ANTH-2108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Essentialism, Mahatma Gandhi, Edward Burnett Tylor
22 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Introduction to myth, magic and shamanism
September 2017
-In anthropology, we face a challenge when examining religious beliefs and practices
by using one culture to describe another !
-Definitions help with the confusion, however they are not always neutral !
•They may lead to misunderstanding or assumptions in symbolism and faith!
-The importance of Cultural Relativism & religion:!
•By Definition: While the anthropologist is in the field, he or she temporarily
suspends ("brackets") their own esthetic and moral judgements!
•This becomes an issue because Religions allege to speak of “The real” and
“The Truthful” yet, many tend to condemn portions because of this!
•We must try to avoid judgments or trying to disprove the existence of the
divine, supernatural, miracles, spells, magic and the power of religious
experiences.#
-There is no single definition of religion!
-Sometimes we reference several scholars for a basis…!
-EB Taylor, Sir James Frazer, William James, Emile Durkhiem.!
-Other scholars reduce religion to forms of control or delusions… #
$- Karl Marx: A false consciousness intended to complete the exploitation of
labourers (1843) “The opiate of the masses.”!
-Sigmund Freud: A project of unconscious psychological processes!
-Lucien Levy-Bruhl: A product of primitive mentality!
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Document Summary
In anthropology, we face a challenge when examining religious beliefs and practices by using one culture to describe another. De nitions help with the confusion, however they are not always neutral: they may lead to misunderstanding or assumptions in symbolism and faith. The truthful yet, many tend to condemn portions because of this: we must try to avoid judgments or trying to disprove the existence of the divine, supernatural, miracles, spells, magic and the power of religious experiences. There is no single de nition of religion. Sometimes we reference several scholars for a basis . Eb taylor, sir james frazer, william james, emile durkhiem. Other scholars reduce religion to forms of control or delusions . Karl marx: a false consciousness intended to complete the exploitation of labourers (1843) the opiate of the masses. Sigmund freud: a project of unconscious psychological processes. Lucien levy-bruhl: a product of primitive mentality.
