter-culture, and it's hardly surprising most victims were peasants since most people were peasants

o On Favret's account, it would be surprising how many victims were *not* peasants

• Its association with wars o (Trevor-Roper) Wars of religion, which coincide with or occur just before the

hunts, lead to terror and scapegoating o Criticism: Many wars occurred befoer and after without witch hunts o Soldiers rape, but why would they burn people alive at this time? o Wars of religion had occurred before -- Albigensian crusade -- without

evidence it was accompanied by witch hunts o Heretics were burned in Spain (auto-da-fe), but Spain had no great witch

hunts • The prominent role of clergy

o (Murray) Witch hunts were result of church's attempt to stamp out old pagan cults still existing in rural Europe


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o Criticism: why would the church wait until 16th century to stamp out these pagan cults?

o Many victims admit to flying on broomsticks, causing storms, etc. Is there truth in these claims also?

Andreski's Thesis • Introduction of syphilis in late 15th Century influenced witchcraft beliefs and

responses • Evoked panic and search for scapegoats Three Ingredients to the Witch Craze:

1. Existence of machinery against heretics by the Church 2. Demonization of women, exacerbated by tightening up of celibacy 3. Arrival of syphilis

Know: how this explanation meets Andreski’s criteria for a good account

Phil 2006: Unit V: Witchcraft and the Irrational Sean Coughlin April 3, 2012

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Unit V: Witchcraft and the Irrational April 3, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • Hahn, R and Kleinman, A. “Belief as Pathogen, Belief as Medicine: ‘Voodoo

Death’ and the ‘Placebo Phenomenon’ in Anthropological Perspective.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly (vol. 14, no. 4, Aug. 1983), p. 3,16-19.

Next Time: • T. Szasz, “In Defense of the Dominant Ethic” and “The Witch as Mental

Patient” in The Manufacture of Madness (Harper and Row, 1970) Lecture "Belief Kills; Belief Heals" • Do our beliefs, our expectations, either individual or cultural, cause harm or benefit to

our bodies? • H&K: Yes • But we should distinguish senses in which this is true Obvious sense • We have beliefs we attend, i.e., actively think about

o e.g.: “eating certain foods is good or bad for us” • These beliefs cause us to act in certain ways

o e.g.: I abstain from eating certain foods, I eat other foods • These actions can be good or bad for us

o e.g.: The foods I choose to eat because I believe they are good may cause harm (in which case I have a mistaken belief) or benefit (in which case my belief was justified)

Less obvious sense • We have beliefs or expectations, some which we aren't necessarily aware of

o If a good-producing substance is administered hypodermically by a doctor, it will make me feel good

o This substance is a good-producing substance • These beliefs cause our bodies to act in ways we aren’t aware of



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o The body responds in some way to the administration of a substance hypodermically

• The effects of these actions cause harm or benefit to the body, but we aren't certain why they have any effect

o We believe the effect is due to the substance injected o The substance injected is found to be pharmacologically inert o There must be something else responsible for the effect, and the only possible

alternative is that the effect is due to some process internal to the body o This is the “placebo effect”. It is not an “effect” due to the placebo itself

(which is inert) but due to certain beliefs and expectations held by an individual

Even less obvious • Some cultures have a belief in the power of magic or witchcraft • These beliefs cause their bodies to act in certain ways (this is often a nocebo

response) • The effects are attributed to magic or witchcraft by those in the other culture • Magic does not exist as a scientifically held belief in our culture • So, we believe there must be some other cause • These instances share certain similarities with placebo/nocebo responses, so they are

both likely due to the same internal physiological response to beliefs and expectations Words we use to describe this phenomenon • "psychosomatic" • "fight or flight" • “giving up / given in” • "placebo effect / response" • "nocebo effect / response" Case Study – “bone pointing” • Used by Aborigines in Australia • A sharpened kangaroo bone is pointed at an enemy in a public display • The victim usually falls sick in a few hours • Dies within a few days • No evidence it can be attributed to poisoning Differing Explanations • Cultural • Physiological • Psychological • A mix of all three? Two Questions: • What do we need in order to give a proper explanation of this phenomenon?

o Evidence!


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• What should an explanation of these phenomena look like? Differing Ontologies • An explanation will look different depending on what ontology we use • H&K argue that an explanation is actually impossible if we assume the common-

place Cartesian distinction between mind and body. • They argue instead for an ontology in which mind and body are not distinct, but

somehow identical Cartesian Ontology • Soul / Mind is really distinct from the body • The body is material, extended in space, continuous, and composed of spatial parts • The soul / mind is immaterial, not extended in space, discrete, and simple • Therefore, they are ontologically distinct kinds of things • As ontologically distinct kinds of things, they cannot interact (how could something

immaterial come into contact with something material?) • This position is known as dualism • Dualism leads to the problem of interaction: how can the body act on the mind and

vice versa? H&K’s Ontology • "the mind is embodied, the body mindful" • They claim there is no real distinction between the mind and the body • The mind and the body are somehow identical, although they aren’t totally clear how

they see the relationship • They claim that the mind and the body both exist as “events” which succeed one

another in time • These events have both psychological and physiological properties, are acted on by

previous events, and cause later events • Their position is like a kind of reductivism • What Descartes called “the mind” is really a property of some material stuff, or

emerges from states of that material. • To use an image from Plato (but which he doesn’t himself believe), the mind is like

the harmony of a guitar—when the strings of a guitar are tightened in the right way, it is in tune; change the tension, and it goes out of tune.

• The mind is like that: it is a property of a physical body that emerges when all the material parts are in just the right condition

• Just as the tuning of a guitar will make the body of the instrument resonate in a specific way, so the “tuning” of our neurophysiology can cause certain effects in the body, since they are not really distinct.


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Unit V: Witchcraft and the Irrational April 5, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Today’s Reading: • T. Szasz, Selections from The Manufacture of Madness Next Time: • Conclusion and Review Lecture Re-Cap Sidky: • Historians ought to turn their attention to what the witches did, not what the cultural

beliefs of the witch hunters and demonologists were • We need to give a scientific treatment of the witch-hunts – focus on what "really"

happened • What Really Happened?

1. There were experts in the use of botanicals who were feared because they had the ability to heal or poison -- the veneficae

2. Torturers, exorcists and executioners used drugs to induce nightmarish confessions

Andreski: • Explanation of witch craze should explain: its duration, the geographical extension,

its generality / classlessness, its bias against women, etc. • Socio-economic explanations fail to explain all of these • There must be a “real” explanation that accounts for it all • Three ingredients:

1. Existence of machinery against heretics by the Church 2. Demonization of women, exacerbated by tightening up of celibacy 3. Arrival of syphilis

• The arrival of the disease evoked panic and search for scapegoats



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Hahn and Kleinman • Placebo/Nocebo responses are a real and measurable phenomenon • They result in benefit and harm to the body • Old, Cartesian ontology cannot explain this • Must adopt a new, reductivist ontology: mental states are really just physical states;

beliefs, expectations are physiological Science and Religion

“Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!”

-Richard Dawkins (11 November 2001). Szasz: Challenging the Dominant Ideology • Szasz’ aim in chapter four is argue from similarities in the way the Inquisition and

Institutional Psychiatry work to an identity in their social function • That social function is to defend the “dominant ethic” (roughly, the ideology) of a

particular society • Szasz is therefore questioning the familiar distinction between “faith and reason” or

“science and religion” by looking to how, regardless of whether the dominant ideology is based in religion or in science, society will produce institutions whose aim is to use that ideology to repress what it sees as deviant behavior.

Some Statistics Szasz offers about Institutional Psychiatry: • In 1964:

o 563,354 in hospitals for mental disease o 186,735 in instituions for "mentally retarded" o 214,356 in federal and state prisons

Other Numbers not in Szasz: • In the 1940s-1950s:

o Around 40,000 patients in the US lobotomized o Around 10,000 in Western Europe o Compulsory sterilization in Canada until 1970s o Last forcible sterilization in the US: 1981


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Society's Games • "[S]ocieties find it difficult and taxing to tolerate the existence of a plurality of

games, each competing for the attention and loyalty of the citizens. Each group[...] is organized by a few ideas, values and practices which cannot be questioned or challenged without causing its disruption, or at least fear of its disruption." (Szasz, p.58)

• These ideas, values and practices constitute the “dominant ethic” • They determine what kinds of activities one can engage in, and what kinds one cannot • They are seen as pre-requisites for a stable society Szasz' Thesis • Social function of the Inquisition and Institutional Psychiatry are the same • Both provide organized system for ritualized affirmation of society's dominant ethic • From without, they may appear harsh and oppressive • From within, they are beautiful and merciful How do these systems achieve their aim? • “social therapy” • To preserve the dominant ethic, society needs a symbolic offender to whom

impending disintegration of social order is attributed • So: suppress some individual and moral interests in order to maintain stability Inquisition • Define as heretics or witches those who rejected or allegedly rejected the dominant

ethic: those who make an alliance with Satan, not God • This could be useful for both Catholics and Protestants Institutional Psychiatry • “Mental illness” serves same purpose as “witch” • It is the paradigm of mental disease • “In a religious society, who can be against God? Only a heretic! The same kind of

logic and legitimacy supports Institutional Psychiatry: to oppose it is tantamount to opposing medical science, the physician, and nature. In a scientific society, who can be against health? Only a madman!” (Szasz, p.63)

• An illustration: all else being equal, if one claimed they were against health, we would think either (a) they were confused about what was good for them, or (b) they were self-destructive, or (c) they were crazy.

• Szasz is pointing out that the terms “health” or “disease” are often used as place-holders for “what is good and should be aimed” or “what is bad and should be avoided”

• What actually constitutes health or disease, and what we think actually contributes to health and disease is going to be determined—not by each of us as individuals—but by our society’s dominant ethic.

• Those who reject this dominant ethic are considered not simply dangerous, but disturbed or diseased


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• Note how different the claim is that someone is diseased from the claim that someone is dangerous

o To be dangerous does not necessarily imply any ideology; it simply points to something whose actions or capacities are potentially harmful (e.g.: sulfuric acid is “dangerous”; we wouldn’t say it is “diseased”)

o To be diseased implies that something isn’t working as it should – that it has failed to be normal

o It also implies, with therapy (either of the soul or of the body), the “diseased” can be cured

State-sanctioned Control • In both the case of the Inquisition and Institutional Psychiatry, the state authorizes

these institutions “to dispose over human destinies” and exercises “vase discretionary powers over” its members (p.62)

• Whereas other institutions like police are bound by the rule of law, and can only punish only what the law forbids, these institutions have no such boundaries.

• People can be incarcerated without charge – they commit no “crime”, except to be different from what the institutions themselves deem normal

• It isn’t relevant that the Inquisition used norms derived from religious traditions, whereas Institutional Psychiatry used norms derived from science

• Rather, “the fundamental conflicts in human life are not between competing ideas, one ‘true’ and the other ‘false’—but rather between those who hold power and use it to oppress others, and those who are oppressed by power and seek to free themselves of it.” (Szasz, p.63)

Structures of Power • Medieval society: church supplied the ideology, the state the power • Contemporary (1960s) society: the scientific establishment supplies the ideology, the

state the power • Recall: at the time Szasz was writing, a person could be incarcerated in a mental

institution for life because psychiatrists determined they were mentally ill. These individuals had no right to appeal; if they tried, it would be taken as further proof of their mental illness.

• Even the ACLU (the American Civil Liberties Union—meant to protect civil freedom) recommended that a person determined to be mentally ill should be removed from society and treated “regardless of whether or not the ‘patient’ consents to it or of how dangerous or destructive such ‘treatment’ might be.”

The Witch as Mental Patient (Chapter 5) • In this chapter, Szasz outlines what he sees as objections to the view that witches

were mentally ill, and that this demonstrates the “transhistorical and transcultural ‘reality’ of mental illness” (Szasz p.81).

Phil 2006: Unit V: The Continuing Threat of Witchcraft Sean Coughlin April 10, 2012

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Unit V: The Continuing Threat of Witchcraft April 10, 2012 Contact Information: • Sean Coughlin • [email protected] • UWO Office: Stevenson Hall 4136


• Website: WebCT / http://publish.uwo.ca/~scoughli/ • Lecture notes are available for download on WebCT Review Session: • 1:30-2:30pm, April 12, 2012 • B&GS 1056 • Practice Exam answers, general review of the term, your questions Lecture The Question of Evil • This course had two aims: • First, it was to ask the question, can we understand the witch craze not as an irrational

event, but as the result of a rational system of beliefs grounded in the methods and results of science at the time

• Second, it was to try to articulate a question about evil: what is it? Is it something out there in the world for us to find and try to eliminate? Is it something in us? Or is it something that emerges from our relationships with others, with how we see others and how others see us?

Rationality and Evil • How we understand the question of evil has a lot to do with how we understand

rationality • We tend to think that if someone doesn’t know what they are doing is wrong, we tend

to absolve them of guilt • What they did may be wrong, but, since they were acting irrationally, they didn’t

really know what they were doing, and so aren’t morally culpable (or aren’t as morally culpable) as someone who knew what they were doing

• Take, as a test case, Anders Breivik, who on 22nd July, 2011 killed 77 people, mostly adolescents at a youth camp

• He was initially found insane, and the insanity finding was enough for most people—a rational person could never have committed such an atrocity

• That is to say, a rational person could never have committed such an atrocity, someone who knew what they were doing could not do such a thing (it is interesting that such attributions of irrationality are rarely made against Islamic terrorists)



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• But, just this weekend, Breivik was found sane and fit to stand trial; and now, we are left trying to understand how a rational man could commit such a crime

(Ir)rational Beliefs • Szasz tries to show in his chapter, “The Witch as Mental Patient”, that contemporary

psychiatry interprets “all kinds of deviant or unusual behavior as mental illness” (p.68)

• The result of this, ultimately, was that deviant behavior, regardless of time and place, was understood solely as a kind of mental derangement

• Some psychiatrists would go on to say that they could find proof of this in the historical record: Johann Weyer, who wrote that witches could not harm anyone, but were tortured by “melancholia,” which makes them believe they commit evil

• This led to the following understanding of history: o Witches became proof of the trans-historical and trans-cultural reality of

mental illness o The witch hunters and prickers, the torturers and executioners, the clergy and

kings, were all then regarded as unfortunate actors of a bygone age—their reaction to mental illness was understandable, given their cultural beliefs

o The torture and murder of thousands in panics can be understood as the response to something real about the victims of torture and murder—they did not conform to society, although they weren’t responsible for their non-conformity

• Szasz, however, first questions the historical accuracy of the claim about Weyer: did he actually think witches were melancholics? Or was he really just against the inhuman treatment of supposed witches, and used melancholia as a weapon against what he saw were inhuman and irrational persecutions?

• Second, he questions the reality of mental illness as defined by the psychiatrists by offering a different hypothesis about its origins:

o Is mental illness created through the social interaction of the oppressor and the oppressed?

o When the rational 20th century observer (the psychiatrist) sympathizes with the oppressor and pities the oppressed, he calls the oppressed victim mentally ill.

o When he sympathizes with the oppressed and loathes the oppressor, he calls the oppressor mentally ill.

• Thus, we find claims that both victims (witches) and people who do wrong (Breivik) are mentally ill, and mental illness is supposed to explain both cases.

• In neither case are they responsible for their actions, nor is society responsible for their response to them.

• Szasz thinks both interpretations are worse than false: “by interposing mental illness, […] they conceal, excuse and explain away the terrifyingly simply but all-important fact of man’s inhumanity to man” (p.81).

The End of the Threat of Witchcraft • Recall the date of the Malleus Maleficarum: 1486-7


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• Recall the methods of gathering evidence and the kinds of evidence that were used to prove the existence of witches: Testimony, Tests, Torture

• We can understand this use of evidence in two ways: o The mythology of the MM was accepted as true, and used to justify these

fallacious methods of securing evidence o The fact that they found evidence, and the belief that the methods were not

fallacious, reinforced the reality of the mythology of the MM • Witches (as Satan-worshipping women, mainly) could then be used as a stable

scapegoat for societies’ ills, since there was absolutely no way for the system to question their existence, their depravity, or how dangerous they were.

• The only way to end it was to cut out the root of these beliefs The Age of Reason: • The end of the witch craze couldn’t have come about by attacking the credibility of

witches o Note: Montaigne, Scot, Weyer: none were convincing; they were derided and

thought irrational for rejecting belief in a cult of dangerous witches • Instead, the whole edifice of the Aristotelian and Neoplatonic science had to be

replaced • These world-views were replaced with the Mechanism

o Mechanism was a hypothesis about how to understand the world; the vitalistic principles of the Aristotelians and Renaissance Neoplatonists (souls and all the stuff that went along with them) was replaced by two fundamental, intelligible ones: matter and motion

o But Mechanism wasn’t simply a hypothesis; it too came onto the scene with an ideology: that nature’s secrets (what were called “occult”) are there to be probed and revealed, that this is the job of science, and the aim of this science is to produce arts (technology) that will benefit mankind

o And this ideology assumes a certain relationship between humankind and the natural world

• The result of this historical dialectic was a world where witches no longer had a place; they simply vanished from the collective consciousness like the Tooth Fairy

• But this didn’t end the witch-hunts The Continuing Threat of Witchcraft • Even before the witch craze ended, other scapegoats were being found, and other

mythologies were being developed that would reinforce the credulity of their oppressors.

• More than 10,000 Huguenots (Protestant French) were massacred on St. Bartholomew’s Day in Paris in 1572

• Jump ahead: o In 1903, an anti-Semitic hoax describing a Zionist plan for world domination

appeared: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. o It was used by Hitler to motivate raising “The Jewish Question,” and,

ultimately, “the final solution” to that question —the Holocaust— thirty years later, which saw the death of millions of Jews.


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o In Rwanada: the Belgians receive control of a large portion of Central Africa after the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. They use principles of eugenics and psychology and begin to spread a myth about the Tutsi’s “racial superiority” over the Hutu, and make establish the Tutsi as de facto governors of the Belgian Congo. The Belgians assign racial identity cards to the population, identifying each as either Hutu or Tutsi, solidifying the myth of two races.

o When the Hutus rebel against the Belgians and Tutsis in 1959, the Belgians hold elections, Hutu leaders win the election, and the Belgians leave

o Massacres against the Tutsi then occur from 1963-1973 o The Rwandan genocide takes place in 1994 o And now, we hear politicians and media outlets speaking freely of “Islamists”

(Do you remember hearing this word 5 years ago? Do you know where this word comes from? The mythology behind it? The interests served or the system reinforced by its presence?)

• The witch craze never really ended: humans continue to identify members of society who cannot be redeemed, who are responsible for all society’s ills, and whose status as causes of danger or evil requires that they must be eliminated

A solution? • There once was hope that the answer to the question of evil is toleration • Each human being has freedom of conscience, freedom to believe what they wish, to

practice whatever religion they wish, so long as this does not interfere with the rights of others, and so long as it does no harm to individuals or society

• To some extent, we have all come to embrace toleration in the West. • Then again, some things are easy to tolerate, while others are more difficult: • How can we tolerate beliefs that are themselves intolerant? And aren’t there certain

beliefs that really are dangerous? • And doesn’t it seem that more and more people are willing to assert beliefs that

promote interference in the freedom of others? “Don’t dress like a slut”; Vic Toews; Attacks on women’s right to choose (some Canadian politicians are trying to change the definition of a “person” to include unborn fetuses); Opponents to Equal Marriage Rights for all

• Sometimes I wonder if people have just forgotten or are not being taught the principles upon which our society is based: freedom of the individual from the tyranny of the majority. Toleration is fundamental to this kind of freedom.

• Maybe we are too comfortable saying that “it is difficult to be tolerant when we feel others threaten our freedom or our existence”

• But if we do not uphold these principles, then history has shown us that we run the risk of committing the same atrocities over and over, that we simply continue a line of humans being inhuman to each other

Evil and the Sin of Thoughtlessness • In her book, Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt calls evil “banal.” Evil things

don’t just happen because someone is demented or insane, filled with hatred or seeking revenge. Eichmann sent millions of Jews to their deaths. During his trial he spoke with no fanatical hatred for the Jewish people, spoke in endless clichés, and


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was most proud of being a “law abiding citizen.” Eichmann did not seem to be a personification of wickedness. He was absolutely normal. And like many normal people, he was thoughtless.

• When Arendt says that evil is banal she isn’t claiming that the holocaust wasn’t really evil or that evil is no big deal. Instead, she’s claiming that the agents of evil acts are thoughtless—that they just don’t realize what they are doing, even though, with a little bit of thought and care, they could have. These agents aren’t irrational: they have the capacity to think. They simply don’t bother.

• Arendt believes that this thoughtlessness results in our greatest evils, and consequently, it is sometimes thoughtlessness which is our greatest sin. Arendt wrote in a postscript to her book: It was sheer thoughtlessness – something by no means identical with stupidity – that predisposed [Eichmann] to become one of the greatest criminals of that period . . . That such remoteness from reality and such thoughtlessness can wreak more havoc than all the evil instincts taken together which, perhaps, are inherent in man – that was, in fact, the lesson one could learn in Jerusalem. It is also, I think, the lesson one learns from the study of the witch craze.

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