Magic, Science and Religion and the Scope of Rationality

Stanley J. Tambiah

ISBN 10: 0521376319 / ISBN 13: 9780521376310

Published by Cambridge University Press, GB, 1990

About this Item

Professor Tambiah, one of today's leading anthropologists, is known particularly for his penetrating and scholarly studies of Buddhism. In this accessible and illuminating book he deals with the classical opposition between magic, science and religion. He reviews the great debates in classical Judaism, early Greek science, Renaissance philosophy, the Protestant Reformation, and the scientific revolution, and then reconsiders the three major interpretive approaches to magic in anthropology: the intellectualist and evolutionary theories of Tylor and Frazer, Malinowski's functionalism, and Levy Bruhl's philosophical anthropology, which posited a distinction between mystical and logical mentalities. There follows a wide-ranging and suggestive discussion of rationality and relativism. The book concludes with a discussion of thinking in the history and philosophy of science, which suggests interesting perspectives on the classical opposition between science and magic.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780521376310

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Magic, Science and Religion and the Scope of Rationality
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521376319
• ISBN 13: 9780521376310
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 330 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Professor Tambiah is one of the leading anthropologists of the day, particularly known for his penetrating and scholarly studies of Buddhism. In this accessible and illuminating book he deals with the classical opposition of magic with science and religion. He reviews the great debates in classical Judaism, early Greek science, Renaissance philosophy, the Protestant Reformation, and the scientific revolution, and then reconsiders the three major interpretive approaches to magic in anthropology: the intellectualist and evolutionary theories of Tylor and Frazer, Malinowski's functionalism, and Lévy-Bruhl's philosophical anthropology, which posited a distinction between mystical and logical mentalities. He follows with a wide-ranging and suggestive discussion of rationality and relativism and concludes with a discussion of new thinking in the history and philosophy of science, suggesting fresh perspectives on the classical opposition between science and magic.

From the Back Cover

Most anthropologists who have attempted to demarcate and contrast magic, science and religion as cross-cultural categories appear to have been unaware of the rich and long intellectual history of Western thought which framed their own specialized writings. In this book, Professor Tambiah reexamines magic, science and religion within the framework of this history, including the Judaic religion, early Greek science, Renaissance philosophy, the Protestant Reformation, and the European scientific revolution in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.