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Astrology, Science and Culture

Pulling down the Moon

Roy Willis & Patrick Curry
ISBN: 9781859736821
£33.00
1 Feb 2004
Paperback, Hardcover, Ebook; 178 pages

Mainstream science has long dismissed astrology as a form of primitive superstition, despite or perhaps even because of its huge popular interest. From daily horoscopes to in-depth and personalized star forecasts, astrology, for many, plays a crucial role in the organization of everyday life. Present-day scholars and scientists remain baffled as to why this pseudo-science exercises such control over supposedly modern, rational and enlightened individuals, yet so far they have failed to produce any meaningful analysis of why it impacts on so many lives and what lies behind its popular appeal. Moving beyond scientific scepticism, Astrology, Science and Culture finally fills the gap by probing deeply into the meaning and importance of this extraordinary belief system. From the dawn of pre-history, humankind has had an intimate connection with the stars. With its roots in the Neolithic culture of Europe and the Middle East, astrology was traditionally heralded as a divinatory language. Willis and Curry argue that, contrary to contemporary understanding including that of most astrologers astrology was originally, and remains, a divinatory practice. Tackling its rich and controversial history, its problematic relationship to Jungian theory, and attempts to prove its grounding in objective reality, this book not only persuasively demonstrates that astrology is far more than a superstitious relic of years gone by, but that it enables a fundamental critique of the scientism of its opponents. Groundbreaking in its reconciliation of astrologys ancient traditions and its modern day usage, this book impressively unites philosophy, science, anthropology, and history, to produce a powerful exploration of astrology, past and present.

Categories
Astrology, Academic
Tags
Culture, Divination
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About the Authors

Patrick Curry holds a B.A. (University of California at Santa Cruz, 1978, in Psychology, with highest honours), M.Sc. (L.S.E., 1980, in Logic and Scientific Method), and Ph.D. (University College London, 1987, in the History and Philosophy of Science). From September 2006 until September 2009 he was a Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent (Canterbury), where he taught in the MA programme on the Cultural Study of Cosmology and Divination. From 2002-2006 he was a Lecturer at the Sophia Centre, Bath Spa University, where he co-taught the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astronomy. He is a Tutor in the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Trinity Saint David.