ANTH 222 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Cooties, Deep Sea, Homeopathy
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Magic and Divination
Magic: what is it?
● Common to many cultures
● A set of principles for organizing the universe, in order to better understand and control
it.
● Presupposes symbolic connections between and among phenomena
● These systems of knowledge vary a great deal cross-culturally
● Generally, magic imposes the human’s will on the manifest universe through symbolic
means
Anthropological ways of thinking about magic
● Tylor: magic as pre-rational, “primitive”, falso
● Frazer: magic as an early form of science
● Durkheim: magic as anti-social, individual activity (as opposed to religion)
● Malinowski: magic compensates for low technology and is used in high risk/uncertainty
situations
Trobriand Island fishermen
● Deep sea fishing more risky than lagoon fishing
● Deep sea fishermen had more magic rituals than lagoon fishermen
● Magic helps people feel a sense of control over uncertain outcomes
How do magicians think magic works?
● Ceremonial (high) vs. “low” magic vs. chaos magic
● Necessary attributes:
○ Personal faith in one’s abilities
○ Concentration or focus
○ Self-knowledge
○ Discipline and will
● What are the causal mechanisms?
○ Natural forces we haven’t discovered yet
○ Intervention of spirits or gods, with their own intelligence
○ Inherent power in all things
○ Interconnection in the cosmos
○ Power of the subconscious
THE LOGIC OF MAGIC
The Founding Principle: Unity or Sympathy
● All phenomena are linked, directly or indirectly
● The universe operates as an interconnected whole
Principles of Magic: Magic Follows Natural Laws
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