ANTH 1150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Richard Dawkins, Teaching Stories, Polytheism
23 Mar 2016
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The supernatural: useful encompassing word but vague, problematic fate stand in contrast to the natural, there are places, people, religion where there is no distinction between the natural and supernatural. E. b tylor 1870s: animism most basic religion (savagery, all living things have a spirit (soul, sleeping vs. death, foraging, horticulture, pastoralist, everyone is the same and spirits are similar. Life on earth mirrors life in the spiritual realm, spirit world, heavens. Functionalism: what does religion do, holds society together, maintaining social harmony, people commit to a religion and the group, allows us to answer bigger questions, emile durkheim sociology, bronislaw malinowski anthropology, social functions. Answers question related to morality and proper behavior. Folktales: myths, sacred stories gods, spirits, divine, held to be true, or, contain truths and values -> for a specific culture or religion group, context are key, purpose. Where big questions are answered: timing myth times. How the worlds came to be look like today: participants.
