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Patterns of Magicity: A review of Defining Magic: A Reader (eds. Otto & Stausberg; Equinox, 2013) – part 3

[The third and final part of my review of Otto and Stausberg’s Defining Magic. This part discusses the five final essays of the book, all of which are new contributions written by contemporary scholars of “magic”. Follow hyperlinks to read part one (focusing on the selection of texts) and part two (focusing on the editors’ introduction) of the review.]

3. Contemporary voices

That we need a systematic approach along the lines of what Stausberg and Otto suggest (or alternatively along the lines of building blocks) is confirmed by looking at the five contemporary pieces representing the current state of the debate. The five authors represent anything but a consensus. Through a broader framework of “patterns of magicity” we might nevertheless be able to put them in a fruitful dialogue.

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on February 3, 2014 at 9:21 am Comments (3)
Tags: A Cognitive Theory of Magic, alterity, analogy, analytical thinking, Ann Taves, Bernd-Christian Otto, brain lateralization, building blocks, Cartesianism, Christopher Lehrich, Clifford Geertz, cognitive linguistics, cognitive science of religion, colonialism, comparative method, conceptual blending, Correspondences, Defining Magic, discursive formations, dualism, E. Thomas Lawson, efficacy, eliminativism (about magic), emic and etic, Enlightenment, generalizations, George Lakoff, Gilles Fauconnier, Gregory Bateson, Harvey Whitehouse, identity formation, imagination, imperialism, inductivism, insider/outsider problem, Jesper Sørensen, Kimberly B. Stratton, Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, magical thinking, Making Magic, manipulative ritual practice, Mark Johnson, Mark Turner, Markus Altena Davidsen, metaphors, Michael Stausberg, Michel Foucault, Naming the Witch, neuro-nonsense, numinous power, Othering, Pagan Studies, participation, patterns of magicity, prototype definiton, Randall Styers, Reformation, ritual, Robert N. McCauley, stereotype, stipulative definition, Susan Greenwood, The Language of Demons and Angels, The Occult Mind, Wicca, witchcraft

Patterns of Magicity: A review of Defining Magic: A Reader (eds. Otto & Stausberg; Equinox, 2013) – part 1

[This blog post is a little milestone: it is the first official review of a book sent to me by the publisher for being reviewed directly at Heterodoxology. (Yes, publishers, I am open to suggestions like that!) Since the book was of great interest to me, and touches on issues that occupy me at the moment – and since the blog format allows me to say whatever I want and as much of it as I’d like – it has ended up more like a review article than a book review. Hence I will publish it here in three parts. The full pdf version (only slightly modified) is available from my Academia page. For convenience and ease of sharing. So on we go!]