Historic Moment
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Prerequisites of secret science in the historical aspect of the emergence of the problem: pro et contra



  

At the end of the 20th century, statements about the crisis state of the generally accepted scientific system of views on the process of cognition became more frequent.

Specifically, they boiled down to a call to form a new paradigm of knowledge based on the search for a compromise between its scientific and religious directions, including esotericism. This situation is essentially the result of the manifestation of the basic laws of dialectics in the field of epistemology and has a certain historical determinacy, about which the French physicist Louis de Broglie said: “The history of science shows that the progress of science was constantly fettered by the tyrannical influence of certain concepts when they began to be considered in the form of dogmas. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically subject to deep study the principles that began to be accepted without discussion.”

It is well known that in ancient times there was no division into scientific and religious knowledge. Science arose in the depths of religious schools and gradually branched off from them, which gave grounds to characterize it as a "runaway daughter of religion." It is believed that the process of forming science as a system of knowledge was finally completed in the 16th-17th centuries. However, the beginning of this process goes back centuries and is directly related to the fierce struggle of various religious schools and trends. Particularly noteworthy is the struggle of monotheists with paganism and its reminiscent manifestations, which in the Middle Ages were identified as witchcraft, sorcery and magic.

The hunt for the "servants of the devil" (witch trials, witch burnings - according to the only surviving protocols, over nine and a half million people were burned at the stake by the Holy Inquisition), which lasted for about five centuries, stimulated the emergence of secret sciences and scientific magic, which, emphasizing its difference from folk magic, made it possible to avoid accusations of witchcraft. It was in the sphere of secret sciences, the leading places among which were occupied by theurgy, astrology and alchemy, as well as sacred Kabbalah, that the birth and formation of the natural scientific approach to knowledge took place, which was originally (16th century) called "natural magic", in the depths of which physics, chemistry and other natural sciences developed.

The triumph of science, marked by the publication in the 18th century of the "Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts" (35 volumes), was simultaneously accompanied by the introduction into public consciousness of the concept of the "enlightened age" and a derogatory attitude towards magic. Since natural magic represented a body of knowledge about the magical powers of things in nature, which included a wide variety of views and interpretations of natural phenomena, the formation of natural scientific knowledge required the definition of criteria for distinguishing truly scientific knowledge from other areas of epistemology.

The main criterion for distinguishing scientific knowledge is the requirement of reproducibility (preferably in laboratory conditions) as proof of the reliability of scientific facts. According to this requirement, scientific knowledge should be independent of the subject who received it. Another important feature of science is adherence to the principle known as "Occam's razor" (14th century), according to which concepts that cannot be reduced to intuitive and empirical knowledge should be removed from science. Literally, it sounds like this: "Do not multiply the number of existing entities unnecessarily." Accordingly, all knowledge that does not meet the requirements of "scientificity" is considered mystical.

Despite the important progressive role of scientific knowledge, modern social practice gives grounds to doubt its exceptional superiority. More and more often, there are examples of using phenomena inaccessible to modern scientific knowledge when solving traditional practical problems. For example, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta covered the Japanese experience of recruiting personnel with the help of psychics. It was also reported there that in Japan there are about 200 thousand clairvoyants united in their own trade union. And in England, 20 thousand psychics have united in a trade union. In the former Czechoslovakia, psychics also had official recognition.

Modern Russian practice also provides numerous examples of advertising the services of various organizations and individuals on the use of transcendental and other esoteric technologies both in business and in personal life. At the same time, the process of teaching everyone the basics of esotericism is underway. The feverish interest in extrasensory technologies in the late 70s and 80s of the last century was accompanied by heated discussions about the nature of this phenomenon and fierce resistance from representatives of traditional academic science. Diametrically opposed points of view were expressed, attempts were made to explain the phenomenon of psychics from the standpoint of traditional ideas about various physical processes.

However, the result was mostly negative. And although the range of practical application of various extrasensory technologies is very wide and diverse, their use for medical purposes has become the subject of special attention. A grand event in terms of overcoming resistance, primarily to the medical use of extrasensory perception, were the famous TV sessions of A. Kashpirovsky and A. Chumak. And although their effectiveness was debatable and the sessions were soon stopped, the process of disseminating esoteric services got out of control and assumed grand proportions.

Since supply and demand are in a dialectical relationship, the scale of advertising occult, witchcraft and magic services gives reason to believe that in practice they are used in a much larger volume than can be assumed on the basis of speculative impressions. And since this situation has been stable for many years, it can be concluded that cases of effectively achieving the desired result are not so rare. Otherwise, the business in the field of magical services would not have developed so large-scale.

Thus, as of mid-2017, the number of practicing healers reached 900 thousand people. According to rough estimates, the monthly income of occultists ranges from 3 to 40 thousand dollars. They are formed from revenue from receiving visitors, selling books, amulets and other items, as well as telephone consultations and hoaxes. In Moscow alone, about one hundred thousand people "work" in the occult services market. These are sorcerers, their assistants and helpers, actors and security guards, prop masters, as well as agents who attract clients.

The popularity of religious and mystical traditions is also evidenced by the publication of articles of relevant content not only in specialized publications, but also in scientific collections, as well as the constant growth of public interest in both mystical knowledge and religious rituals. This is most clearly manifested in the behavior of politicians for the sake of maintaining their popularity: public participation in prayers, blessing by church hierarchs when occupying important positions in the system of government, etc.

This clearly indicates the presence of a conflict between official science and the needs of society, which readily accepts religious and mystical rituals, including those widely replicated by modern parapsychologists. Thus, the analysis of modernity gives grounds to talk about the phenomenon of the "Renaissance of Esotericism". At the same time, a dilemma arises in interpreting this phenomenon: should the situation be considered a return to something previously rejected or is it a form of manifestation of the dialectical spiral of "negation of negation", that is, an impulse for the further development of a worldview, including epistemology and ontology.

The development of knowledge is stimulated by the needs of practice. In the early stages of human development, knowledge about the nature of the surrounding world was clearly insufficient. Therefore, practical needs forced people to use secret-science technologies, that is, to enter into practical contact with the unknown, which gave rise to the deification of this unknown, for example, fire.

As the area of ​​the known expanded and accumulated, man sought to limit the sphere of practical activity within the framework of the unknown. However, as the planet's population grew and its needs expanded, this turned out to be insufficient. Therefore, the task of practical interaction with the unknown arises, which ultimately leads to its knowledge. This process occurs unevenly and is subject to the dialectical law of negation of negation.

    

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ritual to Ramesh Kannan from Pixabay