AN100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: James George Frazer, Edward Burnett Tylor, Secularism
Document Summary
Edward burnett tylor & james frazer (notes), (pg 94) Religion and belief in the supernatural developed through people"s efforts to explain stuff such as death and dreaming ( to make sense of) Beliefs of gods and spirits developed through people trying to explain events & understand why they happened as they did. Andrew walsh; emile durkheim (structural-functionalist) (pg 94); Looked at societies that were considered simple or underdeveloped. People feel a special power when coming into ritual and celebration. Coined the phrase good to think with to refer to the way that humans use aspects of the material world as a reservoir of metaphoric and symbolic meanings. Means to construct a more satisfying culture. A sudden change in social and economic development leads to new or revised beliefs that promise society to be out of oppression. Doubts of change lead to syncarizion of new and old beliefs combined. Adapting to state religions, as for laws and ect (not secular)
