Demons and imagination in Giordano Bruno
Abstract
With Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) we attend the recovery of Neoplatonic and Hermetic doctrines that lead to an animistic and dynamic understanding of nature, as well as an exaltation of man as who knows and acts on the world. In the context of a living and animated universe, Bruno needs mediations in the space between, on the one hand, the finite nature of man and, on the other hand, the infinite divinity explained in nature to support the magic theory of his Latin work. Accurately, the existence of demons in Neoplatonic systems comes to fulfill that purpose. I maintain that there is continuity between the demonological doctrine that Bruno presents in his Latin work and the metaphysics and cosmology of his Italian dialogues. This continuity is verified in the presence of two important philosophical categories of Bruneian thought which is in the demonology of De magia naturali (1590): the imagination and bonds. Thus, firstly, I will inquire about the reception of Neoplatonic doctrine in the demonology of the 15th and 16th centuries, from which Bruno develops the theoretical and philosophical framework of his demonological doctrine. Secondly, I will analyze the nature and function of the demons in De magia naturali and their relationship with the imagination and bonds in the Nolan philosophy.Downloads
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