Astrology is a science
Even superficial acquaintance
astrology broadens your horizons
and makes people more merciful
to each other.Llewellyn George
We see how recently interest in the most ancient science - astrology - has sharply increased. Astrology has always occupied one of the most honorable places in science.
Until the 17th century, astronomy and astrology were considered sisters. And in those days, everyone who studied astronomy also had astrological knowledge. For example, Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Tycho de Brahe and many other astronomers who were also famous astrologers.
And currently, man is looking in science for answers to all the questions that concern him, and with its help he is trying to solve them. And this is completely natural, because... It is science that very strictly distinguishes between the known and the proposed, the proposed and the unknown. In search of truth, scientists from many countries around the world are increasingly returning to the study of the ancient science of astrology, to scientific research work and analysis of its foundations and patterns. More and more scientists are entering into discussions about the benefits of astrology as a science.
Since time immemorial, man has sought to understand not only the world around him, the secrets of nature and the secrets of the universe, but also his role in this world, his destiny, his future.
Dr. Ellsworth Huntingston, a historian from Yale University, has already proven in open public debates that there is a definite connection between the movements of the planets across the sky and numerous facts - consequences on earth.
Dr. Brian Tuckerman, while working at the Institute for New Studies in Princeton (New Jersey), analyzed a number of early calculations of the Babylonian priest-astrologers, correlating them very accurately with facts confirmed by history. On this occasion, Glen T. Seaborg, Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, noted that the results of Dr. Tuckerman's research can be used, in particular, to study the analysis and forecasting of modern economic cycles.
During the research work of scientists, coincidences were established between world events and mathematically calculated cycles of celestial bodies.
These same coincidences were found between the general course of each person's life and the position of the planets at his birth, and they could be established in advance mathematically. From a mathematical point of view, astrology is an exact science, which means that the actual success of reading a horoscope card depends entirely on the correct calculation, calculation and preparation of its technical documentation, as well as the ability and ability to more accurately and correctly evaluate and analyze all the indicators reflected in the horoscope card .
In the mid-1960s, Dr. Harlan T. Stetson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said at the Electrical Society Congress in New York: “If the relationship between the influence of cosmic factors and the Earth is not a mere coincidence, their study may mark the beginning of new sciences that can be considered "a modern version of medieval astrology. With their help, it will be possible to predict the development of the economic cycle and the approach of earthquakes, and many other phenomena on Earth."
Currently, the connection between cosmic rhythms and weather on Earth, earthquakes and floods, droughts and crop failures, diseases and epidemics, political and economic events has been scientifically substantiated.
It is no longer a secret that the outer space of the Universe is filled with a variety of fields: electric, magnetic and others, created as a result of radiation from all cosmic bodies of the Universe, planets, stars, constellations and galaxies. Disturbances in the Sun, especially electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation, create known magnetic storms and other phenomena, both in the atmosphere and in the biosphere of the Earth. And they immediately cause an increase in the number of accidents and disasters in transport, industrial accidents, deaths in hospitals; increase the risk of explosiveness in conflict situations, in groups of society. During such periods of time, chronic diseases worsen, functional disorders of the neuropsychic and cardiovascular systems intensify, the number of myocardial infarctions and cerebral strokes increases, and blood counts change not only in patients, but also in completely healthy people.
The Moon has the most direct and serious impact on water exchange not only in the Earth’s atmosphere, significantly influencing climatic conditions in general and the weather in particular, as well as on flora and fauna.
The totality of all cosmic influences at the moment of human birth: heredity and environment; climatic conditions and many other factors create certain prerequisites for the formation of a person’s constitution, temperament and character, talents and abilities; determines the weak points of his body and predisposition to certain diseases, to various kinds of distinctive features, properties, qualities, etc.. It is the totality of these influences that determines the fate of each individual, each state.
Scientific astrology provides the opportunity not only to see an objective picture of the world in any direction, but also to foresee and predict a variety of incidents and events in the life and fate of a person or state.
On the boards of directors of large foreign companies, trusts, and concerns, there is a position for an astrologer, of course, a certified one. He participates in all meetings, gives advice, recommendations and receives a fee corresponding to his work.
Scientific astrologers now work on a par with scientists of other sciences. Their laboratories are their offices. "Chemicals" and "scientific equipment" - tables of Ephemerides and "Houses". “Libraries” become archival premises of various ministries and departments, statistical departments. And since scientific work is being carried out, it means that scientific works appear, dissertations are defended, academic degrees and official titles are awarded.
At one time, “astrology” was described in Soviet encyclopedias as a bourgeois pseudoscience. And the New International Encyclopedia of the United States says that “the predictions of the most experienced astrologers are by no means guesses at random, as is often thought; they are built on solid definitions and guidelines obtained through observations of phenomena, and on firm rules of interpretation.”
Any chain of events can be interrupted or destroyed by the free will of a person. Cautionary information gives a person the right to choose, which can lead to either salvation or death. For example, John Kennedy was warned about the possibility of an accident during his next trip. But he neglected this prediction, and the outcome of this trip is well known to us all.
In almost every newspaper today we can see an astrological forecast on any topic. A lot of all kinds of astrological forecasts are published in calendars for the year according to the signs of the Zodiac. We also see astrologers on TV screens.
But, unfortunately, for the most part in the press we see the so-called “fair” astrology, which is used only as an entertainment program for the public, and only occasionally do we see competent presentations by astrologers, whose conclusions are based on scientific astrology.
On the one hand, it is encouraging that scientific astrology is beginning to attract the attention of pundits all over the world, but on the other hand, it is also very alarming that many charlatans and adventurers, the so-called businessmen from astrology, are beginning to become interested in astrology. It was from them that “astrological forecasts” and the like began to circulate, and we can find all this in almost every newspaper. There are a lot of all kinds of advertisements for the provision of services by astrologers. And only a few of them work competently and conscientiously with the client.
It hurts to hear when a client says that he visited an astrologer and he told him that the client has a wonderful future and will not have any problems. And after 2 weeks, the client’s son dies in a car accident, and his wife becomes disabled. If this client were dealing with a competent, experienced astrologer, he would certainly be warned about possible life-threatening situations and, therefore, the client could take appropriate measures to avoid them as much as possible.
A serious astrologer, our contemporary, can be identified by the fact that, unlike numerous amateurs, charlatans and businessmen from astrology, he will not make boundless promises in the matter of explaining the future. Most astrological forecasts are a work of highly skilled craftsmanship, an art that can only be acquired by many years of experience in regular, systematic practice and a vast base of astrological knowledge. That is why the issue of training astrologers at all levels on a state basis is becoming increasingly pressing: from astrologer to bachelor and master of astrology.
It is pleasant to note that for the first time in Ukraine, the profession “astrologer” with code KP 5151 was included in the profession classifier DK 003-95 of the State Standard of Ukraine, 1995, in the section of professions of workers and employees. This is the level of an astrologer - a consultant in astropsychology. But it was Ukraine (among the post-Soviet countries) that was the first to take a step towards recognizing astrology as a profession necessary for the state. And we believe that the second step will be taken: approval of the qualification characteristics of an astrologer for training in this profession, as well as the creation by the state of conditions for obtaining astrological education, conducting astrological scientific research in the field of astrology, which will allow the defense of academic degrees.
Today we know that scientific astrology covers and explores, verifies, analyzes and coordinates not only the influences of our main luminary - the Sun, but also all the known planets of our solar system, as well as the entire system of cosmic influences on our planet. And for this purpose, entire scientific complexes are created, the archives of various statistical departments are used, and the latest computer technology is used.
And at the same time, today, as in previous millennia, the focus of scientific astrology is on man, who occupies the main place on Earth, and on the Earth on which he lives and works, and loves, and continues his human race. It is for this reason that until now astrology studies all cosmic influences on Earth only from a geocentric point of view. The Earth is placed, as it were, in the center of the sight and impact of all kinds of cosmic radiation and influences, both from the Sun and from the other planets and stars.
Today we are eyewitnesses of the fact that ancient astrology in its new mantle of the scientist of the twentieth century has come to life and strengthened. The next period of flourishing of scientific astrology has begun and it, with great confidence, continues to grow and improve, bringing new discoveries, evidence, new views, opinions, and new patterns of cosmic influences on the Earth and its inhabitants.
In 1961, at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the problems of magnetism of cosmic bodies and the Earth, New York University professor Robert O. Becker gave a report on the discovery of the electromagnetic field in the human body. He proved that the human body consists of an entire electronic system and that, most surprisingly, the human electromagnetic field acts in exact accordance with the fluctuations of the Earth's electromagnetic field, and the Earth - in accordance with the influence of cosmic factors on it.
Astrologer Wolfgang Angermeyer, known as the father of "Economic Astrology", gave a theoretical justification for the fact that the situation in the world market is influenced by transit planets in relation to the planets in the horoscope of an enterprise, corporation, trust, city, state, and all this can be predicted and predicted already for many years and even decades to come. In 1978, he organized his own enterprise using these techniques and, despite the rather high prices, he has a huge clientele. Its popularity especially increased after predicting the stock market crash of 1987 and the economic crisis in the fall of 1989.
In 1996, at the medical congress of psychiatrists and psychoneurologists of Europe, which was held in Germany, the report of the rector of the St. Petersburg Astrological Academy, S.V. Shestopalov, was received with great interest. "Epilepsy and predisposition to it according to horoscope data." The report aroused great interest among doctors. Then they read reports in Italy and Romania. His predictive methods have received worldwide recognition, and the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1991, in the book “Astrology of the 20th Century,” characterizing the authors of the articles in this book, writes: “Sergei Vasilievich Shestopalov has been seriously involved in astrology for about 20 years - he has an approach to astrology as a exact science."
He, together with his students, now bachelors and masters of the academy, carried out enormous research work for 14 years together with doctors:
on epilepsy in the psychoneurological department of the Bekhterev Institute in St. Petersburg,
on heart attacks at the Simferopol Cardiological Center of Crimea,
on strokes at the Neurosurgical Institute of St. Petersburg,
on infertility with the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology of St. Petersburg,
for tuberculosis patients with the Saratov Tuberculosis Dispensary
and for other diseases with many medical institutions.
In 1998, personally by Shestopalov S.V. The basic formula for drug addiction was derived. He is the author of disease formulas and mental illness formulas. The derivation of disease formulas has made an invaluable contribution to medical astrology. These techniques make it possible, based on a person’s accurately calculated horoscope, to determine his predisposition to diseases, calculate the time of onset of the disease, and be able to timely apply preventive measures to prevent the disease.
Moreover, medical astrologers, using astrology, have the additional opportunity to more objectively, taking into account the client’s astrological data and medical research, determine the diagnosis of diseases and this increases the accuracy of medical diagnoses.
Shestopalov S.V. deduced the formula for such a serious and today incurable disease as leukemia. And when one of the hematologists was asked to take under observation a child who had a formula for this disease in the birth horoscope, the response was that it was useless because the disease is incurable.
Let's not judge the doctor and remind him of the Hippocratic Oath. The problem is not only that he did not take the data of astrology seriously, although he constantly uses the services of an astrologer, and has more than once become convinced of the truth of the forecasts given to him. The problem is that he, as a doctor, is not looking for ways to improve. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, as we know, was the most skillful astrologer of his time. He said: “No doctor can successfully use medical science unless he is familiar with astrology.” Since astrology was rejected in Soviet times, Hippocrates’ statements in this part were forgotten, which is a pity. We believe that the time will come, and this statement of Hippocrates will be sounded in the “Hippocratic Oath” known to all doctors and will be fulfilled in full.
In our practice, we have encountered cases where doctors treated women for infertility, which they had never suffered from. When analyzing the horoscope, it was found that one of them suffers from kidney disease, and this was confirmed upon further examination. All women could have children, but the problem was that it was in Crimea that pregnancy was either impossible for them, or the period of its onset was at a later age. All of them were asked to choose possible temporary places of residence, and the periods of conception were calculated for these places. Today we have happy mothers who conceived children in the places calculated by the astrologer, and the pregnancy went smoothly in their main places of residence in Crimea.
And these are just a few examples from the work of professional astrologers practicing in Simferopol. We have many thanks from clients for whom a favorable time for surgery was calculated, indications of the disease were given, which were confirmed by appropriate medical examination.
In no case do we wish to discredit doctors. No one is immune from mistakes. On the contrary, we strive to combine our knowledge for the benefit of both our people and the people of the whole world.
Scientific astrology has many specific areas:
Natal astrology - is associated with the birth of a being on the physical plane and studies everything related to man.
Mundana (World) or Judial astrology - is associated with predictions of events that will happen in the country, in the state.
Medical astrology deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of both somatic and mental illnesses.
Meteorological astrology - deals with weather forecasting, its founder is considered to be the German scientist Wilheim Leibniz.
Horary astrology - shows the events and conditions that are indicated by the sky map at the moment when an issue of special significance for the client is presented to the astrologer, and when he has clearly identified the event, thought, idea. And at the same time, the client wants to know what the result of this enterprise or event will be.
Karmic astrology - horoscope of reasons in relation to a person’s birth chart. It reveals the reasons why a person has certain problems: debts, illnesses..., and also determines the purpose of a person, his mission.
Astrology of professions - determination of a person’s abilities and talents and the possibilities for their implementation.
Business astrology - this is business astrology. Business astrology helps determine what a person should do, what type of business to choose, and whether he or she has the ability to start an independent business.
Relationship Astrology - this is astropsychology that reveals the external, behavioral psychology of a person, explains the essence of the relationship between marriage and work partners (compatibility).
Astrological forecasting of events is, of course, the goal of any practicing astrologer. And his main task is to promote the conscious orientation of his client: to prepare him to intelligently and consciously survive all possible approaching adversities, be it an accident or illness, or anything else, and also to help him strive to meet everything favorable and good, creating the most appropriate conditions for this.
The path that a practicing astrologer has taken and is moving forward in search of life truths is endless, just like outer space itself is endless.
The profession of an astrologer is very responsible - he is an expert, consultant, adviser, in whose hands is the fate of his ward. Certainly, scientific astrology now has a nobler mission than ever before in human history. If in ancient times astrologers served only kings, pharaohs, kings and members of their families, today they also serve the common people, helping them with advice in all their daily problems and needs.
I really want this science in our country to serve only for the benefit of our people, our state.
I. Zhuravleva
Actually, I didn't write this Louisa.
I didn't say anything on my own behalf.
If you wanted to enter into a debate, then usually, literate people indicate the name of their opponent.
For this purpose, the author is indicated. In this case - Serg, Apart from unfounded statements, no serious arguments on your part about the error of the author’s judgments were provided.
Actually, this is a plus to the fact that astrology can be considered a science :) By the way, it was from these wonderful calculations that astronomy emerged, and not vice versa. Serg, perhaps you are not aware, but astronomy did not come from astrology.Astronomy - the science of the movement and properties of celestial bodies - is one of the oldest natural sciences. In the early stages of its development was one with astrology; The final separation of scientific astronomy and astrology occurred in Renaissance Europe. Other theories that study extraterrestrial objects (astrophysics, cosmology, etc.) were also previously considered as part of astronomy, but in the 20th century they emerged as separate sciences.
Astrology (Old Slavic astrology, astrologies, ancient Greek ἀστρολογία from ἀστήρ, ἄστρον “star” and λόγος “thought, reason”) - a group of descriptive and predictive practices, traditions and beliefs , postulating the influence of celestial bodies on the earthly world and man (on his temperament, character, actions and fate) and, in particular, the possibility of predicting the future by the movement and location of celestial bodies on the celestial sphere and relative to each other.
Despite the large number of attempts made in parascience to provide a physical basis for astrology, none of them were successful, and modern science completely denies the effectiveness of astrological techniques, qualifying astrology as pseudoscience and prejudice. The US National Science Foundation uses astrology as a “benchmark” pseudoscience in its Science and Engineering Indicators rating system. The Encyclopedia Britannica classifies astrology as a magical divinatory practice based on concepts that are incompatible with scientific evidence.
Some modern astrologers call astrology a metaphorical "symbolic language" in which the same statement allows for many different interpretations.
European and Indian astrology originate from Sumerian-Babylonian astral myths, in which celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets) and constellations were associated with gods and mythological characters; the influence of gods on earthly life within the framework of this mythology was transformed into an influence on the life of celestial ones. bodies - symbols of deities. Babylonian astrology was borrowed by the Greeks and then, through contacts with the Hellenistic world, penetrated into India.
Wow. It turns out there are many schools and theories arguing with each other - an impossible situation for normal science??? :))) This is already completely funny. This is what distinguishes science from religion, for example, so this is another plus to the fact that astrology is a science. What's happened lie? This half-truth...
Criterion (ancient Greek κριτήριον) - a sign, basis, rule for making a decision to evaluate something for compliance with the presented requirements (measure). The criteria for the truth of knowledge are highlighted. There are logical (formal) and empirical (experimental) criteria of truth. The formal criterion of truth is logical laws: everything that does not contain a contradiction is true, logically correct. Empirical criteria of truth are the correspondence of knowledge to experimental data, for example: “criterion of suitability of an object”, “criterion of superiority of an object”, “criterion of reliability of results”, “criterion of sufficiency of tests”. The theory of knowledge or epistemology deals with the question of the criteria of truth set forth by different philosophical schools.
You "twisted" the words of the author, using the word theory.
Method (from ancient Greek μέθοδος - path, following the path traveled, from μετά - “following, after” + ὁδός “path”) is a systematized set of steps, actions that are aimed at solving a specific problem or achieving a specific goal. Unlike a field of knowledge or research, it is copyrighted, that is, created by a specific person or group of people, a scientific or practical school. Due to their limited scope of action and result, methods tend to become outdated, being transformed into other methods, developing in accordance with time, advances in technical and scientific thought, and the needs of society. A set of homogeneous methods is usually called an approach. The development of methods is a natural consequence of the development of scientific thought.
You obviously don't know what distinguishes science from religion.Scientific knowledge can have a significant impact on a person’s worldview. It affects both the perception of God and the attitude towards the world as a whole. Science and religion have different attitudes towards various phenomena of our reality. How are they different?
What is the difference between science and religion?The fundamental difference is that science is capable of questioning any axioms and facts underlying it. Scientific knowledge can sometimes be refuted. Religion is based on unproven, unverifiable axioms (postulates, dogmas), the comprehension of which is considered inaccessible to the human mind, and therefore they are not studied or tested. Religion claims to be completely, absolutely true.
Science, unlike religion, is aimed at the most objective study of the world around us. Science is integral to dynamics, movement, and development. It relies on rational knowledge. Religion is conservative, static in nature. Its support is irrational consciousness.
The basis of science is experience, experiment. The basis of religion is belief in the supernatural, mystical experience. Science must question and rethink everything. In religion, doubts are unacceptable; those who abuse them can be accused of the sin of lack of faith.
Science tries to answer the questions “How?” and why?" Religion tries to answer the question “Why?” Science wants to understand how the world works. Religion strives to understand the meaning of the existence of our world.
Science is not accessible to everyone; it requires developed intelligence, long and hard study. Anyone can turn to religion.
Serg, you obviously don’t knowBut the Moon does not affect human physiology and psyche;
Did you want women to have “annual” ones?
If for any reason (stress, illness, age) a woman has a malfunction in her hormonal system, then even if she sits with her butt on the surface of the Moon, this will not help her.
___________________Astrology, born in the 24th century BC, has now regained unprecedented popularity. Newspapers and magazines publish astrological forecasts and recommendations for everyone born under a certain zodiac sign. readers are invited to follow the instructions of the stars both in everyday personal life and in work, despite the fact that among the millions born under a particular sign, there are not two people with the same fate, occupation and health.
Associate Professor of Moscow State University, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Vladimir Georgievich Surdin in his book “Astrology and Science” (Fryazino: Vek-2, 2007) talks about the history of the emergence of astrology, the attitude of famous scientists of the past and present to it, and about attempts (unsuccessful!) to find there is rational grain in her forecasts.
One of the arguments of supporters of astrology is that famous astronomers were engaged in it, drawing up horoscopes for their patrons - nobles and royalty. But here is what Johannes Kepler, one of the founders of modern astronomy, wrote about astrology in 1628, in his declining years, holding the position of court astrologer for Duke Wallenstein:
“Of course, this astrology is a stupid daughter; but, my God, where would her mother, the highly wise astronomer, have gone if she had not had a stupid daughter. The world is even much more stupid and so stupid that for the benefit of her old, sensible mother, the stupid daughter must chat and lie... Astrology is a thing that is not worth wasting time on, but people in their ignorance think that mathematicians should study it. .. But I consider such a course of action impossible, superstitious...”
All attempts to find a connection between date of birth and people’s predisposition to a profession have not yielded results. A check of the biographies of 17 thousand scientists and 6 thousand political figures, carried out by the American physicist J. McJervey, showed that the dates of their births are distributed relative to the zodiac signs completely randomly. Psychologist from the University of Michigan B. Silverman studied the influence of zodiac signs on family life. He compared data on 2978 weddings and 478 divorces with independent predictions of two astrologers, did not find any agreement with reality and concluded: the position of the Sun in the zodiac at the time of birth does not affect the formation of personality._______________
Newton and astrology
From Caesar's letters:
“I inherited this burden of superstition...
Faith in signs... comes to us, sanctified by the customs of our ancestors,
breathing the serenity of childhood, she encourages the inactive and consoles the mediocre.”
Thornton Wilder "Ides of March"Today's astrologers often talk about one figure that I cannot ignore. As is known, the range of scientific interests of Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was extremely wide. Was he interested in astrology? The Dutch astronomer and historian of science Robert Van Gent (1993) studied this issue in great detail. He claims that at the end of the 17th century. The scientific community was no longer at all interested in astrology, and in the works of major naturalists - such as Huygens and Newton, there is not a single line about astrology at all. True, Van Gent adds, modern astrological literature often claims that Newton practiced astrology in secret (just as he actually practiced alchemy in secret). To confirm that the great scientist was interested in star reading, a historical anecdote is often cited that once, in the presence of Newton, his colleague Edmond Halley (1656–1742) spoke disrespectfully about astrology, to which Newton sharply retorted: “Sir Halley! I studied this subject, but you didn’t!” So, did Newton study astrology?
To mark the tricentenary of Newton's greatest work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687), many studies of his life and work have been published. None of them mention Newton's astrological interests. Moreover, the largest researcher of his work, the English historian of science Derek Thomas Whiteside, found1 that among the 50 million words that came from Newton’s pen, the word “astrology” does not appear even once! And the claim that Newton’s unique astrological manuscript is kept in the Oxford Library turned out to be untrue.
Newton's personal library, which numbered 1752 volumes at the time of his death, contained 477 books on theology, 169 on alchemy, 126 on mathematics, 52 on physics and 33 on astronomy; and only 4 books, one way or another, were related to astrology. As for the phrase thrown by Newton to Halley, allegedly in a dispute about astrology, historians have reconstructed the entire path of the birth of this anecdote. As you know, Newton was a religious man. Every time his younger colleague Halley dared to say something disrespectful towards religion, Newton interrupted him with the phrase: “I have studied these things - you have not!”2.
Apparently, those who say that Newton was involved in astrology have not studied his biography carefully enough. We can turn to the most complete biography of the great physicist in Russian literature - the book “Newton” by Vladimir Kartsev3. The figure of the brilliant Englishman is depicted in great detail and, indeed, does not look as clear as in a school physics textbook. In addition to working on natural science problems and mathematical methods, Newton was seriously fascinated by ancient history and its comparison with biblical texts. He studied biblical prophecies especially deeply and even left behind the manuscript “History of Prophecies”; perhaps this was the reason for the myth of Newton the astrologer. But in this work, Newton did not use the techniques of astrologers. He looked for metaphors in biblical texts, trying to translate the figurative language of prophecy into the language of geography and history. Newton's main work on this topic was translated into Russian under the title “Notes on the Book of the Prophet Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John" and published in 1916.
Based on his studies of the Bible, Newton began revising the ancient history of civilization, collecting the results of this work in his “Brief Chronology”. This is how V. Kartsev characterizes this work (p. 363):
“The main idea of this work by Newton was to eliminate the discrepancies between secular chronology and the chronology of the Old Testament. Moreover, it was the Bible that was taken as a rigid basis for comparison. Thus, Newton needed to bring into full harmony the biblical history, which goes back four thousand years before Christ, and the secular history, which, for example, for Egypt, goes back almost fifteen thousand years. And Newton begins to mercilessly cut down the years of Egypt and other countries. His main thesis is that all nations greatly exaggerate their antiquity, trying to stand out from each other. “All nations, before they began to keep accurate records of time, were inclined to exalt their antiquity. This tendency has increased still further as a result of the competition between nations.” To confirm their non-existent antiquity, Newton believes, the Egyptian priests even went so far as to use the myth of Atlantis, confusing Plato with it.
Newton refused to believe that during the Egyptian Old Kingdom there were almost three hundred kings with an average duration of 33 years for each kingdom; Newton deals with the kings simply - he finds similar names and similar biographies in this long list, considers both kings as one and crosses out all the intermediate ones. So Newton immediately reduced almost a hundred kings and reduced Egypt’s antiquity by several thousand years. He went further, taking the average duration of a reign not as 33 years, but as 18–20 years. This shortened history by almost half more, because the time intervals for secular history were now multiplied by 4/7. To make Egyptian history even shorter, he takes the bold step of identifying the Egyptian king Sesostris with Osiris-Bacchus. Then the Egyptian state begins in the 11th century BC.
With such techniques, he managed to tightly combine biblical and secular history, to find names and historical events connecting them. Here on Newton’s part there is a lot of arbitrariness, inaccuracies and exaggerations; but at a time when the value of archaeological excavations was not known, the cuneiform tablets were not deciphered, his work stood out among others thanks to his wit, as well as his mastery of astronomical, mathematical and philological methods and, finally, because of the passion that he put into these researches .
Newton claimed that the accuracy of his historical constructions was within 5–10 years; on rare occasions he agreed to a twenty-year discrepancy with the true chronology. He pointed out that he had achieved a coincidence between the astronomical and historical paths of evidence. Note that in those years astronomical evidence was a novelty in historical research; Newton opened a new direction here too. Centuries later, other “creators of new history” followed the same path in their research. I am glad that the topic of my book does not require delving into these highly controversial studies.
As for Newton and astrology, I know of only two remarks by his biographers on this topic. Newton told his nephew John Conduit (1688–1737) that his passion for the exact sciences intensified significantly in the summer of 1663, when, already as a student at Cambridge University, he bought a book on astrology and palmistry at a fair; just one of those four that were preserved in his library. Puzzled by the incomprehensible diagrams and calculations he came across in this book, Newton bought several serious manuals on geometry and mathematics (Euclid, Descartes, etc.) and soon “was convinced of the futility and emptiness of the scientific claims of judicial astrology” (Van Gent).
The second incident occurred already in the years of extreme old age of the genius: Newton once told one of his interlocutors that he was born on Christmas 1642, and that, as he believes, “Christmas is generally a very favorable moment for the birth of geniuses” (Kartsev, p. 398). It is difficult for me to decide what is more in these words - humor or vanity, but obviously not astrology.
1. Cowling T.G. Isaac Newton and Astrology. 1977. Leeds: Leeds University Press.
2. Van Gent R.H. Isaac Newton and Astrology. Witness for the Defense or for the Prosecution? 1993. Correlation: Journal of Research into Astrology, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 33–37.
3. Kartsev V. Newton. M.: Young Guard, 1987.
(Vladimir Georgievich SURDIN,
excerpt from the book "Astrology and Science",
Publishing house "Vek 2", 2007The book tells how scientists relate to astrology, how they check astrological forecasts, and which of the great astronomers were an astrologer and to what extent.)
________________________Academician V. GINZBURG.
Science and life // Illustrations
Academician V. L. Ginzburg.
Johannes Kepler, an astronomer, was forced to earn money by drawing up horoscopes.
Horoscope compiled by Kepler.
V. G. Surdin’s book “Astrology and Science” convincingly shows that astrology is not a science, but a dead science, pseudoscience or pseudoscience. All three of these published characteristics of astrology are correct, but I prefer the last one. Moreover, astrology can be called “the standard pseudoscience.” I mean that the example of astrology shows especially clearly some features of pseudoscience in general.
The fact is that concluding that certain statements are pseudoscientific is sometimes a rather difficult task and, in any case, requires caution. In fact, what is the scientific worldview and science? The basis of the scientific worldview is this: when studying nature (including, of course, humans) one must be based solely on experience, observations and experiments. Next, they try to compare the results obtained, take into account all this material and build a picture of what was observed or, say, understand the cause or mechanism of the discovered phenomena, find an explanation for them. For example, as a result of astronomical observations, the structure of the solar system was clarified. This was done in the 16th century by Copernicus, who, by the way, had ancient Greek predecessors. The heliocentric theory (model) of Copernicus, in a difficult struggle, defeated the previously accepted geocentric model, in the center of which the Earth was located.
Another example is the nature of heat. Of course, since ancient times it has been known that when two bodies come into contact - hot and cold - the temperature equalizes due to the cooling of the hotter body. But what explains this? Even in the 18th century - quite recently on the scale of the history of civilization - the theory of caloric was widespread, according to which heat is transferred by a certain weightless liquid (caloric); The more it is, the hotter the body. Now we know well that the temperature of a body is a measure of the movement of the atoms and molecules that form the body, that is, it is not the theory of caloric that is valid, but the so-called kinetic theory of heat. Therefore, if anyone these days tries to revive the theory of caloric, then we can say without any doubt that we are dealing with pseudoscience.
The situation is exactly the same with the law of conservation of energy. For many years, for many centuries, they tried to obtain energy from nothing, or, at least, to build a “perpetual motion machine.” And the always proposed “perpetual motion machines” did not work. It became clear that there is such a quantity - energy, which is conserved, that is, in fact, the law of conservation of energy was discovered. Therefore, starting from the 18th century, for example, the French Academy of Sciences stopped even considering projects for perpetual motion machines. The assumption that one can obtain or increase energy from nothing is pseudoscience today.
From the above examples it is clear that pseudoscientific statements and theories often turn out to be, so to speak, historical categories. Once upon a time, these were hypotheses that, until they were refuted, could not be considered and called pseudoscientific. But when their injustice is reliably shown, attempts to revive these concepts, statements and theories become pseudoscientific. Thus, it is clear that something can only be considered pseudoscience if science has proven it. But this is precisely where the main difficulty in the fight against pseudoscience lies. Its representatives and defenders are trying to question the validity of those scientific statements that they do not like. So, for example, the inventor of a new “perpetual motion machine” says: the law of conservation of energy is based on experience, the “perpetual motion machines” proposed so far have not worked, but mine works.
Here, obviously, the question arises about the existence of true knowledge. As has already been said, the entire scientific worldview is based on the assumption that truth exists, and its acquisition and verification are possible only as a result of experiments and observations. However, it is always possible to make only a finite number of certain experiments. And at some stage, if the data from all existing experiments are identical, a corresponding conclusion is made, say, about the impossibility of creating a perpetual motion machine. Such a conclusion involves going beyond formal logic and some intuitive judgment. This is set out in more detail in a very deep book by E. L. Feinberg, and this is not the place to discuss this issue.
One way or another, all of our science is connected with the assertion of the existence of some truth, which science produces. The more developed the science in a given area, the more likely it is that it has actually reached the truth. A scientist is a person who, in particular, is familiar with the evidence of justice and the truth of certain scientific provisions. He can distinguish science from pseudoscience. Of course, in more complex cases, one expert may not be enough and expert commissions are created. However, the need for this arises very rarely when it comes to issues covered in newspapers and popular magazines (in the media). These publications feature astrology, violation of the law of conservation of energy, torsion fields, some mysterious rays unknown to science, and the like. Any qualified physicist can and should refute such statements. No less or even more harmful are all sorts of anti-scientific methods of treating diseases and, in general, pseudoscience in biology and medicine. Specialists must refute the corresponding nonsense.
Now I can once again explain why I called astrology above “the standard pseudoscience.” The fact is that, as is clear, in particular, from the book of V. G. Surdin, the falsity of astrology has been proven from all sides, so to speak: from the standpoint of physics, and on the basis of biological data, and especially as a result of statistical studies of horoscopes. The absurdity and absurdity of many such horoscopes should, it would seem, be obvious to any reasonable person. For example, in Izvestia, an all-Russian newspaper with a huge circulation, astrological forecasts are given for every day for all people born under one or another zodiac sign. I am writing these lines on February 2, 2007, and I was born on October 4, “under the sign” of the constellation Libra. So, I recommend the following for today:
“If new business partners or colleagues take on some of your responsibilities, you will feel much calmer and more confident. At the same time, you should not be afraid that you will lose some of your powers.”
It would be nice if such advice was given to a specific businessman. The main thing, however, is not this and not the rather empty nature of the advice, but the fact that it is given to all “Libra” at once, that is, more than 500 million people! In fact, there are now slightly more than 6 billion people living on Earth; There are 12 constellations taken into account in the forecast, and thus “Libra” accounts for about 500 million people.
So, astrology is a typical pseudoscience, and the advice of astrologers is just nonsense, nonsense. Why print such forecasts and mislead people? True, one has to deal with the following opinion: of course, astrological forecasts are nonsense, but who believes them, reading them is just innocent fun. I do not agree with this opinion. Of course, literate people do not believe in horoscopes, but there are many who believe in them. Why fool them, give them advice that could, if followed, lead to dire consequences. By the way, I also saw in the newspapers advice from astrologers to gardeners and gardeners. You can imagine what they lead to.
Above we talked about the scientific worldview and what pseudoscience is from the perspective of such a worldview. As you know, there is also a religious worldview that underlies various religions. At the same time, theistic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) are organically connected with the recognition of the existence of miracles, that is, say, phenomena that contradict scientific knowledge. This is not the place to touch on a religious worldview (I am an atheist, and my views on religion are reflected, in particular, in the articles included in the book). But it should be noted that some religions (at least Christianity) have a negative attitude towards astrology. This is important, because in the fight against astrology we do not come into conflict with the church.
At the same time, it should be noted that theistic religions (unlike deism) are incompatible with the denial of miracles. They, like astrology, are a product of ancient times. The positive things that are associated with religion (some commandments, etc.) are in fact completely independent of it and are, so to speak, a product of the development of human society. Therefore, everything positive retains its place within the framework of secular humanism, which has replaced religion and is accepted by many, me in particular. What is secular humanism? I will limit myself to links to literary sources that readers can familiarize themselves with (see article 29, written by V.A. Kuvakin and me, as well as). One of the cornerstones on which secular humanism rests is the denial of miracles and the recognition of the validity of the scientific worldview.
As far as I know, serious newspapers abroad do not publish astrological forecasts. This is the lot of only the tabloid, or, as they sometimes say, yellow press. But in Russia, astrological forecasts are now published in newspapers that are considered serious, for example in Izvestia. This newspaper is only a few months younger than me (I'm 90 years old), and I've been reading it since my youth. In Soviet times, there were no horoscopes in newspapers - this is one of the few examples of censorship. In modern Russia, censorship has been abolished and, at least in words, freedom of speech has been proclaimed. This, of course, is a huge achievement for democracy. But, unfortunately, positive phenomena often lead to negative consequences. So it is in this case: censorship has been replaced by permissiveness. It has become possible to print almost anything, except that pornography has not yet poured out in a wide stream on the pages and screens of the media. But pseudoscientific materials are published without any restrictions. As has already been said, the turn has come to Izvestia - a few years ago astrological forecasts appeared on their pages. As a long-time reader of the newspaper, this particularly hurt me, and I wrote a corresponding letter to the editor-in-chief of Izvestia. Was not awarded any answer. A few years later, Izvestia had a new editor-in-chief, and I wrote to him again, but with the same result. Finally, in 2005, I learned from the newspaper that Izvestia had a new general director. I also wrote him the following letter:
From “Izvestia” dated September 12. It became known that you became the General Director of Izvestia. Unfortunately, I do not know exactly the functions of the General Director in Izvestia (in scientific literature, the role of the head of the publication is played by the chief or executive editor of the publication; for example, I am the Chief Editor of the journal Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk (UFN) - the most popular, judging by rating, scientific physical journal in Russia). But in this case, it seems to me that my ignorance of your functions is not important: it is clear that you largely determine the editorial policy of Izvestia.
Now, why am I writing to you, the third chapter of Izvestia in recent years? The fact is that Izvestia has been publishing astrological forecasts on the last page for several years now. I believe that this is completely unacceptable and puts Izvestia (one of the best and oldest Russian newspapers) in the position of a representative of the “yellow press”. This conclusion is explained by the fact that astrology at present is an undoubted pseudoscience and its propaganda in any form is an antisocial activity.
I have already written about this in a number of articles, which can be found in my book “On Science, About Myself and About Others” (Fizmatlit, 2003) and on the website: www.ufn.ru, section “UFN Tribune” (this is a section of the journal’s website UFN, which contains articles by a number of authors not on physical topics). Con-
I would like to draw your attention to the open letter to the Editor-in-Chief of Izvestia, dedicated to the publication in Izvestia on August 18, 2003 of the article “Every district of Moscow is controlled by space” (see http://data.ufn.ru//tribune/Gin_lett. pdf" , article by academicians E. B. Aleksandrov, V. L. Ginzburg, E. P. Kruglyakov, V. E. Fortov “Astrology has reached law enforcement agencies”, “Izvestia” No. 179 dated October 25, 2003 and article “Four percent science”, published in the “Parliamentary Newspaper” on March 17, 2004 (http://data.ufn.ru//tribune/trib 170304.pdf"). In addition, if you wanted someone to talk about astrology I told the editors or you personally, then I can recommend you V. G. Surdin, a research fellow at the P. K. Sternberg Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University.
Currently (and for a long time) I am in the hospital, and now I cannot and do not want to talk much about astrology. However, in order to avoid misunderstandings, I consider it appropriate to explain why I am so actively fighting against astrology: this is part of the fight against pseudoscience in general, which is what we are trying to do at the Russian Academy of Sciences, especially within the framework of the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience (chairman of the commission is academician Eduard Pavlovich Kruglyakov , secretary - Elena Vladimirovna Babak).
Astrological forecasts, unfortunately, are published not only by Izvestia, and I know the usual motive for defending such publications: allegedly, what pseudoscience is is not clear in advance, and who proved that astrology is pseudoscience, and in general such publications are supposedly only useful. I consider this ignorance or shameless demagoguery. To substantiate this statement, some clarification is necessary:
1. Astrology is a pseudoscience at the present time, but once upon a time, before Galileo and Kepler, it was not such, that is, the statement about its pseudoscience is, so to speak, a historical category. The same, by the way, applies to many other things, for example, to alchemy, the concept of caloric, etc. But what does this have to do with today?
2. We consider as pseudoscience that which contradicts the reliable scientific knowledge of today. Thus, astrology is incorrect, firstly, because the forces with which the planets act on the Earth are now well known, and it is clear that these forces are so small that they cannot influence the destinies of people. Secondly, numerous statistical “observations” were carried out, from which it is clear that the position of the planets does not have any influence on the fate of people (for more details, see the above literature and especially the article by E. B. Aleksandrov and others).
3. Astrological forecasts, as you can see on the own pages of Izvestia, are characterized by exceptional vacuity and absurdity. I see no reason to think that such things are “innocent”. Most readers, of course, do not believe this chatter, but those who do may suffer significant damage.
Your predecessors did not deign to answer my letters with a recommendation not to disgrace Izvestia by publishing pseudoscientific nonsense. The only motive that I know of as a justification for publishing pseudoscientific nonsense in newspapers is the imaginary concern of attracting more readers. But serious newspapers, unlike tabloid ones, cannot and should not motivate their editorial policy solely by profit, and besides, I doubt that the newspaper earns much in this way. This is probably beneficial only to certain interested employees.
If I can be useful, I am ready to do so, and I hope that you will not follow the example of your predecessors, who did not even answer me.
Sincerely,
Nobel Prize winner Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V. L. GinzburgThen he sent a second letter:
To the General Director of Izvestia, Mr. P. Godlevsky
Dear Mr. Godlevsky!
On September 20, 2005, I sent you a letter by e-mail (it was also sent to you by the editorial office of Izvestia in an envelope on September 24).
I hope to receive an answer, but, regardless of this, my letter to you will be posted on the UFN website (www.ufn.ru in the “UFN Tribune” section on October 20, 2005). We have not done this before in order to be able to place your answer there (if there is one).
Now I am writing to you in connection with, so to speak, “developments of events.” I mean the story with Grabov, which has been adequately covered in Izvestia in recent days. But what are Grabovoi’s activities? This is, in fact, the same quackery and fraud as astrology, which I focused on in my previous letter.
Of course, there is a difference: experienced astrologers limit their chatter in such a way that it does not give rise to criminal prosecution. By the way, I do not believe that astrologers (and a number of other scammers) should be prosecuted as long as they do not cause obvious harm. But, of course, they should not be given a platform and their anti-scientific nonsense published in newspapers.
This example with Grabovoi clearly illustrates what has been said, and one cannot simultaneously scold Grabovoi and popularize astrology. This is what I want to draw your attention to again.
Sincerely,
Nobel Prize winner Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.L. GinsburgFinally I received this answer:
Dear Vitaly Lazarevich!
I share your views on astrology. He handed over all the letters to the editor-in-chief of Izvestia, Vladimir Borodin. In his opinion, astrological forecasts in the newspaper may take place.
According to the Charter of the joint-stock company “Editorial Board of the Newspaper Izvestia”, the editor-in-chief has the right to determine the content of the newspaper himself. Thus, the creative independence of the editorial team is guaranteed.
In this regard, I cannot fulfill your request - to remove astrological forecasts from the pages of the publication.
General Director of OJSC “Editorial office of the newspaper “Izvestia”
Peter GodlevskySo forecasts continue to decorate the last page of Izvestia. During this time, as reported in the press, V. Borodin was replaced as editor-in-chief of Izvestia by V. Mamontov, who obviously shared V. Borodin’s views. This does not surprise me, because I also read a statement by the head of the Gazprom-Media organization, which owns Izvestia. The said leader proclaims that the main thing is income, money. It doesn’t matter how and for what they get this money. As you know, one of the Roman emperors shared the same opinion, saying that “money has no smell.” Unfortunately, this ancient maxim has become dominant in our country, especially in the media. The fact is that the abolition of censorship literally led to an outbreak, a flood of all kinds of pseudoscience, in particular astrology, in the press and on television, and everywhere else possible. This, undoubtedly, brings great harm to the country, and it is completely incomprehensible to me why the authorities look indifferently at such disgrace. There are many examples, they are given, for example, in books, and it does not seem appropriate to discuss them here in addition to what has already been said.
Why do our authorities even care about how to trade in the markets, but do not pay attention to the need to combat pseudoscience and its propaganda? As has already been said, freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship are a huge achievement, but it must be protected from those who abuse this freedom.
I lived most of my life, 70 years, under the Bolshevik-Stalinist regime. I remember well all these labels (dispossessed, enemy of the people, rootless cosmopolitan, etc.) that were hung on those undesirable. And in no case do I suggest returning to this practice. But some kind of body should be created that openly discusses abuses of freedom of speech and has the right to rid the population of the propaganda of pseudoscience, witchcraft, occultism, etc. Perhaps the Public Chamber could do this.
As I already wrote in the above second letter to the general director of Izvestia, we are not, generally speaking, talking about criminal prosecution, but only about suppressing harmful activities. And there is no reason to worry about the employment of these people. Now there is no unemployment in Russia and, on the contrary, in many areas, in particular for trading in markets, sellers are needed. The qualifications of astrologers and their patrons, I think, are quite sufficient for trading, say, fruits or pork instead of horoscopes.
The magazine “Science and Life” does not publish horoscopes, nor does it publish feng shui forecasts. Readers of the magazine know that astrological forecasts are unscientific and it is absurd to follow them, because they can really do harm. As for publications in the media, it is useless to ban them, and only scientific knowledge serves as protection from harm.
What are the reasons for the modern popularity of astrology, which has seemingly emerged from complete oblivion?
Which social groups are most likely to trust astrological forecasts?
What is the place and connection of astrology with other types of fortune telling (palmistry, numerology, etc.) and with other pseudo-scientific pursuits (ufology, telepathy, etc.)?
Can the degree of passion for astrology act as a measure of the culture of a society? or is it a symbol of culture (remember how widespread astrology is in India, a country of ancient culture that is quickly approaching the leaders of modern civilization)?
What is the relationship between astrology and religion?
What is the scale of the astrological business and how corrupt is it, that is, what is the role of the state apparatus in it?
What are the predictive capabilities of science, how realistic are they and what are their limitations?
Can a passion for astrology develop into a passion for science? Astrology as a pedagogical technique - is it possible?
Where is the border between science and non-science (parascience, pop science, anti-science)?
From the point of view of public benefit, is it justified to draw clear boundaries between science and “non-sciences,” to fight for the purity of science and to criticize all sorts of chimeras? Or is it really true, as postpositivists claim, that “anything goes”?
These are not all the interesting questions related to astrology. who will answer them? Wait and see...
Literature
1. Feinberg E. L. Two cultures. intuition and logic in art and science. - M.: Nauka, 1992; Fryazino: Vek-2, 2004.
2. Ginzburg V. L. About science, about yourself and about others. - 3rd ed. - M.: Fizmatlit, 2004.
3. Borzenko I.M., Kuvakin V.A., Kudishina A.A. Humanity of man. Foundations of modern humanism. - M.: Ros. Humanistic Society (RGO), 2005; Secular Union: Almanac. - M.: Russian Geographical Society, 2007, issue. 6.
4. Kruglyakov E.P. Scientists from the high road. - M.: Nauka, 2001.
5. Kruglyakov E.P. Scientists from the high road -2. - M.: Nauka, 2005.
6. In defense of science. Bulletin 1. - M.: Nauka, 2006.
7. Common sense: magazine. - M.: Russian Geographical Society, 1997-2006, No. 1-41.
Of all the sciences, only astronomy has received the “honor” of having a scientific shadow next to it for thousands of years - astrology. And although, in fact, their paths diverged long ago - astronomy became one of the most exact sciences, and astrology turned into a “social drug” to console the weak-willed - it is in our era that for some reason they have become very close in the mass consciousness, so much so that almost merged in form, in everyday usage.
Shadow of Astronomy
In 1995, I wrote the book “Astronomical Olympiads”. When the edition was printed and brought from the printing house, I was horrified to see printing labels on the packs of books with the inscription: Surdin V.G. “Astrological Olympiads.” I vividly imagined the shame with a circulation of 10 thousand copies and almost fainted. Fortunately, the error was only made on the label; the book was printed correctly.
In 1997, the director of the Special Astrophysical Observatory in the Caucasus (SAO RAS, the same one where the six-meter telescope operates) Yu.Yu. Balega said that in the financial documents of the bank servicing the observatory, it is referred to as the Special Astrological Observatory, and nothing can be changed - you cannot reverse the financial documents.
In “Guide to the Internet” (M.: Sintez, 1995), prepared by A. Gurin et al., on p. 79 we read “You can learn a lot about quasars, novae, etc. in the system of the Smithsonian Astrological Observatory in Cambridge." We are, of course, talking about the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (USA).
Announcement in one of the Moscow newspapers: “A competition is being held to fill the vacant position of professor at the Department of Astrology, Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University.” In reality, it was about the Department of Astrophysics.
In the catalog of public libraries of the Western District of Moscow, the quite reputable popular science magazine of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Earth and the Universe” was included in the section “Astrology. Occult Sciences." As we can see, the catalog compilers completely identify astronomy with astrology. By the way, please note that the section is called “occult sciences,” and not just “occultism” or “occult teachings.” But, as you know, “occultism (from Lat. occultus- secret, hidden) - the general name of teachings that recognize the existence of hidden forces in man and the cosmos, inaccessible to ordinary human experience, but accessible to “initiates”... Occultism is an antipode, the opposite of scientific thinking.
The confusion of words and concepts sometimes gives rise to completely amazing chimeras: in the Moscow newspaper “Center-Plus” (No. 14, 1999) we read: “Astrophysicists managed to open a real astrological window into the world.”
We will not continue this list; Each reader can probably add his own to our examples.
But here’s a question: maybe these are just typos by inattentive typesetters? This is probably partly true. But unconscious mistakes also speak volumes. Now let's look at the result of conscious choice. In 1999, my survey of eleventh-graders at Moscow Gymnasium No. 1543 showed that every fourth of them considered astrology “a science that studies the connection between the Earth and space.” I note that most of these are children of scientists, all of whom, without exception, entered the best universities in Moscow after graduating from high school.
Is the identification of astronomy with astrology an exclusively Russian phenomenon? Of course no. In 1990, a survey of 2,000 Canadian adults found that 45% considered astrology to be at least somewhat scientific. In 1991, a survey of 1,500 freshmen at York University (Montreal) showed that more than 92% of respondents knew their zodiac sign; more than 20% at least occasionally make decisions based on an astrological forecast; More than 45% of humanities students and 37% of science students agree with at least some principles of astrology, that is, they believe in astrology. Moreover, more than half of humanists and slightly less than half of naturalists consider astrology to be a science. It is curious that this situation has remained virtually unchanged for several decades.
Which social groups are most affected by the “astrological shadow”? Survey results show that women are significantly more inclined to astrology. This finding holds true in the specially selected groups, where the level of science education among men and women was the same. In general, the connection of this level with immunity to pseudoscience turned out to be not so obvious.
Although some educators claim that advanced science education is enough to stop the growing popularity of pseudoscience, the evidence shows that this is not the case. Formal teaching of natural sciences, without emphasis on the difference between their method of studying nature and religious, occult and mystical methods of knowledge, does not create reliable immunity to the irrational. The reader has the right to ask who needs such immunity. I will answer: into the hands of people who have received a physics and mathematics education, society is putting technology of ever more destructive power, functioning according to purely rational laws. Therefore, even from a purely pragmatic point of view, it is desirable that the consciousness of these people should not be affected by mysticism. However, there are other arguments. But let's return to astrology.
Science and astrology in the past
Growing out of folk signs, ancient astrology of omens was an inevitable stage in the development of natural science. She identified and used for forecasts the connection between the annual revolution of the Earth around the Sun with periods of drought and rain, abundance of food and lack of food, in general - with the weather. Actually, at that time it did not stand out from the “integrated package” of knowledge about nature.
Astrology acquired its face, its individuality, its modern meaning only when it began to forecast the characters and fate of people. From that moment on, the border between it and science arose and does not disappear. Another ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Eudoxus around 370 BC. e. wrote that “one should not trust in the slightest degree the Chaldeans and their predictions and statements about a person’s life based on the day of his birth.”
But at that time the essence of astrology was not yet so obvious; in any case, it stimulated astronomical observations and the search for patterns in the movement of planets. Claudius Ptolemy, one of the greatest astronomers and mathematicians of antiquity, was also the author of the Tetrabiblos, which still serves as the main textbook for Western astrologers. Widespread in Europe during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, astrology also served as the driving force behind some of the astronomical discoveries of that time. But even then the attitude towards it among scientists was ambiguous.
For example, the principle critic of astrology, the Greek philologist George of Trebizond (1395–1483), wrote a treatise “On Quackery” and an argument “Why astrological data is mostly false.” A consistent opponent of astrology, who, as they say, caused a lot of trouble to its priests, was Prince John Pico de Mirandola (1463–1494), author of “Studies in Astrology” and “Explanations and Refutations of the Works of Ptolemy.” At the same time, one of the brightest scientists of the 15th century, Johann Muller (1436–1476), known in astronomical literature as Regiomontanus, undertook a revision of astrology: he introduced a new division of celestial “houses” and a method for calculating the astrological influence of luminaries, which completely supplanted the astrological technique of Ptolemy.
It is often pointed out that even Kepler and Galileo were partly astrologers (see, for example,). As for Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), there is no doubt that he compiled horoscopes for influential people. However, it is necessary to take into account the circumstances of his life and how he himself assessed his activities: “Of course, this astrology is a stupid daughter; but, my God, where would her mother, the highly wise astronomer, have gone if she had not had a stupid daughter. The world is even much more stupid and so stupid that for the benefit of her old reasonable mother, the stupid daughter must chat and lie. And the salary of mathematicians is so insignificant that the mother would probably starve if her daughter did not earn anything.”
Earning his meager bread as an astrologer, Kepler sometimes spoke rather contemptuously about this craft: “Astrology is a thing that is not worth wasting time on, but people in their ignorance think that a mathematician should do it.” Fair star reading was not to his liking. “Astrologers,” wrote Kepler, “invented the division into 12 houses in order to give different answers to those questions for which a person is looking for an answer. But I consider such a course of action impossible, superstitious, prophetic and the beginning of Arab magic, because in this way every question that comes into a person’s head is answered in the affirmative or negative.” And yet, in his search for world harmony and the driving forces of nature, Kepler considered it wrong to reject the observations and comparisons accumulated by ancient science. In one of his writings, he warned researchers “so that they do not throw out the baby with the bath water if they frivolously discard the star superstition.”
It should be noted that Kepler had reasons to say so, because in the fight against astrology there were excesses. Thus, Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) did not accept Kepler’s hypothesis about the influence of the Moon on the tides of the sea; Not the least role was played by his negative attitude towards astrology, which Kepler studied. (Galileo himself organized a workshop for making telescopes to earn money.) One can only regret that a shallow acquaintance with the history of science allows a number of authors to classify Galileo as an astrologer.
With all the respect for each other's scientific authority and mutual sympathy, visible from their correspondence, Galileo and Kepler had a polar opposite worldview: Galileo's rational mind did not accept Kepler's mystical constructions. A deep expert on that era, Professor N.I. Idelson writes that “for Galileo there is no astrology so understandable to Kepler.” In “Dialogues on the Two Systems of the World,” outlining his theory of tides through the mouth of Salviati, Galileo says: “Among all the people who have discussed this remarkable phenomenon, I am most surprised at Kepler; being a man of a free and sharp mind and possessing the theory of movements attributed to the Earth, he later began to pay attention and agree with the opinion about the “influence” of the Moon on water, about hidden qualities and similar childish inventions.”
Galileo himself developed a different, “purely mechanical” theory of tides, based on the addition of the daily and annual movements of the Earth, allegedly causing periodic acceleration and deceleration of water on its surface. According to Galileo, they are the cause of the main, semi-diurnal tide, the maximums of which occur every 12 hours. “To admit that the Moon and the Sun are at work here and that they cause such phenomena, all this is completely disgusting to my reason,” - with such indignation he rejected any possibility of cosmic influence on the Earth (“throwing out” the baby with the bathwater).
In one letter dated May 21, 1611, Galileo subtly sneers at astrologers, discussing, for example, whether or not those satellites of Jupiter “influenced” the lives of earthlings, the very existence of which no one knew until Galileo discovered them. In general, as we see, although Galileo’s remarks about celestial “influences” do not always honor his scientific insight (as in the case of the tides), they absolutely clearly indicate his complete rejection of astrology. Galileo declared war on medieval doctrines; he could not admit anything mysterious into the basis of his knowledge. This is how modern science was born.
But astrology still retained its popularity among intellectuals and the common public until the end of the 17th century, that is, until the beginning of the Enlightenment. There are statistics on this subject - the number of astrological works published in different centuries: XV century - 51 works, XVI century - 306, XVII century - 399, XVIII century - 108 and XIX century (before 1880) - 47 works. As we see, the rapid development of science in the 17th-18th centuries displaced astrology from the area of interest of the enlightened public. But in the 20th century, in the era of universal literacy, when everyone can read, but only a few can think critically, astrological literature has again become in demand. I wonder if anyone can count the number of astrological works published in the twentieth century?
In the 20th century, astrology became popular again. It regained its position in Europe, especially in Nazi Germany. Now in Western society and here, astrology is experiencing maximum popularity for the first time since the 17th century. Unlike previous eras, modern astrology has nothing to do with astronomical research.
What is astrology today
As a social phenomenon, modern astrology is no less complex than, say, sports. Having heard from a stranger that his interests lie in the field of sports, you will not be able to immediately understand what exactly he does: runs and jumps, trains athletes, leads a team, organizes competitions or writes about sports.
The concept of “astrology” has now become as multifaceted and non-specific as “sport”. There are practicing astrologers with purely commercial interests, mostly busy with a very strict division between the media and book publishers. Their knowledge of astrology is limited to a routine set of vague phrases and the ability to handle simple (and not created by them) computer programs for calculating a horoscope.
There are academic astrologers who are more concerned with self-affirmation than making money. Their commercial activities are limited to training students in astrology courses and academies, as well as consulting to small firms. Their main interest is related to self-education, gaining prestige among colleagues, preparing textbooks and speaking at conferences. This is the touch - in 1996, the United Russian Astrological Congress was held under the motto “Professionalism in Astrology.” Almost without exception, these are people with university degrees; Among them you can often find candidates and even doctors of science. But they are unconditionally devoted to the astrological idea and have finally broken with their natural-scientific past.
Finally, the word “astrology” is also pronounced with some embarrassment by “ordinary” scientists - astronomers, physicists, biologists. There are few of them, but they exist. These natural scientists admit that they are interested in astrology as a starting point and a possible “database” for the study of cosmic influences on the Earth and its biosphere. Of course, we leave aside historians of science, sociologists and psychologists: for them astrology is a subject of study.
Which astrology do we mean when we talk about the need to fight it? Yes, very simply - the one that, without being science, dresses up in its clothes. Modern science is based on firmly established facts; This is its strength, this is also its limitation. As long as there are no reliable experimental or observational facts, the scientist cannot indulge in fantasies; for this purpose, there are other specialists (in our time, for some reason, they are united by the concept of “creative intelligentsia,” as if a scientist or engineer were not worthy of it).
By the way, “relying on firmly established facts” does not at all mean blindly believing in truths that were once found by someone. Quite the contrary: engineering developments based on the laws of physics test these laws daily and hourly, testing them in a variety of combinations, in new unexpected conditions. As soon as there is even a hint of discrepancy with the existing scientific theory in the operation of our machines or in observed natural phenomena, it is immediately modernized, generalized, or even rejected altogether. Experimenters are constantly competing to see who will be the first to notice this “hint,” and theorists are constantly competing to see who, based on the discovered “hint,” will offer a more accurate model of the phenomenon. Therefore, the limitations of modern science are not at all in its lack of creative potential, but in the requirement of a solid factual foundation under all constructions. Let's see what is known today about the influence of space on Earth.
How do stars and planets influence us?
In recent years, the cosmic influence on the Earth and its biosphere has become a “common place”: they write about it, make films, they are afraid of it. Nowadays, many people are exploiting human fear, including those involved in space exploration. Some scientific teams, having lost funding from the military, are trying in various ways to attract attention and ensure their work. We are not talking about selling stars to the public - this is what outright crooks do. I mean real scientists who sincerely care about their work and sometimes go too far in communicating with the public solely out of a desire to attract their attention to their absolutely important research.
But the result is an asteroid danger blown up to indecent proportions (who hasn’t seen on television how a poor dinosaur runs away from a meteor shower!), the faces of Australian children shielded from the sun for fear of the ozone hole, daily forecasts of geomagnetic storms (which are conveniently blamed on communication disruptions) ), long-term forecasts of solar activity (certainly with dramatic notes in the voice). All this makes our life look like a journey in a fragile boat through a stormy ocean: every minute the “earthly echo of solar storms” will smash it to pieces.
Of course, the Earth does not live in a vacuum; Meteorites and cosmic particles fall on it, it is illuminated by the Sun, planets and stars. Their influence on the biosphere is being studied. If we leave aside the obvious connection of life processes with sunlight, then all other “influences” are weakly expressed, unpredictable or even unproven.
The most competent of astrologers have already realized that it is better not to talk about the direct influence of stars and planets on the Earth - it is so insignificant. Now they prefer spells like “cosmic rhythms”, “star clocks” and other indications of indirect and non-physical connections between the biosphere and the starry sky. However, I want to return to the topic of the physical influence of planets and stars on Earth, so that the reader is left in no doubt about this.
Of all the types of physical interactions, only gravity can be talked about with any seriousness; the remaining fields, particle flows and radiation from stars and planets in the vicinity of the Earth are so weak that their registration even with sensitive modern instruments requires considerable effort.
To feel the gravitational influence of the Moon on the Earth, you need to measure the difference in lunar gravity at different points on the Earth. It is small: the point of the globe closest to the Moon is attracted to it 6% stronger than the most distant one. This difference in forces stretches our planet along the Earth-Moon direction. And since the Earth rotates relative to this direction with a period of about 25 hours, a double tidal wave runs across our planet with the same period - two “humps” in the direction of stretching and two “valleys” between them. In the solid body of the planet and in the open ocean, the height of these “humps” is small, only about half a meter. That's why we don't notice tides either in the ocean or on land. And only on a narrow coastal strip can you notice the ebb and flow of the tides due to the mobility of ocean water, which, running like a tidal wave onto the shore (the speed is considerable, hundreds of meters per second!), can, by inertia, rise to a height of up to 16 meters.
The Sun, which is more massive but also more distant than the Moon, acts in a similar way on the Earth. The height of solar tides is half that of lunar tides. During the new moon and full moon, when the Earth, Moon and Sun lie on the same line, the lunar and solar tides add up. And in the first and last quarters of the Moon, these tides weaken each other, since the “hump” of one falls on the “trough” of the other. Lunar-solar tides are a very noticeable and important phenomenon in the life of the Earth. For example, under their influence the Earth gradually slows down its rotation; the length of the day increases. The earth's tidal force has an even stronger effect on the Moon: it has long slowed down its daily rotation so much that it is constantly facing us with one side.
The gigantic tidal effects that influence the movement of the planets give rise to the illusion that small living bodies must be controlled by them. As a result, we hear naive statements from the creators of “scientific astrology”: “The Moon causes tidal phenomena in all liquid systems of the Earth - in the ocean, in the semi-liquid core of the Earth, in every cell of the body, in all intercellular fluids.” Based on such statements, they are trying to explain the phenomenon of sleepwalking, which is very popular in astrology; propose a “biological theory of tides.” At the same time, the level of argumentation is as follows: “The moon causes tides in the sea, and man also consists almost entirely of water, which means that he must experience a related influence.” Of course, water has nothing to do with it: the earth’s surface, as we already know, is deformed by the tide in the same way as the sea, the only difference is that the land cannot flow, so the tidal wave runs onto the shore. Well, in general, from the point of view of physics, the “biological theory of tides” looks simply ridiculous: after all, any person next to you, for example, a neighbor at your desk, has a gravitational tidal influence on you approximately a million times stronger than the Moon.
Claims about the direct tidal influence of planets on the Earth look even less serious; To do this, just look at the one below. The total action of all the planets cannot cause a tide on Earth above 0.045 millimeters. And their influence on a specific living creature will distort its shape by no more than the size of one atom!
Now we will touch upon a somewhat more complex issue - the indirect influence of planets on the Earth’s biosphere, where the Sun is used as an “amplifier”. In the 1920s, the pioneer of heliobiological research in our country A.L. Chizhevsky wrote: “We know that the periodic activity of the Sun is not a completely independent process. There are good reasons to think that it is in a certain dependence on the location of the planets of the solar system in space, on their constellation in relation to each other and to the Sun... Thus, terrestrial phenomena that depend on the periodic activity of the Sun are, so to speak, under control of the planets... Research carried out to clarify the influence of the planets on the activity of the Sun gave quite positive results: during periods of solar activity, periods of planetary movements are detected.” After many years, we understand that Chizhevsky showed unfounded optimism: repeated attempts to connect solar activity with the location of the planets did not lead to the expected result.
What is the real influence of the planets on the Sun? From the table above it is clear that even if all the planets line up in a chain and their tidal influence adds up, the height of the tidal “hump” on the surface of the Sun will still be no more than 3 millimeters. Despite the insignificance of this value, journalists regularly scare the gullible public with “parades of planets.”
In 1974, a book by J.R. Gribbin and S.H. was published in the United States. Plageman "The Jupiter Effect". It said that in 1982 all the planets would be on the same side of the Sun, and this “parade of planets” would cause disturbances on it that would be fatal for the Earth. March 10, 1982 passed - the moment of the closest approach of all the planets. And, of course, nothing terrible happened - neither on Earth, where natural disasters occurred as usual, nor on the Sun: its activity did not change under the influence of the planets. A new apocalypse was promised on August 11, 1999, when the “parade” coincided with a solar eclipse. Then the “end of the world” was scheduled for May 2000: “When Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun and the Moon line up, the Earth will shake,” reported the Izvestia newspaper on May 29, 1998 (No. 97 ) with reference to The Sunday Times. We will hear such forecasts more than once, exploiting the basic instincts of man, one of which is fear.
Victory of Christianity over pagan heavenly powers. Engraving from 1513.
Throughout its two-thousand-year history, Christianity has treated astrology in different ways - from complete rejection to unconditional acceptance. Astrologers were popes, cardinals and bishops. The famous religious philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) recognized the benefits of natural astrology (weather signs associated with the visibility of luminaries) and considered predictive astrology unacceptable. Modern theology views astrology as a self-serving use of superstition and ignorance, and predicting the future as a direct threat to faith.For physics lovers who tend to catch journalists being illiterate, we note the naivety of the very concept of a “parade of planets.” Tidal deformation stretches the body along one axis and compresses it along directions perpendicular to it. Therefore, the alignment of planets on the same line on opposite sides of the Sun also leads to the same effect (remember - lunar and solar tides add up to the new moon and full moon). But modern astrologers do not notice this. About 70% of the tidal influence on the Sun is exerted by Jupiter and Venus. The maximum height of the tide is reached when they lie in line with the Sun. This repeats approximately every four Earth months, but no changes in solar activity have been observed with this period.
And it would be difficult to expect a noticeable effect from the tidal influence on the Sun: after all, the energy of deformations that is dissipated every second in its depths is a thousand times less than its thermonuclear power. But even this does not mean that each “parade of planets” increases the luminosity of the Sun by 0.1%, since the thermal inertia of the solar body lasts millions of years and smoothes out all such fluctuations in luminosity.
Finally, drawing attention to cosmic bodies located outside the solar system, we will not bother the reader with physics exercises, but will simply say that the influence of stars on our biosphere is so insignificant that no usual scales are comparable to it at all.
How to expose astrology?
For a person who perceives rational arguments, exposing astrology is not difficult: it is enough to get acquainted with the statistics of the accuracy of its predictions. Here are the results of some work.
Psychologist from the University of Michigan B. Silverman studied the influence of the zodiac sign corresponding to the birth of each spouse on the likelihood of their marriage or divorce. Data from 2,978 weddings and 478 divorces recorded in Michigan in 1967–1968 were used. The scientist compared real data with the predictions of two independent astrologers regarding favorable and unfavorable combinations of zodiac signs for married couples. It turned out that there was no coincidence between predictions and reality, so B. Silverman concluded: “The position of the Sun on the zodiac at the time of birth does not affect the formation of personality.”
Astrologers claim that with the help of a horoscope it is possible to determine a person’s predisposition to a particular profession. If so, this promises significant economic benefits. This is probably why J. Bennett and J. Barth, economists from George Washington University, tried to find out whether the position of the planets relative to the zodiac signs affects the professional inclinations of people, in particular the frequency of young men entering military service. The signs “ruled” by Mars were studied especially carefully. This study did not confirm astrological predictions. American physicist J. McJervey studied the distribution of birth dates of 17 thousand scientists and 6 thousand politicians relative to zodiac signs. It also turned out to be completely random.
The quality of complex predictions of people's character by astrologers was also checked. For this purpose, Chicago psychologist J. McGrew turned to the Indiana Federation of Astrologers. Six experienced star reading specialists volunteered to participate in his experiments. At McGrew's request, 23 volunteers responded in writing to a questionnaire containing both astrological and traditional questions about their character traits, jobs, etc. The volunteers' time and place of birth were then reported to the astrologers and six members of a control group unfamiliar with astrology. After this, the characteristics of the volunteers indicated in the questionnaire were compared with the predictions of a group of astrologers and a control group. The result was the following: the predictions of the astrologers turned out to be no more accurate than the predictions of members of the control group, and both of them did not correlate at all with the true qualities of the tested volunteers. The most curious thing is that the characteristics of the same volunteers, given by different astrologers, diverge greatly from each other.
It should be noted that it is not astrologers themselves who are testing the predictive power of “star reading,” but “outsiders.” Most scientists believe that astrology, as the prototype of all pseudosciences, is not at all interested in precisely substantiating its foundations. Scientists are not so much angry as they are upset: they simply do not understand how a pseudoscience like astrology can flourish in the most technologically advanced society in the entire history of mankind?
Professional scientists trying to find a rational grain in astrology believe that the most interesting results in this area were obtained by the Parisian statistician M. Gauquelin. Gauquelin studied archival data containing the date, time and place of birth of 41 thousand European inhabitants; among them are 16 thousand famous scientists, artists, writers, athletes, etc., as well as 25 thousand “ordinary” people. He compared the position of the planets and constellations at the time of a person’s birth with his personality type and occupation. It turned out that horoscopes are completely false: there is no connection between the character and activities of a person and his zodiac sign and the location of the planets at the time of birth. Therefore, Gauquelin classified astrology as a chimera. However, he managed to notice some interesting patterns that, as he believes, give him the right to consider his work the cornerstone of a new science - cosmobiology.
It turned out that for “ordinary” people the moments of birth do not depend on the configuration of the planets, but for famous people they do. Taking into account the patterns known to demographers in the frequency of births of people on different days of the year and at different times of day, Gauquelin established that outstanding representatives of their profession are born predominantly at a certain position of certain planets relative to the horizon. He showed that the position of the Sun, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto does not affect the profession, but the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn do. Thus, in a group of 2088 famous athletes, many were born when Mars was rising or was near the upper culmination. For famous military men the same is true, but only in relation to Saturn.
Gauquelin's conclusions were repeatedly rechecked: some researchers partially confirmed them, others refuted them. Gauquelin himself is looking for the possibility of explaining the patterns he found at the level of genetic information, which, in his opinion, can be controlled by rhythms that are common both for biological objects and for the Universe. Well, searching is a noble cause; however, there are no serious results on this path yet.
Is it necessary to “fight” with astrology?
So, from the point of view of natural science, astrology is an empty flower, a soap bubble devoid of rational content. Where possible, science creates forecasting methods and does not shroud them in mysticism. And where it is impossible, he directly states this, without promising empty hopes, like astrologers. Science and astrology are not on the same path. And if astrologers had not shamelessly arrogated to themselves the high reputation earned by science, in particular astronomy, then there would not have been articles like this, and we would not have paid special attention to them, we would not have distinguished them from a number of other manifestations of mass culture. But when a television announcer declares that “today, according to the astrological calendar, will be the shortest day and the longest night,” and a bearded astrologer “prescribes” a solar eclipse for tomorrow, you want to shout: “People, what does astrology have to do with it?” These are the results of normal scientific calculations made by astronomers (show me an astrologer who can independently calculate at least the length of the day, not to mention the circumstances of a solar eclipse!). People, do you really think that if an astrologer was able to read about tomorrow’s eclipse in the Astronomical Calendar, then he can just as easily read the book of your destiny? After all, this book, unlike the Astronomical Calendar, cannot be bought in a store.”
It happens that its adherents call opponents of astrology “dogmatists and scholastics, unable to sense the emergence of a new science.” I leave it to the reader to judge for himself the justice of these accusations.
What we habitually call “the fight against astrology” is not at all tantamount to the desire to eradicate it. In this case, the position of the scientist is the desire to protect science, its “copyright”, its honestly earned authority from the encroachment of “uninvited guests” who are eager to exploit this authority for their own gain.
As you know, scientists are skeptics, and believers are dogmatists. This is why science and faith are incompatible. They can complement each other, but do not have the right to dictate their principles to each other. This idea, now obvious to us Russians, would seem to separate science and faith (in the broad sense, not just religious) in different directions, leaving them no points of contact. But that's not true.
The fact is that the position of science and faith differs significantly. Science has virtually no competitors in its field: it has clearly proven its ability to solve assigned problems. Attempts to proclaim “alternative”, “unofficial” sciences - ufology, parapsychology and others like them - practically do not affect Big Science.
In the area of faith, the situation is completely different: there is fierce competition in this field. And the fact that astrology existing in society relates specifically to this area is recognized even by scientists who are very favorable towards it: “Not all people need the truth, as it is understood in science. In astrology, since ancient times, there have been currents of an occult-mystical nature. If a person feels comfortable within the confines of such an ideology and it helps him to bear the burdens of life with dignity, then such an ideology has the right to exist (as long as it does not contain obvious antisocial elements).”
Not being a science, astrology is looking for its niche, its original image and finds it on the path of mimicry, dressing up in scientific clothes, surrounding itself with computers and scientific terminology, but at the same time completely not recognizing the scientific method.
It is difficult to agree with the statement of A.L. Chizhevsky that “astrology, if we discard all its mystical delusions, teaches about the connection of all things and phenomena.” Astrology without mysticism is no longer astrology, but something else - cosmobiology, heliobiology, rhythmology, and finally, philosophy. If you constantly change the content of a concept, then in the end it becomes completely meaningless. Today, as always, astrology is understood as a technique for predicting the fate of an object based on the relative positions of stars and planets at the moment of its birth. Different content requires different terms.
Western astrology originated in ancient Sumer, when people who did not understand the causes of the phenomena occurring around them began for the first time to grope for connections between seemingly random events. This motivation, generally speaking, even in our time stimulates the pursuit of both science and its surrogates (if a person does not want or cannot “play by the rules” of science).
Educators are faced with this problem: scientific knowledge does not create reliable immunity to pseudoscience. Obviously, part of class time should be devoted to critical analysis of pseudoscience. Through simple experiments, anyone can easily see for themselves that horoscopes are not capable of predicting events at a level above random coincidences. Teachers must try to understand the reasons for the fascination with astrology if they want to effectively combat this pseudoscience, which claims to be a science, but is not one.
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6. Meyer M.V. Universe. - St. Petersburg, 1902. - P. 9.
7. Idelson N.I. Galileo in the history of astronomy // In collection. Galileo Galilei. Ed. acad. A. M. Deborina. - M.-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1943.
8. Astrology // Encyclopedic Dictionary. Ed. Brockhaus F.A. and Efron I.A. - St. Petersburg, 1890.
9. Vladimirsky B.M., Temuryants N.A. The influence of solar activity on the biosphere-noosphere. - M.: Publishing house MNEPU, 2000.
10. Surdin V.G. Tidal phenomena in the Universe. - M.: Knowledge, 1986.
11. Velichko F.K. Astrology of the late twentieth century // Astrology: pros and cons. - M.: Knowledge, 1990.
12. Lieber A. The lunar effect: biological tides and human emotions. - Anchor Press, 1978.
13. Antonov V., Akhmedov A. Fortune telling or foresight // Science and religion, 1981, No. 7.
14. Chizhevsky A.L. Earthly echo of solar storms. - M.: Nauka, 1973.
15. Surdin V.G. Stupid daughter of wise astronomy // Bulletin of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1990, No. 11.
16. Vladimirsky B.M. Thoughts about the irrational and rational in modern culture, or What astrophysicists should do with astrology // The Universe and We, No. 4, in print.
17. Gauquelin M. Dreams and illusions of astrology. - Prometheus Books, 1979.Many great thinkers of the past were seriously involved in astrology. Among them Ptolemy, Al-Biruni, Paracelsus, Tycho Brahe, Johann Kepler, William Lilly, Carl Gustav Jung.
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY
(2nd century AD) lived in Alexandria in 150 AD. There is no mention of his life and work by historians of his era. But he was lucky in his posthumous fame: almost all of his main astrological works were preserved and were highly appreciated by his descendants, including modern astrologers. This great scientist of antiquity was versatile and had a great influence on the development of many sciences. His most famous works that have survived to this day:
Astronomy
Ptolemy's Almagest is one of the most important works in ancient astronomy. He described the geocentric model of the Universe, as well as the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets around the Earth. It also contains a catalog of stars with their brightness on a logarithmic scale. The work was published in 13 volumes.
Geography
Ptolemy described the world geography of those times in an extensive work called Geography. This book gives the longitudes and latitudes of approximately 8,000 settlements. The book is illustrated with 27 maps: one general and 26 by region.
Optics
In his treatise “Optics,” Ptolemy experimentally studied the refraction of light at the air-water and air-glass interfaces and proposed his own law of refraction (approximately true only for small angles). Pointed out the influence of refraction on astronomical observations. For the first time he correctly explained the apparent increase in the Sun and Moon on the horizon as a psychological effect.
Astrology
Tetrabiblos" is a systematic presentation of astrological teachings:
Two things are especially necessary to enter the realm of astrological predictions. First, you need to know the position of the Sun, Moon and moving stars relative to each other and relative to the Earth, as well as the meaning and strength of these positions. Secondly, you need to know what changes occur in things subject to the influence of stars, depending on the natural properties of these positions.
The first two books of Tetrabiblos examine the nature of the influence of the heavenly bodies on humanity, states and nature as a whole. The third and fourth books examine the dependence of the fate of an individual, specific person on the relative position of the heavenly bodies at the moment of his birth and after it.
Ptolemy notes, in particular, that for drawing up a horoscope it is extremely important to know the exact time of a person’s birth, down to the minute. However, in practice, he complains, we are forced to resort to readings from sundials or water dials, which, unfortunately, do not have sufficient accuracy.
When creating this book, Ptolemy used many sources that have not reached us, since he had the richest library of Alexandria at his fingertips. Ptolemy is not only a talented compiler, but also a thoughtful scientist who critically examined ancient experience, cleared it of legendary layers and essentially re-developed a number of basic directions in astrology, such as the theory of astrological compatibility (synastry) and multifactorial calculation of ephemeris. Ptolemaic tables for calculating ephemeris can still be used today: the error even in calculating the movement of the Moon does not exceed 7-8 degrees!
Ptolemy laid the foundations of scientific astrology in all its breadth - from natural, which studies the rhythm of natural phenomena, to mundane (now political), which studies the development of states and peoples.
AL-BIRUNI
(X - XI centuries) - author of numerous major works on history, geography, philology, astronomy, mathematics, geodesy, mineralogy, pharmacology, geology, etc. Biruni mastered almost all the sciences of his time. According to information, the posthumous list of his works, compiled by his students, took up 60 finely written pages.
The main works (over 40) are devoted to mathematics and astronomy, which were of great practical importance for the economic life of Khorezm - for irrigated agriculture and trade travel. The most important tasks of astronomy were the improvement of the calendar and methods of orientation on Earth by celestial bodies. It was necessary to be able to determine as accurately as possible the positions of the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky, and also to measure with the greatest possible accuracy the so-called basic astronomical constants - the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, the length of the solar and sidereal year, etc.
Biruni adopted and developed the progressive ideas of ancient Greek and ancient Indian philosophers on some general problems of astronomy: he asserted the same fiery nature of the Sun and stars, in contrast to dark bodies - planets; the mobility of stars and their enormous size compared to the Earth; the idea of gravity. Biruni almost accurately determined the radius of the Earth (more than 6000 km), based on the idea of its spherical shape. Biruni expressed reasonable doubts about the validity of Ptolemy’s geocentric system of the world.
His treatise “The Book of Instruction on the Rudiments of the Science of the Stars” is essentially a textbook of astrology for beginners.
During his lifetime, legends circulated about Biruni’s astrological art.
According to one of them, Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi, in order to test the art of Biruni, ordered him to determine through which of the four doors he would now exit. Biruni asked for an astrolabe, calculated the height of the Sun, drew a horoscope and, in front of the Sultan’s eyes, put it under the carpet. The Sultan immediately ordered a fifth door to be cut in the eastern wall and left. Returning and taking out a piece of paper from under the carpet, the Sultan read: “It will not go out of any of these doors. They will break another door in the eastern wall, and he will come out through it.”
Caught in a trap, the Sultan ordered Biruni to be thrown out the window (the room was on the top floor). They did so, but at the level of the middle roof an awning was stretched, which dampened the speed of the fall.
When Biruni was again brought to the Sultan, he exclaimed: “But you didn’t foresee this journey!” “I foresaw,” Biruni answered and asked to bring his horoscope. The prediction for that day was: “I will be thrown from a high place, but I will reach the ground unharmed and rise healthy.” Sultan Mahmud became even more angry and ordered Biruni to be imprisoned in a fortress, where he served six months.
PARACELSUS
(XV - XVI centuries), famous physician, natural philosopher and alchemist of the Renaissance, legendary healer who considered astrology an integral part of his art. At baptism he received the name Philip Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim. It is difficult to say when he began to use the nickname Paracelsus. Perhaps he chose this name for himself or it was given to him by his colleagues in the medical art, comparing Hohenheim with one of the founders of medicine - the ancient Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Officially, this pseudonym was first made public in 1529, when Theophrastus began signing the astrological calendars he produced in this way. Subsequently, he used this name constantly, signing his works this way.
Paracelsus contrasted medieval medicine, which was based on the theories of Aristotle, Galen and Avicenna, with “spagyric” medicine, created on the basis of the teachings of Hippocrates. He taught that living organisms consist of the same mercury, sulfur, salts and a number of other substances that form all other bodies of nature; when a person is healthy, these substances are in balance with each other; disease means the predominance or, conversely, deficiency of one of them. He was one of the first to use chemicals in treatment.
Paracelsus is considered the forerunner of modern pharmacology, he owns the phrase:
Everything is poison, and nothing is without poison; The dose alone makes the poison invisible (in the popular version: “Everything is poison, everything is medicine; both are determined by the dose”).
Along with Henry of Nettesheim, Paracelsus tried to connect purely Kabbalistic ideas with alchemy and magical practices. This marked the beginning of a whole series of occult-kabbalistic movements.
According to Paracelsus, man is a microcosm in which all the elements of the macrocosm are reflected; the connecting link between the two worlds is the force “M” (the name of Mercury, as well as Mema (secret) begins with this letter). According to Paracelsus, man (who is also the quintessence, or fifth, true essence of the world) is produced by God from the “extract” of the whole world and carries within himself the image of the Creator. There is no knowledge forbidden for a person; he is capable and, according to Paracelsus, even obliged to explore all the entities that exist not only in nature, but also beyond its borders. Paracelsus left a number of alchemical works, including: “The Alchemical Psalter”, “Nitrogen, or On Wood and the Thread of Life”, etc.
He is believed to have been the first to discover the principle of similarity that underlies modern homeopathy.
Paracelsus wrote that a doctor without the art of interpreting astrological constellations is a “pseudo-medic,” and that the cure is in heaven.
TYCHO BRAHE
(XVI century). He was called the “King of Astronomers,” and at the same time he was an astrologer and alchemist. He achieved the highest accuracy in astronomical measurements, and also wrote astrological almanacs for the King of Denmark and interpreted the horoscopes of his children. Some of Tycho Brahe's predictions became widely known.
There is a known case when, back in 1566, he predicted the death of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman I during a military campaign against Hungary. Tycho made this assumption based on the upcoming lunar eclipse. And so it happened, but for the time being no one knew about it. The courtiers and military leaders hid the death of the Sultan in order to avoid unrest and demoralization in the troops.
Brahe's fame as an astrologer attracted many nobles from all over the world to his house. They all needed one thing: for a scientist-astrologer to draw up a horoscope for them. The most famous prediction made by Tycho in 1577 was that in about 15-20 years a prince would be born in Finland who would be destined to ruin Germany before his death. Indeed, the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf, born in Finland in 1594, completely fulfilled what was predicted. In 1631, he entered the Thirteen Years' War, after which he launched a campaign against Germany. Having passed through the territory of Bavaria and Prussia, Gustav twice defeated the united German troops, then conquered the cities of Munich and Augsburg, and on November 16, 1632 he died in the battle of Lützen.
JOHANN KEPLER
(XVI - XVII centuries) - a great astronomer, whose laws underlie the calculation of the orbits of spacecraft. In his first astrological almanac, he predicted an exceptionally cold winter and a Turkish invasion of Austria. When both predictions came true, Kepler's reputation as a prophet was established. Rejecting vulgar astrology, similar to today’s newspaper “horoscopes,” he introduced new elements into the theory of astrology.
The gist of my point about astrology is this. The sky constitutes something in people, and a person can clearly see it, but what it exactly constitutes remains a mystery. I believe that these aspects, that is, the configurations that the planets form among themselves, are very significant in people's lives.
(From the book “Kepler”, from Džona Banvila)Meanwhile, Kepler believed that there are no good and bad aspects, and the planets do not determine the individual person as a whole. The planets do not act of their own free will, they do not prescribe the fate of an individual, but they give the soul a certain character. Every man at the beginning of his life assumes the character and pattern of all the constellations in the sky and the form of the rays that go to the earth and which remain in him until death.
WILLIAM LILLY
(1602 - 1681) - famous English astrologer and occultist of the 17th century. Alexander Kolesnikov wrote well about this astrologer in the preface to his translation of “Christian Astrology”:
“In the astrological tradition, he occupies a place, in my opinion, no less important than Ptolemy, since he generalized and creatively reworked the astrological experience accumulated before him, and thereby gave another significant impetus to the development of this Art. At the same time, unlike Ptolemy, Lilly was a practitioner, and all his advice, recommendations, all his works were devoted specifically to the practical use of astrology to solve problems that arise in people's everyday lives. All of them are accompanied by specific examples from the author’s own rich practice.
“Christian Astrology” is the main, fundamental work of William Lilly. This is a practical guide for experienced astrologers, a textbook for beginners and at the same time an encyclopedia covering the astrological tradition in all its diversity. Suffice it to say that the volume of the book is 871 pages. This work was first published in 1647, the second edition was published in 1659, and the third, reprint, was published in 1985. Are there many books in the world that have such a long life?
Modern astrologers view “Christian Astrology” differently. Some perceive it as a source of absolute and final truth in the last instance, others - as something archaic, having very little to do with our lives. One thing is indisputable: it is impossible not to know this work for those who perceive astrology as a centuries-old tradition, uniting with its inspiration entire generations of researchers and practitioners, and not as momentary entertainment for the needs of the masses.”
In his essay “Monarchy or Not Monarchy,” published in 1651, Lilly accurately named the years 1665-66, which threatened Londoners with a great fire and an invasion of plague. They didn’t pay attention to his forecast, but when trouble really struck, he was summoned to trial in parliament and accused of collaborating with the devil and setting the city on fire. With great difficulty, Lilly convinced the House of Commons committee specially created on this occasion that he was not involved in the fire and the plague that preceded it.
There is a widely known case when Lilly was stolen from a large fish, which he bought and ordered delivered to his home. However, the fish was not brought. Then Lilly drew up a horary horoscope, using which he determined who had his fish and in what condition. Having called a representative of the official government and a priest as witnesses, Lilly found his stolen fish in the thief’s house. This case and the astrologer’s reasoning can be read on the website Galaxy .
CARL GUSTAV JUNG
(1875 - 1961), famous psychologist and psychiatrist.
The following passage from The Psychological Theory of Types makes it clear that C. G. Jung seriously studied astrology and used it in his work:
“The attempts of the human spirit to create a typology and thereby bring order into the chaos of the individual - it can be said with confidence - are rooted in antiquity.
It is indisputable that the very first attempt of this kind was made by astrology that arose in the Ancient East in the so-called trigons of the four elements - Air, Water, Earth and Fire. The Air trine in the horoscope consists of the three castles in the air of the zodiac - Aquarius, Gemini and Libra; Fire trine - from Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, etc.
According to ancient ideas, one who was born in these trigons partly possesses their airy or fiery nature, and this, in turn, determines the corresponding temperament and destiny. Therefore, the physiological typology of antiquity, that is, the division into four humoral temperaments, is in close connection with ancient cosmological views.
What was previously explained by the zodiacal constellations now began to be expressed in the physiological language of ancient doctors specifically in the words “phlegmatic”, “sanguine”, “choleric” and “melancholic”, which are nothing more than the name of bodily juices. As is known, this latter typology persisted at least until 1800. As for astrological typology, to everyone’s surprise, it still holds up and is even experiencing a new flourishing today.”
The scientist used astrology in psychotherapeutic work to better understand the internal dynamics of clients. He admitted that he used astrology in many cases, especially when working with people who were difficult to understand:
As a psychologist, the horoscope interests me primarily as a means of shedding light on certain character complications. When I have difficulty making a diagnosis, I usually use a horoscope, which allows me to look at the situation from a completely different angle. I must say that astrological information very often allows us to understand such facets of a person’s character that would be very difficult to find out otherwise. (From a letter from Jung to Professor Raman dated September 6, 1947.)
In an interview with a French astrological magazine in 1954, Jung stated:
When you can confirm your understanding of a psychological situation with the corresponding astrological configuration, it always gives additional confidence. Astrology consists of various configurations symbolizing the collective unconscious, which is the subject of study of psychology: the “planets” are gods, symbols of the forces of the unconscious.
In many of his works, he emphasized that astrology constitutes the final sum of all ancient knowledge related to psychology, and allows not only to determine the innate inclinations of an individual, but also to accurately predict crises.
One of Carl Jung’s astrological experiments is described in the book “Synchronicity” and became widely known.
