History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps HoP 366 - The Men Who Saw Tomorrow - Renaissance Magic and Astrology
Feb 14, 2021
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Childhood Fear Sparks Historical Parallel
- Peter Adamson recalls a childhood fear after watching a documentary about Nostradamus predicting apocalypse.
- He connects that panic to Renaissance reactions to astrological flood predictions and public anxiety.
Astrology Was Institutional Knowledge
- Astrology in the 15th–16th centuries was mainstream and endorsed by elites, influencing politics and medicine.
- Horoscopes functioned like medical histories and shaped diagnosis, prognosis, and treatments.
Sforza Patient and Delayed Treatment
- In Milan the Sforza family employed astrologers and blamed astrological fate when Jan Galeazzo Sforza died young.
- Doctors delayed treatment until an unfavorable lunar conjunction passed, showing practical reliance on astrology.