Albertus Magicus, Albertus Alchemicus et Albertus Philosophicus: The Interplay among Magic, Alchemy and Philosophy in the Work of Albertus Magnus

The main aim of this dissertation is to designate the relation amongst magic, alchemy and philosophy in the work of Albertus Magnus. Specifically, it claims to show that Albertus’ involvement in both magic and alchemy was not an arbitrary and superficial occupation of his, but a well thought out endeavour which held strong ties with his philosophy. With respect to his alchemy, one may notice that there is a common line of thinking which channels the hermetic art and his philosophy in reference to his theory of matter and of creation, his hylomorphism and cosmological rudiments. Likewise, his magic claims ties with his philosophy under the terms of natural and astrological magic. According to these two kinds of magic, there is an inevitable reliance of sub-lunar things upon the celestial influences and therefore Albertus’ cosmological system, aided by the Aristotelian theory of qualities, can provide a well established philosophical mechanism of operation. Meanwhile, this project aims to explicate how the human free will is affected by such influences and whether the aforementioned influences formulate a deterministic world, of which the human will does not really partake. Finally, the scrutiny of the subjects above will allow us to reach tangible conclusions on Albertus’ ‘occult’ scientific method and up to what extent one may claim that his pseudo sciences could imply lurking rudiments of science.