Natural magic’s manipulation assumptions carried directly into mechanism

Evidence

Condemned by the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century as heretical, natural magic was based on assumptions such as the manipulation of nature and the passivity of matter; these assumptions were ultimately assimilated into a mechanical framework founded on technological power over nature for the collective benefit of society. The Renaissance magus as an operator and arranger of natural objects became the basis of a new optimism that nature could be altered for human progress. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 472

Categorization

• XREF: Core ecofeminist thesis: the manipulative stance toward nature survived its magical framing and re-emerged in scientific mechanism — central polyad material linking nature-domination to the Scientific Revolution. — connects to: Natural magic and everyday machines jointly supplied mechanism’s power concept — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 829; Cartesian mechanism evicted all spirits and occult qualities from nature — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 798; Magic is defined as influence acting without objective mediation — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 366 (+2 more)
• ADDENDUM: Supports the trees/grafting-as-metaphor article: magic’s ‘operate on nature’ stance survived translation into Baconian technique.

Broader Connections

• Natural magic and everyday machines jointly supplied mechanism’s power concept #corroborates (0.92) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 829
• Cartesian mechanism evicted all spirits and occult qualities from nature #contradicts (0.90) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 798
• Magic is defined as influence acting without objective mediation #expands (0.85) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 366
• Mechanism’s dead nature results from stripping intentional description, not from lack of spirit #expands (0.80) — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 505
• Mechanical causal explanations smuggle in what they claim to explain #complicates (0.72)