2nd Edition

A General Theory of Magic

By Marcel Mauss Copyright 2001
    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    First written by Marcel Mauss and Henri Humbert in 1902, A General Theory of Magic gained a wide new readership when republished by Mauss in 1950. As a study of magic in 'primitive' societies and its survival today in our thoughts and social actions, it represents what Claude Lévi-Strauss called, in an introduction to that edition, the astonishing modernity of the mind of one of the century's greatest thinkers. The book offers a fascinating snapshot of magic throughout various cultures as well as deep sociological and religious insights still very much relevant today. At a period when art, magic and science appear to be crossing paths once again, A General Theory of Magic presents itself as a classic for our times.

    Foreword by Dr D. F. Pocock, Prologue, 1 Sources and Historical Background, 2 A Definition of Magic, 3 The Elements of Magic, 1 The Magician, 2 The Actions, 3 Representations, 4 General Observations, 4 An Analysis and Explanation of Magic, 1 Belief, 2 An Analysis of Ideological Explanations Concerning the Effectiveness of Ritual, 3 Mana, 4 Collective States and Collective Forces, 5 Conclusion, Index

    Biography

    Marcel Mauss (1872 - 1950) French anthropologist and sociologist, author of The Gift, and, with Emile Durkheim, Primitive Classification.

    'It is enough to recall that Mauss' influence is not limited to ethnographers, none of whom could claim to have escaped it, but extends also to linguists, psychologists, historians or religion and orientalists.' - Claude Lévi-Strauss