Question 1

Who was Hermes Trismegistus, when did he live and why is he important for the story Wertheim is telling?

Answer: Hermes Trismegistus was a magician. He lived during the renaissance period that is the 15^th and 16^th century. He is vital for the story Wertheim due to his knowledge of magic especially the western, thereby, full of wisdom. Besides, he is the source of magic, therefore, significant in giving aid in giving more information on mystic.

Question 2

What was the Corpus Hermeticum?

Answer: It is sacred texts which are the heart of Hermeticism and are arranged in series.

Question 3

Describe the medieval attitude toward magic. How did that attitude change during and after the Renaissance?

Answer: Pessimistic. It was believed that magic could not give positive outcomes that are after the renaissance rather than adverse ones. During the renaissance ruling, it was known that magic result into good results as the many people anticipated it especially men, but after its ruling, it became the root of evil and every gender that is men and women participated in performing it which turned into witchcraft.

Question 4

Who was Mersenne and what did he do?

Answer: He was a mathematical scientist, he mainly fought against the magic.

Question 5

Who was Pierre Gassendi and what did he do?

Answer: He was a priest, “religiously orthodox intellectual circle in Paris.” He was a contributor to the mechanistic world in which he gave it basis in atomic aspects.

Question 6

What is deism?

Answer: It can be defined as a “belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with the rejection of supernatural revelation.”

Question 7

What is the mechanism? Why was it the logical response to heretical magic? How did the mechanism influence social order?

Answer: Mechanism can be defined as an understanding that all things can be elaborated in connection to the quantifiable substances. It was a logical response to heretical magic because it involved quantifying objects by relating them with everything that is both existing and non-existing. Its explanation with the exclusion of anything belittled some of the obscure things which disoriented their prime existence, thereby, influencing social order.  Also, it led to the introduction of orders which have participated in interfering with the social order because they must be followed and adhered by each individual despite his or her rank.

Question 8

Who was Descartes and what was his contribution to the mechanistic worldview?

Answer: He was a devout Catholic. He logically contributed by demonstrating mathematics as a basis of true knowledge.

Question 9

Who was Thomas Hobbes and how did he contribute to mechanism?

Answer: He was an English royalist. In his contribution to the mechanism, his construction to magic together with civil unrest to mention a few were opposite which created social disorder. In this also, he stressed on ‘mechanistic world picture’ to be observed not only as a science product but also as a ‘by-product of a conservative socio-political back-clash.