Overview
Beginning with the contemporary debates regarding creationism, alternative medicine, and witchcraft (Wicca), the paper examines the relation between the modern sciences and the worlds of Kabbalah, alchemy, and apocalyptic religion from which they emerged.
In our own day, science enjoys enormous prestige and is clearly distinguished from both religion and magic. But it was not always so. The great founder of modern science, Isaac Newton, dabbled in alchemy and wrote commentaries on the Bible of a kind we would now regard as crazy. So how did science emerge from a world of mysticism and magic?
The paper tries to answer this question by examining two early modern thinkers: Giordano Bruno, who was put to death by the Roman Inquisition, and Galileo Galilei, who escaped the same fate by renouncing his scientific views.
About this paper
| Paper title | Religion, Science, and Magic |
|---|---|
| Subject | Religious Studies |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period(s) | Summer School
(Distance learning)
Summer School (On campus) |
| Delivery mode | The Distance Learning offering of this paper is taught and assessed remotely |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,103.10 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 36 points
- Restriction
- RELS 317
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Theology
- Eligibility
May not be credited together with RELS 317.
- Contact
- Professor Greg Dawes greg.dawes@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
View more information on the Religion website: www.otago.ac.nz/religion
- Teaching staff
- Lecturer: Professor Greg Dawes
- Paper Structure
This paper is worth 18 points, which is equivalent to approximately 24 hours of work each week. Outside of classes, about 18 hours a week should be devoted to your own study and assignment preparation.
Assessment:
- Weekly Exercises in Class: 15%
- Essay Outline 5%
- Essay: 25%
- Final Examination: 55%
- Teaching Arrangements
On campus there will be two lectures and one tutorial each week.
Distance students will have access to recorded lectures and the opportunity to participate in a videocall.
- Textbooks
There is a coursebook for the paper. PDF copies of the coursebook and associated readings will be made available on Blackboard. There is no other textbook required.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- Students who successfully complete this paper will be able to
- Understand the premodern distinction between religion, science and magic
- Understand the emergence of our modern conceptions of religion and science and our modern attitudes towards magic
- Understand the echoes of these historical changes in our contemporary popular culture
Overview
Beginning with the contemporary debates regarding creationism, alternative medicine, and witchcraft (Wicca), the paper examines the relation between the modern sciences and the worlds of Kabbalah, alchemy, and apocalyptic religion from which they emerged.
In our own day, science enjoys enormous prestige and is clearly distinguished from both religion and magic. But it was not always so. The great founder of modern science, Isaac Newton, dabbled in alchemy and wrote biblical commentaries that today we would regard as crazy. So how did science emerge from a world of mysticism and magic?
This paper tries to answer this question by examining two early modern thinkers: Giordano Bruno, who was put to death by the Roman Inquisition, and Galileo Galilei, who escaped the same fate by renouncing his scientific views.
About this paper
| Paper title | Religion, Science, and Magic |
|---|---|
| Subject | Religious Studies |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2027 (Distance learning) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for 2027 have not yet been set |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 36 points
- Restriction
- RELS 317
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music, Theology
- Eligibility
May not be credited together with RELS 317.
- Contact
- Professor Greg Dawes: greg.dawes@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
- Teaching staff
- Lecturer: Professor Greg Dawes
- Paper Structure
This paper is worth 18 points, which is equivalent to approximately 24 hours of work each week. Outside of classes, about 18 hours a week should be devoted to your own study and assignment preparation.
Assessments:
- Weekly Exercises in Class: 15%
- Essay Outline: 5%
- Essay: 25%
- Final Examination: 55%
- Teaching Arrangements
On campus there will be two lectures and one tutorial each week.
Distance students will have access to recorded lectures and the opportunity to participate in a video call.
- Textbooks
There is a coursebook for the paper. PDF copies of the coursebook and associated readings will be made available on Aoroa. There is no other textbook required.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Information literacy, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will be able to:
- Understand the premodern distinction between religion, science and magic
- Understand the emergence of our modern conceptions of religion and science and our modern attitudes towards magic
- Understand the echoes of these historical changes in our contemporary popular culture