ANTH-2108 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Victor Turner, James George Frazer, God
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ANTH-2108
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
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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While we don’t find ourselves stuck to one definition we do have some standards in
place: !
-Ritual is a key aspect but its not equally valourized !
-They have different ideas and concepts!
-Theres moralities which tell us if our behaviour is good or bad!
-Sometimes religions are shared within aspects of culture!
-What distinguishes religion is the object or focus of actions, which are can be
classified as superhuman, nonhuman or related to humans. #
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS:!
-Edward taylor discovered(1871): !
-The concept of SOUL to explain dreams, trances and where a person goes after
death!
-called belief in afterlife: Animism !
$ •$ This influenced Sir James Frazer to established “Two Laws” in 1890!
$ •$ Law of Similarity – like produces like (e.g., voodoo doll); sympathetic magic !
$ •$ Law of Contagion – whatever is done to an object is believed to affect a person who
once had contact with it!
•$Also believed that Animism and other religious beliefs would be replaced by science!
-William James 1902!
-He believed that because religious experiences were provoking people to do things in
the physical world they were true and real!
-in 1912 Emile Durkheim suggested!
•God is another word for Society; beliefs mirror needs the actual, social world !
•Religious practices more important than beliefs for sustaining the social project of the
moral community!
•a communicative construct, creates and maintains Social Solidarity.#
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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.
