Philosophy 2006 Lecture Notes - Weak Interaction, Zande People, Autopsy
Document Summary
Unit v lecture i march 22, 2012. Excited by exotic study of different cultures. Evans-pritchard wanted to know what people believed (their mental lives) beleifs and ideas not as pre-logical thinking, but as entire systems of thought. Believed it was a mistake to treat the thinking of other societies, of primitives, as if they were different from us because they hadn"t got it right, or because their emotions got in the way. Distinction between witchcraft (mangu), and magic/sorcery (ngwa) Similarities: neither are likely real, both have common functions used to cause harm for private ends, magic/sorcery: spells, rites, ideas, traditions, taught, witchcraft: operates through different channels, but in similar situations. Differences: magic/sorcery: herbal medicine, witchcraft: results from abominable condition (mangu) Mangu is a physical object located in certain people an oval, blackish swelling/sack containing small objects, about an elbow"s width, in the upper abdomen near the bile tract. Cannot be observed while one is alive.