Where does the term magic come from? What are its main connotations?
Greek opposition to Persian “magi”
- Not “our” religious practices = bad
- Ineffective/unscientific
How do magic opposition and ritual correlate? 3 main oppositions?
Magic is bad = “I don’t like their rituals”
Blasphemous (wrong beings), Ineffective,
Immoral (ethically/socially “bad”/transgressive)
Etic vs Emic?
Etic = outsider term (to dump on others), eg magic
Emic = insider term, make selves look better (eg ritual, medicine,)
How does Hanegraaff define “esoteric”?
Rejected knowledge, not religion nor science
What are the three approaches to esoteric study? (RMC)
Religionist, Marxist, Contemporary
3 figures of Religionist Approach?
Narrative? Problems?
Jung, Eliade, Scholem
Esotericism = insights, could help fix Modern West (wellbeing, meaning/enchantment)
Problem = idealist, ignores where it causes political problems
3 figures of Marxist Approach? Narrative? Problems?
Lukacs, Horkenheimer, Adorno
Esotericism = factor in bad stuff (facism/racism. inherently conservative, elitist,)
Problems = assumes everything is political, not great for scholarship
3 figures of contemporary approach? Narrative/problems?
Faivre, Hanegraaff, Clarke
All marginalized knowledge = worth studying
Problem: often considered “waste of time” by schools
Otto’s defence of magic (3)
Imagination is normal, adds meaning/adventure, not restricted to primitive people
