"Scientism" and magic (rituals, experience, theist, dogmas)

[MaddLlama]

Issac Bonewits posted a good article on his website, part of which really got me thinking.

http://www.neopagan.net/Scientism.html

I’ve often thought that the overwhelming reason why most modern magic(k) falls so short of its potential is that most modern magicians, whether monotheists or Neopagans, really don’t believe in magic. So they have to keep inventing new definitions for it. After all, magic as psychotherapy can be made to sound scientific, magic as art or poetry is immune from scientific criticism, and magic as a method of spiritual growth is “above” science. But magic as magic, as a way of causing measurable and observable changes in the physical universe, collides head-on with Scientistic dogmas about the nature of reality. Most people simply don’t have the intellectual courage to deal with multiple levels of reality, with nested paradox, or with complex ambiguity. They like things kept as simple as possible, so they wind up closing their eyes to the complex, yet potentially liberating, aspects of their environment. This may be the single most important reason why successful magicians are rare in any culture, and almost unheard of in the West.

Is this true? Do modern Pagans try to rationalize magic, and turn it into something intellectual so it can be immune to criticism from secularists? Does magic need to have a scientific explanation, or be "beyond science" in order to be valid in our society?
I have to admit to being guilty of this at times.

[TaraMoon]

Chaos magicians would argue that belief is immaterial and that it's the practice of magic that produces results. In other words, the rituals have inherent power to manifest change.

[Guitar's Cry]

Originally Posted by TaraMoon

Chaos magicians would argue that belief is immaterial and that it's the practice of magic that produces results. In other words, the rituals have inherent power to manifest change.

They would also say that belief is the tool by which results occur. Many chaos magicians would argue that all things are immaterial; only the experience of them through belief make them "true."

Edit: Oh, and welcome to the forum! Feel free to drop by the New Members forum and introduce yourself.

[Draconis]

To me, it doesn't hurt to try for a proper understanding of the energies your manipulating.