Radionics: Science or Magic?

To set the ball rolling, let's start by defining our terms. The Encyclopedia Britannica gives the following as one of the definitions of the word 'science':

Now, let's turn our attention to the word 'magic' and see what meaning we can make of this word. The famous, or infamous, occultist, Aleister Crowley, defined magic as

Dion Fortune, a former member of the Golden Dawn and founder of The Society of the Inner Light, influenced by her lay knowledge of Jungian psychology, modified Crowley's definition to embody the change as a change in consciousness. A more embracing definition of magic is given by Donald Michael King:

We shall accept this meanwhile, as a working definition of magic. The implications of this definition are not usually obvious, but let's look at a few. Suppose it is your will to contact a friend who is at a distance, and you wish to send him on an errand. Your means of contact could be the telephone, let's say. You instruct your friend to go to some place, pick up a television set, go to a particular house, plug it on, tune to a specific TV channel and listen to the President of your country giving a nation-wide address. Your friend does as instructed, and neighbors even come around to share in listening to the broadcast. Now, what have you just done? You've just performed a magical act: You've caused changes (getting a some people to do certain things, in this case, watching the presidential broadcast) in conformity with your Will (your original intent in contacting your friend). The telephone, and the TV set could be said to be your magical instruments. Based on this line of reasoning, we can see that 'all thoughts and all actions are magical acts', and this is the definition most favored by The Aetherius Society. Please notice that the end results, or even the quality of results obtained as a result of your magical acts, are not defined by these definitions.

So, how does radionics fit into this scenario? Listen to Dr David Tansley, one of the modern researchers and practitioners of radionics:

Radionic practitioners hinge their art and science on the manipulation of life-force for healing purposes, and because they perceive this life force as permeating everything that exists in the universe, there is no separation in time or distance. This is the basis of instrumented distant 'diagnosis' and 'treatment' which is what radionic healing is all about. Based on the nature of radionics itself, it is easy to see why western science is going to dismiss its validity. First of all western science does not, as yet, recognize the existence of any form of energy known as Life-Force. The question of putting up certain rates and ratios to represent organs, structures and functions, are dismissed as fraudulent since they consider such rates as arbitrary. So also is the question of distant diagnosis and treatment which is considered hog wash and ridiculous! The case for radionics really looks bleak and Tansley was forced to admit this:

Having looked at the above, one may be tempted to conclude that because the radionic practitioner cannot describe how and why his instruments and method of treatment work, then they are manifestations of quackery and public deception. But could we also apply the same argument to the fact that because an airplane pilot is unable to explain why his plane which weighs so many hundreds of tons is able to take off and fly in the air, then if he mentions this fact to one who has never seen a plane fly, he is committing quackery and should not be believed? We see air planes fly every day, so do radionic practitioners see patients who are diagnosed and treated every day. To carry the instrument analogy further, let's look at a patellar hammer, for instance. To someone not acquainted with its use it is just another piece of contraption. But to a medical doctor, it is an important piece of equipment; he can use it to assess the state of his patients' neurological reflexes. This also applies to radionic instruments. One thing which makes radionics very difficult to understand to the average westerner is that he is predominantly left-brained. As a result he is very reductionist in his thinking. He is not to blame but our educational system. Radionics operates from a different dimension of reality. To quote Tansley still further,

externalizes certain aspects of its dynamics in the form of instrumentation. As long as the explanations of radionics are based on left-brain mind rationale and logics it will simply be a healing art that lays itself open to ridicule. Every system of healing functions in relationship to a frame of reference. The healing art in question bases its approach to the management of its patients on the belief systems consistent with these framework. These references may be physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, or any combinations of these. The ones based on a wider frame of reference has no difficulty accommodating those based on a narrower framework. Sadly, the reverse is hardly true.

To the question as to whether radionics is science or magic, our answer is that it is both. Maybe it is nearer to magic than to science because with its instruments, rates, ratios, therapeutic commands, and all the potentials inherent in it, the radionic practitioner can cause changes (healing and restoration to health) to occur in conformity with his will (healing intentions) using means not currently understood by traditional western science.

Related Links:
What Is Radionics?
Radionics: FAQ