The Presence of “Magical Thinking” Within the Case Studies of the Maori Cannibals & Cantonese Funerals
The Presence of “Magical Thinking” within the case studies of The Maori Cannibals & Cantonese Funerals
Since the day you were born, you have been taught lessons that will help you get through everyday life. There have been the lessons of sharing, to always help others, and of course, to always be kind to your fellow man. Now, why is it that if you were to see someone use a dirty dinner plate, or drink someone else’s half empty glass of water, you deem that person disgusting? Is it in fact due to the lessons you’ve been taught, or does it stem from something different, such as “magical thinking?” Magical thinking can be found in the case studies, “Funeral Specialists in Cantonese Society: Pollution, Performance, and Social Hierarchy” by James L. Watson, and “Maori Cannibalism: An Interpretation” by Ross Bowden. This paper will examine the findings of these examples.
“Magic” can be loosely summed up as a cognitive intuition or belief in the existence of imperceptible forces or essences that transcend the usual boundary between the mental/symbolic and physical/material realities, in a way that (1) diverges from the received wisdom from the technocratic elite, (2) serves important functions, and (3) follows the principles of similarity and contagion.
The two main ideas of magical thinking are defined as, the Law of Similarity in which, replicas of disgusting objects are treated as disgusting, and the Law of Contagion in which, contact with a host of negative things, including unknown strangers, malicious others, their possessions or bodily residues, death and physical “corruption” of any kind, is felt to be physically endangering and/or morally debasing to the self.
In the case study by James L. Watson, we can find numerous examples of magical thinking. Much like major civilizations, a funeral is held when a member of a Cantonese village passes away. However, the men who deal with the deceased are looked at in a different manner than other members of the
Since the day you were born, you have been taught lessons that will help you get through everyday life. There have been the lessons of sharing, to always help others, and of course, to always be kind to your fellow man. Now, why is it that if you were to see someone use a dirty dinner plate, or drink someone else’s half empty glass of water, you deem that person disgusting? Is it in fact due to the lessons you’ve been taught, or does it stem from something different, such as “magical thinking?” Magical thinking can be found in the case studies, “Funeral Specialists in Cantonese Society: Pollution, Performance, and Social Hierarchy” by James L. Watson, and “Maori Cannibalism: An Interpretation” by Ross Bowden. This paper will examine the findings of these examples.
“Magic” can be loosely summed up as a cognitive intuition or belief in the existence of imperceptible forces or essences that transcend the usual boundary between the mental/symbolic and physical/material realities, in a way that (1) diverges from the received wisdom from the technocratic elite, (2) serves important functions, and (3) follows the principles of similarity and contagion.
The two main ideas of magical thinking are defined as, the Law of Similarity in which, replicas of disgusting objects are treated as disgusting, and the Law of Contagion in which, contact with a host of negative things, including unknown strangers, malicious others, their possessions or bodily residues, death and physical “corruption” of any kind, is felt to be physically endangering and/or morally debasing to the self.
In the case study by James L. Watson, we can find numerous examples of magical thinking. Much like major civilizations, a funeral is held when a member of a Cantonese village passes away. However, the men who deal with the deceased are looked at in a different manner than other members of the
Cited: Bowden, Ross. “Maori Cannibalism: An Interpretation.” Oceania 55, no. 2 (1984): 81-99.