That is the core question and discussion seems to orbit elliptically and endlessly around it without ever hitting the mark.
Let's say "magic" is the (apparently) direct imposition of will upon matter or material systems without any known material intermediary or it is the apparent direct perception of information without any material intermediary.
If there is any regularity in the patterns of magical action, that regularity can be studied scientifically and equations can be made to describe it. Magic will then become a mechanism that can be engineered and monistic materialism will be undisturbed because the definition of material (stuff = rocks) can be expanded to accommodate the new equations.
If magical action lacks enough regularity to be studied scientifically, it could be because magical action is a combination of mechanism and capricious entities who, like people are so complex as to be difficult or impossible to fully predict their behavior individually, but - like masses of people - can be averaged out to find some regularities of behavior.
The fear of magic is the fear that structured predictable existence is founded upon an abyss of irregularity and unpredictability, that nature is to a certain degree insane, and that an individual can use emotion and intention to manipulate this underlying insanity to hack or cheat nature for his/her/zees/its own purposes and that to do so might cause the insanity underlying nature to spread out and destabilize everything. And if magic does in fact appeal to the abyss for its mechanism of action, then maybe this fear is not unfounded.
This is so much to the point! Magic seems to be unreliable as a straight technology (a methodology that can be followed to reliably produce desired outcomes). That is to say that it does not work routinely or even often. Some insist that magic works only because of the engagement of entities. Geller says that he can bend spoons only because ET assists.
Traditional ritual based magic is very much about calling upon agencies. The kind of 'magic' performed by shamans is entirely down to spirit engagement. These agencies may be thought of as capricious in some circumstances, or exacting, or gatekeeping, or facilitating. How you fare as a practitioner of magic depends on many things - your competence and knowledge, you attitude or values and motive, what kind of magic you are trying to do, and whether there is a governing intent to impede or facilitate your efforts.
There's a lot of hysterical bunk about magic on YouTube, but now and then there is a movie worth taking the time to look at. One such is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...87C099E5B90&src_vid=gNGEcFEgEqA&v=7fKrFeX8dRY
Its called "Magicians" Prove a Spiritual World Exists. It has a heavy Christian message but it is interesting that while guys like Dynamo Magician Impossible and Yif are dismissed as mere shysters others are convinced their magic is real, but necessarily fuelled only by demonic energies. For the video makers all spirits that are not specifically sanctioned within their faith are demonic. That's not a position I share butI respect the fact that their POV still lets them explore whether Dynamo and Yif are genuine deliverers of 'magic' or just con artists who use post-production trickery and colluding witnesses to engage in an elaborate and pointless fraud. It interests me that the video title implies that the makers' 'proof' arises not out of their own faith but in the performances of people aided by demons.
I appreciate Radin's interest in magic as a natural extension of his interest in psi. But I don't think the two are related. I think psi is universal and natural, but like other universal and natural attributes making it distinct and singular is not easy. Magic is an extension of another universal and natural thing - spirits engaging with humans to generate desired effects. We don't know, when we desire a thing, and we get it, whether we have done it alone or with assistance. We may not have invoked aid or have been aware of assistance, but that does not mean that it has not been there. In fact we generally have no idea what intersection there is between our lives and spirits.
Not all prayer works but some prayers are answered. But better than chance? Non-religious people and people who are not good are also able to intend something and get it. It may be that being religious/spiritual is not a condition of having 'spiritual' assistance. Our natural state may be that, based on conditions we do not know, we may or may not be granted assistance to get what we want or need through the intervention of physical and metaphysical agents. Necessarily vague unfortunately.
If magic builds on this natural base by adding method and skills and alliances to enhance the chances of getting what is desired or willed it is also subject to 'the whim of the gods'. That is, applying magical methodology does not necessarily enhance your chances - it may only look that way. But, of course, it can be the difference between getting and not getting. Not all magic is about getting what you want of course. There are other acts of stewardship, healing and protection.
Once we move away from the materialistic notion of doing stuff on our own in the physical world with only physical sources of aid we are obliged to confront the prospect that we are not operating alone (and maybe never have). For me that is a huge change in our culture that must come - an adaptation to a sense of multi-dimensional exposure that is beyond our self-inflated bubble. Its a sense our ancestors had, and which they used to do the great things we are now in awe of.
The more I think on Radin's exploration of magic the more I suspect that it may uncover certain 'rational' rules that suggest early on a secular comprehension is possible - like the benefits of yoga and meditation seemingly shorn of their metaphysical dimensions. But finally the reliance on secular rational thought will be insufficient until we normalise a post materialistic conception of our reality and identity. Validation of magic as a real human activity is important, if not essential. That can allow us to become real explorers of our potential.
If acceptable science validates magic that will generate a momentum of intellectual inquiry that can knit together the puzzled and complexities of human existence. I can well imagine that such a prospect will be abhorrent to those for whom this idea violates their the very essence of their lives.
So I think that Radin is 'on a mission from God' in the sense that he is contributing to the precipitation of a necessary crisis in the 'science community'. But its not one I feel any need to hold my breath over. I think we have enough to progress the conversation and let that drama play out in its own time.