Magic, Science, and Civilization

by Jacob Bronowski

Adapted from the Bampton lectures delivered by the author at Columbia University shortly before his death, Bronowski here is concerned with the humanistic side of science. He emphasizes not only the idea that science is a human enterprise but that science and humanism have grown side by side and jointly since the Renaissance. In particular, he argues that the death of magic between 1500-1700 played a major role in the development of science and humanism.