Presence

Menachem Kellner (with the help of his daughter, Rivka Kellner) has gone and combined two of my favorite topics: Rambam and Harry Potter. At a recent conference they presented a paper entitled, "The Magic of Science and the Science of Magic: Harry Potter and Maimonides." In the paper, the Kellners discuss whether the magic used at Hogwarts is of a scientific or supernatural nature; the upshoot being that Rambam would acknowledge the possibility of the former, and disapprove of the later.

"Nothing in Harry Potter's world is based on anything that is in principle impossible to know," according to the Kellners. "The magic of that world is not supernatural. It is based on aspects of the natural universe of which we humans are simply unaware. There are no occult properties or forces beyond investigation. In principle, there is an explanation for everything, even if Albus Dumbledore [headmaster of the Hogwarts School] himself doesn't always know what it is."

I agree, to some extent, but to characterize the magic of Hogwarts as purely scientific is incorrect. There is no question that JK Rowling's magic is scientific in nature, and does not dabble in the occult or pagan (and pshaw to anyone who says that it does). It manifests itself as a technology, which can be studied and learned to some extent by any individual. But unlike our science and technology, there is an additional aspect to this magic that is not present in our technology. Modern science allows even the most numbskulled of persons to wield unimaginable power, without regard to any personal virtue. The Magic of Potter, on the other hand, is highly correlated to the individual's level of self-awareness and social conciousness. Although the basics of magic can be learned by just about anyone, just as you or I can surf the web or drive a car, the higher levels of magic require expression in one's soul before they can be accessed.

The perfect example: Harry is unable to cast an "avada k'dabra" curse, because he lacks sufficient hatred. In contrast, our science has enabled us to take another's life from a distance, with a bomb or a missle, without manifesting the requisite hatred in our souls; killing someone in cold blood, on the other hand, does. Rowling's magic is scientific, but not mechanical; it is pshchological.

For more, see this post on Harry Potter Prognostications.

If by chance anyone reading this has access to the Kellner's paper, and could arrange an owl to deliver it to me, I would be much obliged.

[via KesherTalk; hat tip SoccerDad]