Between science and magic: the case of Schopenhauer

Abstract

A philosophical reflection about the phenomenology represented by magic and extraordinary mental powers should involve a consideration about the history of philosophy, in particular of those philosophers who were acquainted with the paranormal and investigated into it. The present paper proposes a reading of Schopenhauer’s investigation into paranormal phenomena which involves three aspects: an analysis of the argumentative strategies proposed by Schopenhauer; a contextualization of Schopenhauer’s treatment of magic and spiritism; a tentative interpretation of that treatment as a link between the traditional interpretation of the paranormal and the new scientific approach by the psychic research of the late 19th century.

Keywords

• Filosofia de Schopenhauer
• Magnetismo Animal
• História da Neurofisiologia
• História da Parapsicologia