Magicians vs Repairmen
by John from John D. Cook on (#6WFJ)
From The World Beyond Your Head:
The appeal of magic is that it promises to render objects plastic to the will without one's getting too entangled with them. Treated at arm's length, the object can issue no challenge to the self. " The clearest contrast " that I can think of is the repairman, who must submit himself to the broken washing machine, listen to it with patience, notice its symptoms, and then act accordingly. He cannot treat it abstractly; the kind of agency he exhibits is not at all magical.
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