Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft

Inherently Human

Phillips Stevens, Jr.

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Paperback

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English

Routledge
12 December 2023

Magic, alchemy & hermetic thought; Witchcraft; Social & cultural anthropology

This book introduces students to the anthropology of magic and witchcraft, terms widely used but with no widely accepted definitions. It takes a new approach to this area within the anthropology of religion, demonstrating that the bases for these beliefs and alleged practices are inherent in human cognition and psychology, even instinctual, and likely rooted in our evolutionary biology. It shows how magic and magical thinking are regular elements in people’s daily lives, and that understanding the components of the witchcraft complex offers surprisingly important insights into patterns of thinking and social behavior.

The book reviews the many meanings of “magic” and “witchcraft,” and introduces the best anthropological meanings of the terms. The components of these beliefs are timeless and universal; this fact, and recent advances in the brain sciences, suggest that the principles of magic are derived from basic processes of human thinking, and the attributes of the witch derive from neurobiologically based fears and fantasies. The propensity for such beliefs probably had adaptive significance in the evolutionary development of the human species; they are inherently human.

This book is intended to focus anew on the core concepts of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural, while also serving as an introduction to the anthropology of religion for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.

By: Phillips Stevens Jr.
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 360g
ISBN: 9781032414263
ISBN 10: 103241426X
Pages: 180
Publication Date: 12 December 2023
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Phil Stevens received his BA from Yale in English in 1963, then worked for three years with the Peace Corps in Nigeria. He entered the graduate anthropology program at Northwestern University, returned to Nigeria for dissertation research, and received his PhD in 1973. During 48 years with the anthropology department at SUNY, Buffalo, he conducted further research in Nigeria and the Caribbean, received two awards for teaching and an honorary Nigerian chieftaincy title, and wrote many publications in anthropology and African studies. He is the editor of Routledge’s 4-volume Anthropology of Religion: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, 2011.