Research Catalog
The decline of magic : Britain in the Enlightenment
- Title
- The decline of magic : Britain in the Enlightenment / Michael Hunter.
- Author
- Hunter, Michael, 1949-
- Publication
- New Haven : Yale University Press, [2020]
- ©2020
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFE 20-4273 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- xi, 243 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- A provocative account of the seismic shift in attitude toward the supernatural in seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain. Early modern Britain embraced many forms of the supernatural and took the absolute existence of a spiritual world for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century these certainties were swept away. In this ground-breaking account, Michael Hunter argues that the real pioneers in skepticism about magic were humanists and free-thinkers. However, their critical attitude toward religion meant that their views were often dismissed. Hunter reveals just how divided opinion remained and how magic was never properly tested in the Enlightenment.
- Alternative Title
- Britain in the Enlightenment
- Subjects
- Occultism
- Science and magic
- Skepticism > Great Britain > History > 18th century
- Spiritualism
- Great Britain
- Occultism > Great Britain > History > 17th century
- Occultism > Great Britain > History > 18th century
- History
- Enlightenment > Great Britain
- Faith and reason > History
- Skepticism > Great Britain > History > 17th century
- 1600-1799
- Science and magic > History
- Genre/Form
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical endnotes (pages 187-235) and index
- Contents
- The supernatural, science and 'atheism' -- John Wagstaff, witchcraft and the nature of restoration free-thought -- From the Deists to Francis Hutchinson -- The ambivalence of the Early Royal Society -- The 'Drummer of Tedworth': conflicting interpretations and the problem of fraud -- The Enlightenment rejection of magic: mid-century scepticism and its milieu -- Second sight in Scotland: Boyle's legacy and its transformation -- Conclusion: The 'decline of magic' reconsidered -- Appendix I. The 'Drummer of Tedworth': a note on sources -- Appendix II. Joshua Walker's paper on second sight
- Call Number
- JFE 20-4273
- ISBN
- 9780300243581
- 0300243588
- LCCN
- 2019946335
- OCLC
- 1090484806
- Author
- Hunter, Michael, 1949- author.
- Title
- The decline of magic : Britain in the Enlightenment / Michael Hunter.
- Publisher
- New Haven : Yale University Press, [2020]
- Copyright Date
- ©2020
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Creator/Contributor Characteristics
- Gender group: MenNationality/regional group: BritonsOccupational/field of activity group: History teachersOccupational/field of activity group: University and college faculty membersSocial group: Retirees
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical endnotes (pages 187-235) and index
- Chronological Term
- 1600-1799
- Research Call Number
- JFE 20-4273