HISTORY 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: James George Frazer, Homo Habilis, Homo Sapiens
10 Sep 2016
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Key terms: james frazer, the golden bough (1912, sympathetic vs. contagious magic, emile durkheim, totemic principle , sacred and profane, sigmund freud, totem and taboo , violent primal father . Biological: common ancestor (ape) homo habilis homo sapiens. Evolutionistic theories of religion study the modern primitives to unlock the essence of religion (genetic fallacy) 14. influenced by tylor"s primitive culture (1871: tendency of human society is to pass from savage to a civilized state. Frazer, the golden bough (a study of magic in religion: 2 vols 18890, 3 vols 1900, 12 vols 1915. Armchair anthropologist relies on studies of other anthropologists who had gone out in the field. Sympathetic (homeopathic/imitative) like affects like : voodoo likeness of victim. Contact (contagious) part affects part : taking parts of a victim"s body (spit, hair, nails, magic and magicians, primitive (egalitarian society): magician, oligarchy/monarchy: priest, king, industrial capitalism: cities, complex societies. Magic and the death of kings, death and rebirth in nature.
