Magic in Pliny the Elder: Clear-cut Concept or No Concept at all?
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Latae Segetes Iterum |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Philosophy and religion |
| Keywords | magic; definition; emic; etic; Pliny the Elder |
| Description | The article tries to ascertain whether emicly constructed categories of magic can be used for refinement of etic categories of magic so far proposed in the modern scholarship. As a test case was chosen Pliny the Elder who wrote about magic in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (especially in book 30). After the analysis of his concept of magic it can be shown that his emic category of magic is problematic in the same way as its modern scientific paralels and cannot be used as a universal scientific category. |