Superstition in medicine / by Prof. Dr. Hugo Magnus; authorized translation from the German, ed. by Dr. Julius L. Salinger.

  • Hugo Magnus
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Superstition in medicine / by Prof. Dr. Hugo Magnus; authorized translation from the German, ed. by Dr. Julius L. Salinger. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

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    the various forms of religion. It is not within the scope of this essay to consider how far Divine revelations have been vouchsafed on this sub- ject. Superstition undoubtedly entered the scene when, simultaneously with these, endeavors were made to consider and to explain physical processes from the standpoint of such meta- physical requirements. It is true that this did not, at first, lead to a marked contrast between faith and superstition; for a period existed in which faith and superstition—i.e., the meta- physical consideration of ethical values and the metaphysical consideration of the entire phenom- ena of life—were not only] equivalent, but even merged into one conception. This occurred in an age in which mankind considered all terres- trial processes, whether they were of a psychical or of a material nature, as immediately caused by the steady interference of supernatural pow- ers—a period during which the deity was held responsible for all terrestrial phenomena. Dur- ing this period faith became superstition, and superstition, faith. A separation did not take place until some especially enlightened minds began to evolve the idea that it would be more reasonable to explain natural phenomena—tem- poral becoming, being, and passing away—by natural rather than by supernatural causes.
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