HIST 1010 Lecture Notes - Christian Kabbalah, Medieval Medicine Of Western Europe, Hermes Trismegistus
8 Aug 2013
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Document Summary
Mystical (or magical) tradition: based on neo-platonism: order beyond the visible (plato, 428/427 bc . 348/347 bc) > any light you see is reflected; not on surface of things but behind things: expressed through mathematics, alchemy: attuned to mystery > ex. Mathematics; mystical power of numbers: hermetic philosophy: sun the source of life ( hermes trismegistus , asserts divine source of inspiration > see nature as enchanted place, jewish cabbala ( tradition ): old testament interpreted with ciphers > Finding meaning in numbers of verses, patterns (not visible in naked eye) in holy text: scientist interprets the message of the universe. Mechanical tradition: likens natural phenomena to mechanism, mathematical laws describe nature > drawn to movement. 2: gains prominence via archimedian revival (archimedes, greatest greek mathematician, d. 212 b. c. e) > close involvement with math, god is the great engineer marin mersenne.
