Enchanting and Disenchanted

In A Secular Age (2007) Charles Taylor speaks of the "disenchantment" of the West. This was/is a process which in a recognizable way started to unfold around the Reformation, prefigured to some degree by other movements/philosophies reaching back in time (the Epicureans, pre-Socratics, etc). The idea is that people once existed in a world/cosmos thoroughly embedded in and pervaded by the "divine," participating in the Eternal Forms (Plato), and that people themselves were also pervaded by spiritual forces and persons. A few examples of this: demon possession or the power of curses, objects containing spiritual forces such as amulets, sacred stones, or even (in the New Testament) clothing: "handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them" (Acts 19:12). This last example might provoke slight unease in some Christians today, but this only proves Taylor's point that we have undergone a thorough process of disenchantment (though not that long ago I viewed an ad on television offering "free" handkerchiefs blessed by an evangelist- in exchange they wanted a free-will "donation". I took them up on the offer, sans donation, and was sent a 3cmx3cm piece of cloth. With some disappointment I realized that not only did I not receive a blessing, it was barely large enough to blow my nose in). Perhaps I wasn't "porous" enough (the term Taylor uses to refer to the self living in this enchanted world, a world where spirits and forces can "penetrate" and fill an individual).

I think he's right that fundamentally our (Western) world is disenchanted. The stars are no longer angelic creatures, or windows into heaven. We no longer burn witches at the stake for supposed hexes and curses. There are always exceptions of course, and the handkerchief example is a case in point. In addition to blessed handkerchiefs one might think of "holy" water and oil, the Eucharist, relics of the saints and of Christ's clothing/cross/cup, and even a belief among some denominations in demon possession and spiritual "warfare" within and without the human life and world events. The instructor of the course in which I'm reading Taylor's text was absolutely right when he said, "For many people it isn't a matter of believing or not believing: these things are simply incomprehensible." Taylor is quick to point out that this reaction was not even a possibility at one time in the West.

Reflecting on the idea of enchantment/disenchantment I wonder what other areas of the Western world may still hold an enchanted view of things. I say "other" here because obviously much of the Church still holds a medieval view of the cosmos/universe, one where spiritual forces still inhabit material wildernesses.. but even here the Church cannot help being influenced by disenchantment. Church bells are no longer set ringing to ward off thunderstorms. With few exceptions, medical science and doctors are consulted about illness before priests or spiritual healers (prayer may be said concurrently with treatment, but of course medical treatment takes priority). I could go on.. but what about non-Christian/religious worlds? One that immediately jumped to mind was the area of brain science. Are there not still scientists/philosophers who hold to an enchanted model of consciousness? This isn't to be opposed to a mechanistic/reductionist view either. There are other organic models (plasticity models for example) that are not reductive in this way, but even here there is always a risk of seeing consciousness as a deep mystery (reminiscent of the Eucharistic Mystery: an unfathomable -presence-) which will never be solved.

As researchers uncover more and more it is inevitable that resistance will increase to their discoveries, or rather, to the implications of these discoveries. We see this in fundamentalist appropriations of the sciences (eg. Creation Science) and the full out battle being waged between Christian apologists and the New Atheists (who for the most part are scientists). I will also mention Islam only briefly here. Islam has proven much more adaptable to scientific discovery than Christianity, but I would still challenge the Islamic notion of "Insha'Allah", for example, with the question "but how is God's will actually made manifest: through what -divine action-?" Or is divine action once again seen as humans-at-work as in a Christian model (we are his hands, his feet, etc)?

With mixed hope and despair I continue to observe the relationship unfold:

The enchanting and the disenchanted.