Webster Charles
All Souls College, Oxford.
Sci Context. 2002 Mar;15(1):9-27. doi: 10.1017/s0269889702000340.
This paper examines Paracelsus and Paracelsianism in the light of the ideas of Max Weber concerning the social consequences of the Reformation, with special reference to his theories of Entzauberung and secularization. He linked these tendencies both to the rise of capitalism and the growth of experimental science. The detailed case study of Paracelsus' account of diseases linked with saints, in common with his interpretation of many other conditions, demonstrates that he self-consciously extended the boundaries of medicine and eroded the role of magic and witchcraft associated with the church. On the other hand, Paracelsus adopted the Neoplatonic worldview, was immersed in popular magic, and evolved a system of medicine that self-consciously revolved around magic. These factors seem to place a distinct limit on his role in the demystification of knowledge. However, the magic of Paracelsus entailed a decisive break with the entrenched elitist and esoteric tradition of the occultists and hermeticists. It is argued that this reconstructed magic re-establishes the credentials of Paracelsus as a significant contributor to the disenchantment and secularization of the worldview.
本文依据马克斯·韦伯关于宗教改革社会后果的观点，特别是其祛魅和世俗化理论，审视了帕拉塞尔苏斯及帕拉塞尔苏斯主义。他将这些倾向与资本主义的兴起和实验科学的发展联系起来。对帕拉塞尔苏斯关于与圣徒相关疾病的描述的详细案例研究，与他对许多其他病症的解释一样，表明他自觉地拓展了医学的边界，并削弱了与教会相关的魔法和巫术的作用。另一方面，帕拉塞尔苏斯采纳了新柏拉图主义世界观，沉浸于通俗魔法之中，并发展出一种自觉围绕魔法构建的医学体系。这些因素似乎对他在知识祛魅过程中的作用构成了明显限制。然而，帕拉塞尔苏斯的魔法与神秘主义者和赫尔墨斯主义者根深蒂固的精英主义和秘传传统形成了决定性决裂。有人认为，这种重构的魔法重新确立了帕拉塞尔苏斯作为世界观祛魅和世俗化重要贡献者的资格。
