A General Theory of Magic (Routledge Classics) (Volume 37) 2nd Edition

by Marcel Mauss (Author)

5 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0415253963

ISBN-10: 0415253969

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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.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'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

About the Author

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

Product details

Series: Routledge Classics
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (May 25, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0415253969
ISBN-13: 978-0415253963
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2293 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult & Paranormal > Magic Studies
- #2678 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > General
- #3196 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Anthropology

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September 2, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

cool stuff!

One person found this helpful

StreetlightReader

Anthropology of Magic or Magical Anthropology?

July 21, 2016

Format: Paperback

What kind of thing is magic, exactly? Or better, what makes magic the kind of thing it is, as distinct from, say, religion, science, art, or philosophy? This is the question that A General Theory of Magic aims to answer. Not a theory FOR magic, but a theory OF magic is set out here in this classic of anthropological research. From shape-shifting to spell-binding, incantation to malediction, Marcel Mauss and Henri Hubert scour the arcane terrain of magical practice to draw out its specificity amongst the far-flung field of cultural production.

Setting themselves most distinctly against James Frazer's theory of magic as 'sympathetic action' (in which like causes produce like effects - as in: water magic producing rain, etc), 'A General Theory's' most immediate goal is in fact to show how magic cannot be understood in terms of any one of its disparate elements; not this or that magical principle defines magic, but rather its 'totality' as a phenomenon - one including magical actors, beliefs, rituals, objects, traditions and representations, all of which, only when taken together, properly delimit the field of magic.

In a word: magic is a social phenomenon. A strange result! After all, isn't magic instead a furtive practice, one done in candle-lit cravens and in the shadows of society? True, say Mauss and Hubert, but close attention to the actual practice of magic nonetheless reveals its highly orchestrated and tightly regulated character: spells are formulas, indifferent to meaning ("abracadabra!") while magical objects simply 'play the part' in rites and rituals largely uncaring as to their specificity; in all things magic, it is in fact convention which rules its operation.

Having established this already important result however, for Mauss and Hubert, the heart of magic lies deeper still - not just any social phenomenon, but one involving the exercise of 'magical causality': a type of causality running in 'parallel', as it were, with the everyday, pedestrian causes we are all familiar with. In turn, this magical causality is premised on a kind of force - familiar with every video game player - here dubbed 'mana'. Now, the ambiguities surrounding the invocation of 'mana' are multiple and well known, but they can be summed up by asking whether all of this is just to say that magic is... well, magical. So the success of 'A General Theory' isn't a given, but as far as starts go, it's a damn fine one.

2 people found this helpful

Crossing the Pond

July 10, 2008

Format: Paperback

I first heard of Marcel Mauss while reading Daniel O'Keefe's *Stolen Lightning* and knew I wanted to learn more on Mauss, who is not that well known here in the United States.

Mauss mentions sympathetic magic as being part of many cultures as does O'Keefe. Mauss might have been interested in Jung's concept of synchronicity as a form of sympathetic magic or even the concept of apophenia if he had lived when the word was created in the late 1950s.

This book does not explain how magic works. Those looking for a how-to will be disappointed as another reviewer has pointed out.

7 people found this helpful

What is Magic About?

October 24, 2002

Format: Paperback

After reading this book, I still haven't got a clue what magic is about. This one goes to the trash bin.

5 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Excellent Academic Writing

November 7, 2002

Format: Paperback

Seems to be excellent academic writing from someone who doesn't know about real magic.

4 people found this helpful

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