Research Seminar 27.01.25: Enrico Piergiacomi - The Science of Magic: Atomistic Spells in Bolus of Mendes

Enrico Piergiacomi

Technion

The Science of Magic:

Atomistic Spells in Bolus of Mendes

Several sources, such as Pliny and Columella, attribute medical-magical writings to Democritus, although these works were actually authored by the Egyptian Bolus of Mendes. This body of evidence is often dismissed as inauthentic and inconsistent with Democritus’s atomistic philosophy of nature. In this talk, I will take a more dialectical approach by suggesting that certain genuine Democritean elements can be identified within Bolus' magical treatises, which justified their attribution to Democritus. I will focus on the atomistic theory of simulacra; the well-documented study of the medical properties of plants by the atomist; and the materialistic principle of the attraction between similar things. This paper will also cautiously explore the hypothesis that there may have been a “science of magic”. Bolus might have derived the rational basis for magical phenomena by elucidating them through a scientific understanding of the motion of atoms.

Gathering for coffee and refreshments at 17:45

Chair: Ori Belkind

The public is invited