We consider the question of when, given a subset A of M, the setwise stabilizer of the group of automorphisms induces a closed subgroup on Sym(A). We define s-homogeneity to be the analogue of homogeneity relative to strong embeddings and show that any subset of a countable, s-homogeneous, ω-stable structure induces a closed subgroup and contrast this with a number of negative results. We also show that for ω-stable structures s-homogeneity is preserved under naming countably many constants, but under slightly (...) weaker conditions it can be lost by naming a single point. (shrink)

Renaissance magic was an attempt to supply Platonism with a philosophy of nature that could compete with Aristotelian physics. It was expected to heal the increasing breach between science and faith. However, the basic presupposition of every magic worldview, the notion of a living universe, favors immanentism and arguably hastened the rise of secularism. Secularism, it should be noted, was not an identifiable set of theories but a process towards modernity with its correspondent philosophical theology. Three different stages in that (...) development can be shown in the philosophical systems of three famous Renaissance magicians: Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Giordano Bruno, and Tommaso Campanella. (shrink)