Science, Magic, and Law

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw

One of the joys of this business (combined with the Internet) is making virtual acquaintances across thousands of miles and even larger stretches of eminence.  A couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to send an e-mail to the Israeli philosopher Joseph Agassi and we’ve maintained a correspondence ever since.  For someone like me, interested in the philosophy of science, this is no small connection; in addition to having written prolifically on the subject, Agassi was a research assistant to and student of Sir Karl Popper in London many years ago.  In the past few days, Joseph has directed me to a couple of his papers, one on Talmudic law, and what he sees as the false dichotomy between naturalist and conventionalist approaches to law, and the other on magic.