Psychological astrology

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The graphic shows as a model the concept of the shadow according to CG Jung in its relationship to self-awareness and persona

The Psychological Astrology is a branch of modern Western astrology . It is shaped by some representatives of depth psychology , humanistic psychology , transpersonal psychology and individual astrology to develop new counseling and therapy options. The natal chart is often interpreted as an image of mental disposition, ways of thinking and behavior. It is important to understand this in order, above all , to get to know yourself better and, ideally, to accept all the light and shadow sides.

All methodologically correct empirical studies come to the result that verifiable statements by astrologers are statistically not significantly better than arbitrary statements.

history

Impetus for the development of a psychological astrology

Carl Gustav Jung , portrait

The depth psychological concepts of Sigmund Freud and above all of Carl Gustav Jung enabled the emergence of a psychologically shaped astrology. As a student of Sigmund Freud, however, CG Jung soon turned himself against his doctrine of the dominance of the libido as a driver of human action. In 1912 they parted ways, and from then on Jung called his direction Analytical Psychology . He attached great importance to the collective unconscious (as opposed to the personal unconscious) as the basis of development of the human soul. This led him to mythology as well as to the concepts of symbols and archetypes that control human behavior. He had a thorough knowledge of astrology from an early age . Astrology represents the sum of all psychological knowledge in antiquity, it is based on the qualities of time. That would mean what is born or created in this moment of time would have the quality of this moment of time. "Jung's models such as« Animus and Anima »and the« Shadow », the« Persona »as well as« Individuation », the« Archetypes »and the« Synchronicity "are basic elements in psychological astrology according to CG Jung." The importance of Jungian psychology for astrology of the 20th century can hardly be overestimated. "

During the 1920s, psychologists and astrologers followed Jung's theories in works and interpretations. The writer and cultural psychologist Oscar AH Schmitz gave with his book Geist der Astrologie (1922), especially in the second part entitled Astro-Psychology , a decisive impulse for a psychologically shaped astrology. In 1926 Schmitz became a student of CG Jung and in 1928 worked under his guidance as a psychoanalyst . Other representatives of this direction were Herbert Freiherr von Kloeckler and the doctor Olga von Ungern-Sternberg .

The painter and later astrologist Thomas Ring also came into contact with CG Jung's psychologist during the 1920s, but initially rejected astrology. Ring denied the influence of the celestial bodies in the mechanical sense, turned against rigid rules of interpretation and any form of determinism as well as concrete event prognoses . Rings four-volume Astrological Human Studies can be viewed as a precursor or a special form of Psychological Astrology.

The German doctor and astrologer Herbert Freiherr von Klöckler summarized the hypothesis and scope of astrology in 1929 as follows: “Astrology is the experience-based teaching of the relationships between the functions of the heavenly bodies and certain aspects and parts of the physical , chemical , biological and psychological processes the surface of the earth. " Astrology therefore does not offer monocausal explanations for any of the relationships it claims, but only teaches "certain aspects and parts" of the various life processes, and is based on experience. This perspective on the possibilities and limits of astrological interpretation has been part of the basic understanding of astrology, which considers itself to be serious, since the 1920s at the latest.

Thomas Ring and Herbert Freiherr von Klöckler, the main creators of the misleadingly "revised classical astrology" direction, often emphasize in their work the limits of astrology that are set in this sense. Until the beginning of the 1990s, they had particularly influenced psychological astrology and the professional political position of astrological institutions (e.g. the German Association of Astrologers).

Foundation of psychological astrology

The French-American composer Dane Rudhyar dealt with astrology since 1920. He was one of the first to start studying astrology with depth psychology , etc. a. also to be systematically combined with Jungian psychology , since both areas would fertilize each other, according to Rudhyar, for example in overcoming the deterministic character of earlier astrology. Rudhyar believed that astrological constellations did not allow for fixed event prognoses, but were images, synchronistically oriented towards humans. They would show the individual, psychological strengths that are at work in the individual, but emphasize human freedom. Rudhyar first described his interpretation of astrology as harmonic astrology , from 1936 he called it psychological astrology and dealt with it in detail in his work The Astrology of Personality . Since then, Dane Rudhyar has been widely regarded as the founder of psychological astrology.

Spread of Psychological Astrology

Psychological astrology began to have a broader impact from the 1960s, and then, with the increased abandonment of schematic, event-oriented and fateful astrological interpretations, it had a broad impact during the 1970s. With the New Age movement, important publishing houses discovered the founder of psychological astrology and published his writings: among the first was The Practice of Astrology (1970). Rudhyar had a decisive influence on psychological astrology and radically focused on people ("humanistic"). For this reason he called his Psychological Astrology - based on Abraham Maslow's Humanistic Psychology - from 1963 as Humanistic Astrology .

The psychologist and astrologer Hermann Meyer is considered by some in German-speaking countries to be the founder of psychological astrology, because he was one of the first in Germany to develop a therapeutic model of psychological astrology during the 1970s that is based on the insights of humanistic psychology ("Astropsychotherapy") ). In 1981 he founded the Institute for Psychological Astrology in Munich . A year later, the German psychologist, therapist and astrologer Peter Orban opened his Symbolon together with Ingrid Zinnel in Frankfurt am Main against the background of CG Jung's archetype and shadow concept . Practice for therapy , which he has been running with Heidemarie Orban, his new wife, since 1995.

However, psychological astrology did not establish itself worldwide until the 1980s with the books and lectures by Liz Greene and Stephen Arroyo , both of whom are practicing psychoanalysts according to CG Jung. Liz Greene and the psychosyntheticist Howard Sasportas founded the Center for Psychological Astrology (CPA) in London in 1983 , which offers training in psychological astrology. The center worked closely with Astrodienst AG from the start, and many of the center's astrological seminars have already taken place in Zurich.

Advice and therapy

Psychological astrology primarily interprets mental structures, attitudes and behaviors in a natal chart. Accordingly, it often claims to be able to indicate ways and solutions where it wants to recognize problematic structures and strivings. Some psychological astrologers even want to see those structures in the natal chart with which the client can work on other, problematic structures.

From the perspective of a life support service, the separation of counseling and therapy is not very helpful, and from the perspective of individual astrology it is ultimately perceived as inadmissible. Therefore, numerous therapeutic models have been developed which combine the genuinely psychological or psychoanalytic models with the conditions and possibilities of individual astrology. The “astrodrama” was derived from the psychodrama , the “color dialogue” shows similarities with parts of art therapy , astrological family constellation is just as common as astro-coaching. In psychotherapy and psychology, however, "sick" people are treated, in astrology "healthy" people are given astro-psychological advice. A psychological astrology does not normally evaluate a horoscope. Rather, the personal responsibility and the free will of the horoscope owner are emphasized, and his talents and opportunities, weaknesses and, if necessary, repressed and projected things are worked out. While psychotherapy can sometimes only get to the core of a problem after various sessions, since it depends on the accessibility and openness to information such as awareness of the client, when interpreting a horoscope, a problem and a background topic is often mentioned very quickly or sometimes too quickly, whether true or not.

In the context of psychological astrology, predictions are often only given to the extent that the question is raised as to how a development of the personality is possible on the basis of current triggers. The topics worked out by the forecasting methods, which should shape the course of life in the near future, are discussed in terms of their opportunities and dangers, and one looks for constructive possibilities (perspectives) to deal with them. A consultation by the Psychological astrologers can not replace psychotherapy.

Directions

Jungian psychology : The Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology , CG Jung , was inspired by esotericism in the 20th century for his hypothesis of archetypes , which is influenced by Plato's theory of ideas . In his investigations into the symbolic meaning of dreams, conversations and drawings by his clients, Jung observed recurring motifs or archetypes from the world of legends. He wanted to show that these universal and timeless archetypes guide people's experiences and feelings, resulting in recognizable and typical behavior patterns with natural and foreseeable consequences.

Jung saw a connection between these archetypal images and astrological motifs or traditional 'gods' associated with the planets and the signs of the zodiac. He concluded that the symbolic celestial figures described by constellations were originally inspired by image projections of the collective unconscious . In collaboration with Wolfgang Pauli , Jung developed the theory of synchronicity . This theory, which Jung with the cause teachings of Aristotle compared, is that "whatever born in a moment of time, the quality of this time has Moments" (time quality). Accordingly, Jung saw in the - astrologically interpreted - positions of the celestial bodies at the time of a person's birth and his personality development no direct effect of the celestial bodies, but only an acausal connection.

Liz Greene, May 2006

The psychological astrologer Liz Greene postulated that a natal chart shows a map of the individual ( individual astrology ), it portrays the inner pattern, the inner nature of a person. Psychology is also concerned with this . Astrology uses ancient symbols, while psychology uses a modern language. So they appear to be different, but in fact they both describe the same thing. With the programmer Alois Treindl, Greene developed the so-called psychological horoscope between 1985 and 1987 , in which Greene's way of interpreting the horoscope was transferred to a computer program. This collaboration later resulted in further, special horoscope interpretations ( children's horoscope , relationship horoscope , profession and calling ).

The term Revised Astrology was coined by Thomas Ring during the 1950s and, in Ring's opinion, represented a further development of what he believed to be classical astrology in the first decades of the twentieth century. It is a forerunner and an expression of psychological astrology. Ring denies a physical influence of the heavenly bodies, he turns against rigid rules of interpretation as well as against any form of determinism and event prognosis. In the second half of the twentieth century, the revised astrology had influenced modern astrological directions such as psychological astrology and the professional policy of astrological institutions in the German-speaking area.

In the well-known Maslowian hierarchy of needs , self-realization is the highest value

The term humanistic astrology was coined by Dane Rudhyar from 1963, a psychologically shaped astrology, which had related to the humanistic psychology of Abraham Maslow , Anthony Sutich and others. She claimed that a healthy and creative personality can only develop with the aim of self-realization. The aim is to create a positive and beneficial future for the individual, e.g. B. through Gestalt and talk therapy according to Carl Rogers , as part of psychotherapy. Humanistic astrology, which Rudhyar replaced in 1975 with a so-called transpersonal astrology based on transpersonal psychology , was therefore a variant of psychological astrology geared less towards pure self-knowledge and more towards personality growth and life perspectives.

education

There is no prescribed, certified and state-recognized training path, the term 'psychological astrology' is in no way protected and can be used by anyone without any prior knowledge. The majority of practicing psychological astrologers have no state-recognized training in the field of psychology and psychotherapy. Various astrologers offer training in psychological astrology. There are a few practicing psychologists who work with astrology.

criticism

Scientific criticism

Statistical reviews : In response to the recent boom in astrology since the late 1960s, statistical tests were carried out in scientific studies in which statements by astrologers who made them based on the interpretation of natal charts were checked. One of the most famous studies is Shawn Carlson's double blind test, published in 1985 in the journal Nature . Here, as with all other known scientific tests, natal chart interpretations do not show any hits that go beyond chance. In addition, a natal chart, for example, is often interpreted quite differently by different astrologers and astrology directions, sometimes even interpreted in opposite ways. Therefore, from a scientific point of view, the creation and interpretation of horoscopes or natal charts does not serve to gain knowledge. Birth horoscope interpretations - and predicted events - are mostly based on so general and imprecise interpretative statements that many people feel that what has come to be known as the Barnum effect is described as being correct .

After studying psychology and statistics, Michel Gauquelin (1928–1991) devoted himself to using statistics to demonstrate the validity of the principles of astrology. Towards the end of his life, he proposed to create a reformed system of astrology based on the foundation of only demonstrably presenting statistically correct and verifiable results. His vision of "neo-astrology" often did not correspond to the traditional content of "conventional" astrology. Due to mostly different results in independent scientific reviews with new dates of birth, especially after Gauquelin's death, his planetary hypothesis, known for example as the 'Mars effect' in top athletes, could not be replicated and confirmed. In the meantime, a sample bias in Gauquelin's data collection can be assumed, as well as some birth time corrections in the case of uncertain birth times in favor of his hypotheses.

Interpretations of psychological astrology are often casuistically oriented, i.e. on the individual case in cooperation with the client. An interpretation under laboratory conditions should therefore not be possible and, in the opinion of a number of psychological astrologers, cannot exist because real life needs and coping with life cannot be standardized in laboratory conditions.

As pseudoscience classified, astrology seems to be non-science is a classic case study for those looking for a distinguishing feature of science and. Karl Popper differentiated between science , pseudoscience and metaphysics . According to Popper, the astrology case calls into question a common distinguishing feature: It is often argued that science is differentiated from pseudoscience or metaphysics by using an empirical method based on observation and experimentation . But this also applies to astrology, which collects a stupendous mass of empirical evidence based on observation and yet does not meet scientific standards. For Popper this was due to the fact that astrology (in his view similar to psychoanalysis ) works more like a " myth " that seeks confirmation of his convictions instead of testing hypotheses against reality with an open-ended result. Astrologers are impressed and misguided by what they consider to be confirmations of their assumptions. Moreover, they formulated their interpretations and prophecies so vaguely that anything that could be considered a refutation could easily be argued away. This destroys the testability of the theory, which is therefore not falsifiable . So the derivation from archaic myths is not the essential problem of astrology - this applies to all scientific theories - but that it has not developed in the direction of a test capability. For Popper, astrology was thus a pseudoscience (pseudo-science), since it proceeds inductively and empirically (and thus gives the appearance of being scientific), but systematically evades verification (and thus does not redeem the scientific appearance).

Thomas S. Kuhn objected to Popper's argument that neither the forecasting methods nor the handling of false prognoses excluded astrology from the scientific canon. Astrologers have always reflected on the epistemological problems of their approach, pointed out the complexity and susceptibility of their methods to error, and discussed unexpected results. For him, astrology is not a science for another reason: astrology is essentially a practical craft , similar to engineering , meteorology or early medicine . There were rules and experience, but no overarching theory. The focus was on application, not research. Without theory-led problem solving, astrology could not have become a science, even if the assumption had been correct that the stars determine human fate. Even if astrologers made testable predictions and found that they did not always apply, they did not develop structures typical of science ( normal science ).

For Paul Feyerabend , neither the inability to test nor the lack of intention to solve problems was the core problem of astrology, but rather its lack of further development. Astrology had very interesting and well-founded ideas, but not consistently continued and transferred them to new areas.

In 1978 the philosopher and scientific theorist Paul R. Thagard tried to synthesize the previous attempts at delimitation. He was looking for a complex criterion which, in addition to Popper's logical considerations, also included the social and historical aspects of Kuhn and Feyerabend. In contrast to Popper and in agreement with Kuhn and Feyerabend, Thagard referred to the “progressiveness” of a theory. By definition, a theory or discipline that claims to be scientific is pseudoscientific if it is less progressive than alternative theories over a longer period of time and at the same time contains numerous unsolved problems. Further characteristics are: The representatives of the theory make few attempts at further development, do not clear up specific contradictions, do not relate the assumptions of their theory to other theories and deal selectively with possible refutations. All of this is the case with astrology, and a general demarcation matrix can thus be developed using its example.

Skeptics also usually criticize psychological astrology for its confirmation errors : that is, for its tendency to have astrological knowledge projected into their clients and then found confirmed. Psychological astrologers reply that psychoanalysis and astrology are also similar in this respect: both could tempt one to project a certain knowledge as an expectation into the client and to interpret it in the sense of this knowledge (e.g. in dream interpretation ).

Philosophical criticism

Astrology is repeatedly accused of favoring fatalism . The widespread notion that astrology defines people in their statements fatalistically and the arrogant claims of some astrologers, together with an overestimation of the possibilities of expressing the horoscope interpretation, prevent some from drawing up a horoscope or receiving astrological advice.

The majority of psychological astrologers will probably reject determinism as it was and is widespread in astrology in earlier times and partly still today. Rather, the personal responsibility and the free will of the horoscope owner are emphasized, and his talents and opportunities, weaknesses and, if necessary, repressed and projected things are worked out. While psychotherapy can sometimes only get to the core of a problem after various sessions, since it depends on the accessibility and openness to information such as awareness of the client, when interpreting a horoscope, a problem and a background topic is often mentioned very quickly or sometimes too quickly, whether true or not. In the context of psychological astrology, predictions are often only given to the extent that the question is raised as to how a development of the personality is possible on the basis of current triggers. The topics worked out by the forecasting methods, which should shape the course of life in the near future, are discussed in terms of their opportunities and dangers, and one looks for constructive possibilities (perspectives) to deal with them. A consultation by the Psychological astrologers can not replace psychotherapy.

Psychological astrologers (selection)

  • Stephen Arroyo (* 1946), American psychologist, state-recognized marriage, family and child counselor
  • Peter Fraiss (* 1943), Austrian software developer and head of an astrology school
  • Liz Greene (* 1946), American-British psychoanalyst based on CG Jung, astrologer and author
  • Erich Carl Kühr (1899–1951), German astrologer, researcher and writer
  • Hermann Meyer (* 1947), German graduate psychologist, naturopath and astrologer
  • Peter Orban (* 1944), German psychologist, therapist and astrologer
  • Dane Rudhyar (1895–1985), French-American composer and astrologer
  • Alexander Ruperti (1913–1998), Swiss osteopath and astrologer
  • Oscar AH Schmitz (1873–1931), German author and cultural psychologist
  • Richard Tarnas (* 1950), Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies , San Francisco, USA

literature

  • Stephen Arroyo: Astrological Psychology. Restoring our lost relationship with the cosmos. here + now Verlag, Basel 1997, ISBN 978-3-926925-00-8
  • André Baurbault: From Psychoanalysis to Astrology. The bridge between soul and cosmos, Hugendubel Munich 1991, ISBN 3-88034-506-6
  • Horst Bredthauer: The cosmically networked personality. A textbook of psychological astrology. Astronova Verlag, Tübingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-937077-68-0 , 157 pp.
  • Liz Greene , H. Sasportas (1987): Development of Personality through Psychological Astrology. 3rd edition, Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 978-3-89997-130-9 , 370 pp.
  • Carl Gustav Jung : Synchronicity, acausality and occultism. In: Lorenz Jung (Ed.): CG Jung-Tschenbuchausgabe in eleven volumes (= Collected Works. Volume 35174). Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv), 6th edition, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-423-35174-8 , 271 pages ( online ).
  • Erich Carl Kühr (1948): Psychological horoscope interpretation. Analysis and synthesis. Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 1998, ISBN 978-3-925100-31-4 , 419 pp.
  • Hermann Meyer: The basic work of psychological astrology. Trigon-Verlag, Nuthetal 2006, ISBN 978-3-00-018901-2 , 605 pp.
  • Fritz Riemann (1976): Lebenshilfe Astrologie. Thoughts and experiences. 22nd edition, Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2012. ISBN 978-3-608-94657-4 , 225 pp.
  • Thomas Ring (1956, 1959, 1969): Astrological human studies. 3 volumes in one, Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 978-3-925100-71-0 , 1230 pp.
  • Thomas Ring (1973): Astrological Human Studies. Vol. 4, 4th edition, Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 978-3-89997-118-7 , 292 pp.
  • Brigitte Romankiewicz: Playing field of the gods. CG Jung's theory of archtypes and astrology. Chiron-Verlag, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 978-3-925100-69-7 , 164 pp.
  • Dane Rudhyar : Astrology of Personality , Verlag Heinrich Hugendubel, Munich 1979, ISBN 978-3-925100-63-5 , 442 pp.
  • Oscar AH Schmitz (1922): The spirit of astrology. ( European classics series ) edition mabila 2013, ISBN 978-1-4818-6848-8 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Hamel : Concepts of Astrology . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2010, p. 151, keyword 'psychological astrology'.
  2. ↑ Ute Reichel, On the change in the relationship between science and astrology from the 16th century to today , in: Ulrike Voltmer & Reinhardt Stiehle (eds.), "Astrology and Science", Chiron Verlag, Tübingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89997- 193-4 , p. 149
  3. ↑ Quoted in Dane Rudhyar, The Astrology of Personality , pp. 84/85
  4. ↑ Kocku von Stuckrad : History of Astrology . CH Beck Verlag, Munich 2003. p. 339.
  5. ↑ Schmitz, Geist der Astrologie, 1922, from p. 185.
  6. ↑ Schmitz, Geist der Astrologie, 1922, p. 218: "This is the first attempt to systematically compile psycho-astrology in all its richness of colors in such a way that its meaning shines through the originality, but only its veracity. It is based on the experience of millennia. The most profound thing that modern astrology has produced so far about astro-psychology can be found in F. Ch. Barlet, Les Génies planétaries. "
  7. ↑ Schmitz, Oscar AH: Through the land of demons. Diaries 1912–1918 . Structure Verlag 2007, p. 198.
  8. ↑ Wolfgang Bock : Astrology and Enlightenment: About modern superstition. Diss. Univ. Bremen 1993, M&P, Stuttgart 1995, p. 311
  9. ↑ Herbert Frhr. von Klöckler, Course of Astrology, Vol. 2: Fundamentals of Astrological Interpretation, 2nd Edition, Leipzig 1932, p. 10
  10. ↑ See Klöckler 1932, pp. 16 + 25 ff.
  11. ↑ In the Zeitschrift für Anomalistik , Volume 7 (2007), pp. 9–79, the article A basic consensus in astrology? the policy paper of astrological associations (1983) critically commented, often also by astrologers.
  12. ^ Campion, Nicholas: History of Western Astrology . Continuum Books, London & New York 2009, p. 248, pp. 256-257.
  13. ↑ Schubert-Weller, Does God speak through the stars ?, p. 73
  14. ↑ Holden, James, A History of Horoscopic Astrology: From the Babylonian Period to the Modern Age , (AFA 1996) p. 202
  15. ^ Hand, Robert, Horoscope Symbols (Para Research 1981) p. 349
  16. ^ Hyde, Maggie. Jung and Astrology. (Aquarian / Harper Collins, 1992) p. 105 http://www.skyscript.co.uk/synchronicity.html
  17. ^ History of the Center for Psychological Astrology http://www.cpalondon.com/history.html
  18. ↑ Tarnas, R., The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View, Ballantine Books (1993)
  19. ↑ Definition of an archetype. , accessed December 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ Jung, CG The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, Collected Works Vol. 8, (Princeton University Press, NJ 1960) para. 325
  21. ^ Campion, Nicholas, History of Western Astrology , (Continuum Books, London & New York, 2009), Commentaries on Jung pp. 251-259
    "Jungian Analyst, Liz Greene." P. 258
  22. ↑ Gieser, Suzanne. The Innermost Kernel, Depth Psychology and Quantum Physics. Wolfgang Pauli's Dialogue with CGJung , (Springer, Berlin, 2005) p. 21
  23. ^ Jung, CG Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principal. "Routledge, 1985
  24. ↑ Liz Greene on psychological astrology in the documentary The Power of the Stars - Astrology and Christianity of the BR-alpha from December 28, 2001
  25. ^ Carlson Shawn: A double-blind test of astrology . In: Nature . 318, December 1985, pp. 419-425. doi : 10.1038 / 318419a0 .
  26. ↑ For the scientific reviews of natal chart interpretations, see the review article by the social scientist and astrology critic Edgar Wunder in the popular scientific journal Brain & Spirit , 2008, Issue 3: The Art of Astrology . Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  27. ↑ Andreas Hergovich, Die Psychologie der Astrologie , Verlag Hans Huber, Bern 2005, offers a comprehensive and still up-to-date overview of the empirical research efforts for the purpose of checking astrological statements, especially also on natal chart interpretations, in German.
  28. ^ OJ Mason, K. Budge: Schizotype, self-referential thinking and the Barnum effect. In: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry. Volume 42, Number 2, June 2011, pp. 145-148, ISSN  1873-7943 . doi: 10.1016 / j.jbtep.2010.11.003 . PMID 21315874 .
  29. ↑ Andreas Hergovich: The psychology of astrology . Verlag Hans Huber, Bern 2005, pp. 122–127.
  30. ↑ Schubert-Weller, Does God speak through the stars ?, p. 75
  31. ^ Karl Popper: Science: Conjectures and Refutations. Lecture given 1953, published under the title: 'Philosophy of Science: a Personal Report' in British Philosophy in Mid-Century, Ed. CA Mace, 1957 ( PDF )
  32. ^ Popper: Conjecture and Refutation. P. 3).
  33. ↑ In this sense, astrology has been criticized in the past for the wrong reasons: followers of Aristotle and other rationalists , including Isaac Newton , have attacked above all the assumption of the planetary effect on terrestrial events. Both Newton's theory of gravity and the tidal theory are essentially based on astrological traditions of thought. While this circumstance triggered great reluctance in Newton, Galileo Galilei would have completely rejected the - today generally accepted - tidal theory due to its historical roots (Popper, Conjecture and Refutations, p. 16).
  34. ^ "In the absence [of a more articulated theory], however, neither the astrologer nor the doctor could do research. Though they had rules to apply, they had no puzzles to solve and therefore no science to practice. "Thomas S. Kuhn, Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Research? , in Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge , edited by I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave, Cambridge University Press, London 1970, 23 pp. ( PDF ( Memento of May 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )).
  35. ^ "The remarks should not be interpreted as an attempt to defend astrology as it is practiced now by the great majority of astrologists. Modern astrology is in many respects similar to early mediaeval astronomy: it inherited interesting and profound ideas, but it distorted them, and replaced them by caricatures more adapted to the limited understanding of its practitioners. The caricatures are not used for research; there is no attempt to proceed into new domains and to enlarge our knowledge of extra-terrestrial influences; they simply serve as a reservoir of naive rules and phrases suited to impress the ignorant. "Paul Feyerabend: The Strange Case Of Astrology. In: Science in a Free Society , Verso, 1978, p. 96. ( PDF )
  36. ^ Paul R. Thagard: Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Vol. 1978, Vol. 1, pp. 223-234, ( PDF )