The following is the first in a series of 7 articles focusing on a moment of rhetorical significance in each of the Harry Potter novels. This series evolved out of a paper presented at the 2018 Harry Potter Academic Conference.
We don’t make the acquaintance of the Hogwarts Potions master until almost halfway through Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Nevertheless, his introduction leaves a lasting impression. Teachers of other subjects at Hogwarts are known as ‘professors’, but we quickly learn that Potions is not like other subjects—and the same is true of its master.
The Subtle Science and Exact Art of Potion-Making
On the first day of classes, Professor Snape does not craft a clever icebreaker for students to get to know each other. Nor does he step unceremoniously into boring lecture. Instead, the Potions master begins with a speech:
“‘You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,’ he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word—like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. ‘As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper on death—if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.’ 1
While Professor Snape’s speech is not so informative about course objectives, learning outcomes or classroom policies, it is certainly dynamic. He paints a picture of paradoxes. Snape uses figurative language (avoiding literal interpretation at all costs) to describe the toils of a Potions master as intricate and technical—but also romantic.
In “The Question Concerning Technology”, Martin Heidegger said, “Once there was a time when the bringing-forth of the true into the beautiful was called techne.” And that time was ancient Greece. Heidegger explains that in Greek society, techne described not only “the activities and skills of the craftsman, but also for the arts of the mind and the fine arts.” 2 Our current term technology evolved from techne, but lost some of its equivalency.
In his speech, Professor Snape positions potion-making thoroughly in the field of techne. He cautions students not to be fooled by the technical and understated work of Potions. While there is no “foolish wand-waving”, potion-making is still beautiful, shimmering, delicate and magical.
Frankenstein‘s M Waldman
Professor Snape’s speech is clearly inspired by that of another literary professor: M Waldman from Mary Wollstonecaft Shelley’s Frankenstein. The enigmatic lecturer at Victor Frankenstein’s university gives the following rousing speech—a speech that alters the course of the young protagonist’s studies:
“‘The ancient teachers of this science,’ said he, ‘promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera. But these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.'” 3
Like Professor Snape, M Waldman places his course of study in the precarious position of “subtle science and exact art”. He calls practitioners philosophers, not scientists. Though ancient alchemists are charlatans, modern “philosophers” command god-like abilities.
It makes sense Professor Snape is called the ‘Potions master’, because while professor implies ‘teacher of the highest rank’4, master is a title implying craftsmanship as well as academic authority.
The Ethical Implications of ‘Techne’
In Robert Johnson’s “The Ubiquity Paradox”, he outlines one perspective on techne that Professor Snape and M Waldman sorely miss. In his definition of techne, Johnson says:
“the things made through the crafts and arts were not the only ultimate end of the making. Instead, the use of the products was of equal importance. That is, the product’s maker contemplated problems associated with the product’s use from the outset of the making process, thus bringing the contexts of use and the ramifications of use to the forefront.” 5
Techne does not only mean respecting the art of the craft, but also the use of the craft and the consequences of that use. While each professor details the power held in the hands of modern philosophers and Potions masters—commanding heaven, mocking the invisible world, making trifles of fame, glory and death—they each neglect the ethics of doing so.
And consequence is a common theme in the stories of Serverus Snape and Victor Frankenstein. While hearing M Waldman’s speech inspires Frankenstein to study chemistry, he uses his new-found skills to blindly pursue a goal to create life—a goal he immediately regrets and spends the rest of the novel trying to escape.
Severus Snape similarly finds himself caught up in the awe of his craft without considering its consequences. We know early on that Snape has been fascinated with the Dark Arts since childhood. But in the climax of the series, we discover that Snape never considered the ramifications of his study until he lost his best friend. And then he inadvertently causes her death. The guilt of his ignorance causes Snape to live in penance.
Johnson argues that techne “had intimate social and cultural links and thus was indelibly imbued with concepts of human action…and ethics”. If we accept Potions as techne, we must also accept an inherent responsibility to ethics as well.
- Rowling, JK | Chapter 8: “The Potions Master” | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | 1997
- Heidegger, Martin | “The Question Concerning Technology” | The Question Concerning Technology | 1977
- Wollstonecraft Shelly, Mary | Chapter 3 | Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus | 1818
- “Professor” | Etymonline.com
- Johnson, Robert | “The Ubiquity Paradox: Further Thinking on the Concept of User Centeredness” | Technical Communication Quarterly | 2010