Book World: The shadowy spirits that helped scientists advance their ideas
Jess Keiser, The Washington Post
Dec. 24, 2020
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Bedeviled: A Shadow History of Demons in Science
By Jimena Canales
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A demon was present at the birth of science.
Writing in the mid-17th century, the French philosopher René Descartes realized that in order "to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last," he first needed to lash himself to a single point of certainty in a roiling sea of doubt.
To test the strength of his position, Descartes imagined the workings of an evil entity - a malignum genium, or evil genius - capable of creating an entirely illusory but completely convincing artificial world. Someone ensnared by Descartes' malevolent being is bound to question external reality - and even their own body - since, theoretically, the sky's color or the warmth of one's skin could be deceptions devised by this demon.