24 March 2026
Étude d’une relation ambivalente (XVIe-XVIIe siècles)
Has magical thinking profoundly influenced modern atheism? Adrien Mangili investigates the way free thinkers such as Gabriel Naudé and Charles Sorel have used natural magic to oppose religious dogma but also to explore the most obscure secrets of the physical realm. By analysing this complex connection, the present volume demonstrates that scientific rigor and religious subversion were once able to coexist along with a magical understanding of nature. Natural magic, more than a simple superstition, becomes a powerful tool to question established beliefs. This deep dive into the texts and ideas of these scholars questions several fixed orders of rationality and brings to light the foundations of modern thinking.
Author: Adrien MANGILI
