Magic and Memory in Giordano Bruno

The Art of a Heroic Spirit
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-35892-8
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 283, 244 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 522 g

Reihe: Brill's Studies in Intellectual History

In Magic and Memory in Giordano Bruno Manuel Mertens unravels the enigmatic knot between the mnemonic treatises and the magical writings of the sixteenth-century Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno. Since long the magical orientation of the Brunian art of memory has been a preoccupation for Bruno scholars (like Paolo Rossi, Frances Yates and Rita Sturlese). This serious study of the philosophical underpinnings of both Bruno’s mnemonic treatises and his writings on magic shows that Bruno believed his mnemonic method could prevent demons from corrupting the cognitive process. Mertens’s focus on Bruno’s idea of deification through memory and the philosopher’s view on fiery heroic spirits points to a surprisingly literal reading of the heretic’s last words.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mertens, Manuel

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Erkenntnistheorie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: Neuzeit
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Magic and Memory in Giordano Bruno: Towards a More Encompassing Perspective

1.1 Changing Perspectives on Magic and Memory

1.2 Towards a Broader Perspective

2 Special Features of Magical and Mnemonic Writings in the Sixteenth Century

2.1 Masked on the Literary Stage?
2.2 The Contradictions in the Mnemonic Works in View of Bruno’s Conception of Magic

2.3 Writing on Memory: Cryptic Publications and Oral Teaching

2.4 Conclusion

3 The Concept of Similitudo

3.1 Similitudo from Foucault to Sturlese

3.2 In Search of a Definition of Similitudo

3.3 The Function of Similitudo

3.4 The Aim Expressed by Similitudo

4 A Spirit-Regulating Art

4.1 Spirits in the Ventricles

4.2 An Internal Art and Its Inner Tool

4.3 The Map of the Mind

4.4 Belief and Deceit

4.5 Deceiving Demons in the Early Mnemonic Treatises

Conclusion

Bibliographical Note

Major Editions

Bruno’s Works Used in this Book

Historical Documents

English Translations Used in this Book

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Manuel Mertens, Ph.D. (2011), Ghent University, has published several articles on magic, mnemonics, philosophy, geometry, and printing culture in the Renaissance. He teaches Latin in Antwerp, where he continues his research activities in affiliation with Ghent University.