On the issue of sympathetic (or other forms of) magic as a less-critical,
unreasoned response to patterns of nature, there is great debate. Recently, Richard
Kieckhefer has defended the "Specific Rationality of Medieval Magic" (American
Historical Review 99.3 (June 1994), pp.813-36).
The "like with like" sympathetic magic is rooted in classical medical theory
and therefore has a rationale in the system of 4 humors (see, for example, Isidore
of Seville's Etymologies, which includes an early medieval rendition of the
theory--Book IV, chap. 9). I happen to be working on the subject at the moment, and
so have these resources at hand.
The epistemological problem involved here is with the terms "magic,"
"science," "religion," and "rationality." If you are interested, I can post more
references, both primary and secondary, on the problems and debates among
medievalists and anthropologists.
Karen Jolly
History
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
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