The Book of the Reasons (Kitāb al-Asbāb) attributed to Hermes

Record summary

A group of Arabic Hermetic writings known under titles such as Kitāb al-Asbāb discusses causal relationships among celestial bodies, terrestrial substances, images, and ritual actions. These works are relevant to comparison because they articulate a premodern theory in which natural, astral, and symbolic causes overlap without matching modern categories of either “science” or “magic.” Attribution to Hermes is pseudepigraphic, and titles can refer to different manuscripts or related works. Researchers should identify the specific Arabic witness, editor, and translation before drawing conclusions about its doctrine or date.