Magic, Science & Religion - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Magic, Science & Religion Anthropology 5

Spring 2014

Katherine Schaefers, Instructor

Office: 3102

OH: 9:30-10:00am Monday/WednesdaySlide2

The Anthropological Study of Religion

Chapter 1

Film: “Inventing Reality”

We use Religion/Science/Spirituality for the same goal:

The attempt to comprehend and control our circumstances and our worldSlide3

AnthropologyThe study of humanity

Greek:

Anthropos (“Man”)

logy

(“study of”)

Also,

an integrated study of humanity

Holism

: Integrating as many different aspects of human society (like psychology, politics, religion, customs, institutions like marriage, funerary rituals, gender, subsistence economy, etc.) to create the most complete picture possible.

Goal of Anthropology?

Why do we study other people? What can be gained? Slide4

“To make the strange familiar, and the

familiar

strange”

Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can lead to misguided feelings of anger and hate, which may eventually lead to warfare and death.

Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are caused by a lack of understanding.

Discovering similarities between one’s own culture and that of others leads to more harmonious relationships.Slide5

Anthropology’s Traditional Fields

Physical

Human Biology and Evolution

Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory, primate behavior, paleontology, fossil record.

Evolutionary origins & the neurobiology of religious experience

Archaeology

Physical and Cultural remains

Religion in remains of temples, art, ritual, artifacts, ancient texts.

Linguistics

Origins and distribution of language

Many religious beliefs are passed down orally in the form of myths or other narratives.

Cultural

Social organization, economics, technology, political organization, marriage, family life.

The study of Magic, Science and Religion falls under this sub-category.

These 4 fields are rarely mutually exclusive & today’s anthropology scene is very fluid, often incorporating techniques from outside disciplines like psychology (study of the human psyche/mind) and sociology (study of human society).Slide6

Terms and techniques used by Cultural Anthropologists

Participant Observation

: To truly understand a culture, an anthropologist will usually study a culture for an extended period of time, sometimes taking many years. Oftentimes, the anthropologist will live within the community and partake in daily life and activities.

Ethnography

: A Cultural Anthropologist’s work usually culminates into something called an Ethnography, or a written description of the studied society. These are usually published in books and journals.Slide7

Terms and techniques used by Cultural Anthropologists

cont.

Culture Area

: This class will make use of ethnographic material from around the world from locations that are termed “Culture Areas” or geographical areas where societies tend to share many traits, either because of similar responses to the environment or because of cultural diffusion (sharing of culture) between these groups.

Chart: pgs. 4-6 in book

. Look through and make sure you can identify the different culture areas and

which groups inhabit them.

Ethnographic present: Cultures which may no longer exist (like some Native American groups) will still be referred to in the present tense by Cultural Anthropologists.Slide8

A question of perspective:The Fore of New Guinea

Problem

: The Fore are a group of ~14,000 horticulturalists (cultivators of domesticated plants without the use of modern agricultural techniques) from the

Melanesia Culture Area

who have had about 200 of their members die from mysterious causes each year. The locals call it

Kuru

or “to tremble with fear

.”

Jerking/shaking/unable to coordinate are the main symptoms. After 9 months, the individual is no longer able to eat or drink and soon dies. Women and children are mainly afflicted.

Solution

?

If you were asked to look into this case, what would your first hypothesis be as to the cause of the affliction?

Think back to our film “Inventing Reality” and the interplay between modern western medicine and traditional beliefs.Slide9

Holism solves it

We must look to all aspects of the Fore’s society for the answer, specifically, their religious and funerary practices…

Kuru

is caused by an infectious agent that is ingested by family members when they consume the remains of their dead loved ones. To the Fore, the holiest, most sacred resting place for the deceased is within the bodies of their loved ones. The deceased’s remains would be cooked and distributed amongst family as a form of utmost respect. Women and children, having lower social status, were more likely to ingest the brain (the seat of the infectious agent).Slide10

Etic/Emic Analysis

Etic

Analysis

: Viewing and labeling a culture with our own words and terms.

Advantages: Finding patterns that the studied group may be unaware of.

Applying an

Etic

Analysis to all cultures that you study makes it easier to identify Human Universals.

Terms and categories can be made for new information to be nicely organized.

Etic

Analysis is mainly used in Anthropological studies.

Etic

Analysis:

Kuru

is caused by a virus in the

afflicted’s

bloodstream that is later ingested by family members.

But what are bacteria, germs, diseases, a virus to the Fore? These are not only foreign words, but also foreign ideas.

Emic

Analysis

: Viewing a culture through the eyes of the people being studied.

Advantages: Better understanding of the studied culture, but much, much harder to attain. Argument: is it even possible to see through the eyes of another culture? To undo and place aside one’s own worldview and wholly adopt another? (HW question).

Emic

Analysis:

Kuru

is caused by Sorcery. The Sorcerer will obtain a personal belonging of the individual’s, combine it in a bundle with leaves, bark and stones and bury it in the cold muddy earth. The Sorcerer will then recite a spell and let the bundle rot. The individual then develops

Kuru

.Slide11

Cultural RelativismCannibalism. Right/Wrong? Does context matter? Who gets to make up the rules?Slide12

Cultural Relativism cont.

The norms and values we grow up with seem right and correct

We use our own society as a base for judging others

Thinking of others as simple, primitive, immoral, less-than-human or somehow fundamentally “wrong” is how wars start and propaganda is spread.

Have you ever been in a situation where you found yourself in the role of “the other”. Have you ever been stereotyped or judged based on another group’s values?Slide13

Western Society’s past attempts at getting to know other cultures

Modernism

: Began with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

A reaction to the superstition and hysteria of Europe’s “Dark Ages” (The Witch hunt era that we will get into later).

Rationality, objectivity, reason can discover knowledge and truth and lead to progress.

We can understand everybody/thing everywhere if we adhere to these principles of logic.

This is where our modern thoughts of linearity come from. Are we really more advanced/improved than previous generations?Slide14

For every movement, there is a counter-movement!

Post-Modernism

: No “true” knowledge, only

subjective

and

objective

knowledge.

1980s-Today

Knowledge as a human construction that we must “deconstruct.”

Science is limited: it does not integrate multiple viewpoints/truths. One must be aware of one’s own biases.

We cannot remove our cultural lens but we can become more aware of it.

Both Modernism and Post-Modernism are Western Society’s

Etic

ways of viewing other cultures.Slide15

What is Culture?

The beliefs and behaviors of a society

Culture is learned

Culture is based on

SymbolsSlide16

Culture Gives Meaning to Reality

Culture is the lens through which we view our world, it “invents” our reality

Ex: What is a tree?Slide17

ExplorationYesterday’s in-class writing…

What does religion mean to you?

Do you hold any beliefs that you would consider as being part of a spirituality/religion?

How would you define religion? Why do we need definitions?Slide18

ReligionAnother Slippery term

A Western concept like work/economy/politics/technology.

In western society, Religion is mostly seen as a clearly delineated aspect of society, separate from the other terms above. Not the case within all cultures.

Ex: the Fore, ancient Egypt

Operant Definition

As Anthropology is a Social

Science

we need to make sure the terms we use are observable and measureable and therefore can be studied.Slide19

Operant DefinitionsHow to define Religion within a Society

Functional: What function (or role) does religion have in society?

Does it provide a moral code? Explanations for natural events?

Analytic: How is religion manifested in society?

Through Narratives? Rituals? Ethics?

Essentialist: What is the basic nature of religion?

What realm is “religion” in? The natural? The supernatural?Slide20

The Sacred and Supernatural

Sacred:

Entitled to reverence and respect

Supernatural:

“above the natural”

Not obeying the laws of nature

as we know them.

Many times the supernatural is explained by science, further blurring the line between religion and science.Slide21

ReligionTheoretical Frameworkspreview

Cultural Anthropologists will traditionally pick one of the following 5 theoretical approaches to work under.

Evolutionary

Marxist

Functional

Interpretive

Psychosocial

See pgs. 16-21Slide22

Evolutionary

When/how religion began

This theory was introduced in the 1800s and went hand in hand with Modernism and the Enlightenment.

Logic, science and

Monotheism

were the pinnacles of human achievement

Western Society represented this pinnacle

Positivism

The only real knowledge is scientific knowledge

This approach generally carries a lot of negative baggage and is seen as outdated.

All other societies were seen as “primitive” compared to Western Society.

The quest for Religion’s origins is still ongoing and many elements of Evolutionary Theory are now combined under the Psychosocial Approach…Slide23

Psychosocial

What is the connection between culture, personality, society and the individual?

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis

Child

Parents

= Adult  Supernatural elements

Nurturing/authority figure

The biological basis of religious behavior

Does our brain create realities that are indistinguishable from “reality,” whatever that means?Slide24

MarxistDeveloped in the 1800s around same time as the Evolutionary Approach

Karl Marx

Religion as a construction of those in control of society

Obey this religion & “us” and you will be happy

A crutch for people too depressed by the miseries of capitalism. Slide25

Functional

What role does religion serve in society?

Émile

Durkheim

Collective Conscious

: Religion serves to hinder selfish tendencies of the individual and promote social cooperation. Symbols are a manifestation of the collective conscious and, when brought up during religious rituals, help to reinforce social cooperation.

Radcliffe-Brown

Need group solidarity (Religion) in order for society to survive

Bronislaw

Malinowski

Magic and religion as emotional and mental supportSlide26

InterpretiveDeveloped in response to the Functional Approach.

Clifford Geertz

The goal of the anthropologist should be

to discover meaning

, not to look for origins and laws!

Based on the work of Max Weber, who was the first to propose looking at culture through

Emic Analysis.Slide27

For MondayRead Stein & Stein Ch 1