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Science or “sad trash”? Aristotelian lineages in the historiography of animal magnetism
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Muratori, Cecilia (2019) Science or “sad trash”? Aristotelian lineages in the historiography of animal magnetism. In: König-Pralong, C. and Meliadò, M. and Radeva, Z., (eds.) The Territories of Philosophy in Modern Historiography. Ad argumenta Ebook (Quaestio Special Issue) (1). Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 203-222. ISBN 9782503584683
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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1484/m.adarg-eb.5.117618
Abstract
I will highlight how different lineages are sketched in order to position animal magnetism in terms of philosophical tradition. This, in turn, is often employed as a strategy to interpret animal magnetism, whether sceptically or sympathetically. Furthermore, this philosophical framing serves the purpose of assessing the innovation of animal magnetism (or lack thereof) compared to the natural philosophy of the past. Therefore it was used both in literature that was favour-able towards animal magnetism, and in works that expressed more sceptical positions. A series of specific historiographical questions emerges: whether animal magnetism was to be considered as rooted more in Aristotelianism or in Platonism; in either case, which medieval and Renaissance authors transmitted ancient ideas that found their way into the theory of animal magnetism (and it is not by chance that some overlap with Victor Frankenstein’s items of reading); and finally how such philosophical backgrounds inflected the understanding of the ‘new’ theory and of its value.
Item Type: | Book Item | ||||||
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Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) Q Science > QH Natural history |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Italian Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Animal magnetism, Literature -- 19th century | ||||||
Series Name: | Ad argumenta Ebook (Quaestio Special Issue) | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | The Territories of Philosophy in Modern Historiography | ||||||
Publisher: | Brepols | ||||||
Place of Publication: | Turnhout | ||||||
ISBN: | 9782503584683 | ||||||
Book Title: | The Territories of Philosophy in Modern Historiography | ||||||
Editor: | König-Pralong, C. and Meliadò, M. and Radeva, Z. | ||||||
Official Date: | January 2019 | ||||||
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Number: | 1 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 253 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 203-222 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1484/m.adarg-eb.5.117618 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access | ||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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