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BADLUCK.HTM
BELIEVING
IN MAGIC, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SUPERSTITION by Stewart A. Vyse. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, 1997. 220 pages, Index and notes.
If one
had the assignment to produce a 220 page article for an Encyclopedia, this is
the document he might well produce. Chock full of facts, citations, reports of
researchers in the field, it none-the-less falls short of recommendation, for
it has no "soul." There is much of worth in the book, and it has, I
believe, a valued place on library shelves, But, unless one has
"psychology" in his or her job description, and perhaps even then, I
don't see it as a "keeper" for a private library.
The
author does address all the usual
questions surrounding the issue, why superstitions are so common, how
"rational" people come to put their faith in them, and how is such
behavior established and maintained. But every time he draws close to an issue
of real interest, for instance, what the difference might be between magic and
religion, he pulls back, becomes passive, talks about the views of others
without making observations of his own. The author's own metaphysical
assumptions are revealed, I think, by this passage from page 21:
"Religious
faith exists without need of proof, while science is built upon proof...a
number of ... religious groups hold beliefs that fall within our definition of
superstition."
His
chapter on "The Superstitious Person," (Chapter 2) is perhaps the
best. Keying on Mrs. Ronald Reagan, neither condemning or approving of her
particular behavior, he does a good job of explanation of how superstitious
behavior comes about -- and continues -- even in the lives of some highly
intelligent and educated people.
The
book concludes with this statement, which is as close as the author gets to
expressing his own view:
(page
220). "When we recognize the power of human understanding, it is easy to
choose science over magic, and the natural over the supernatural."
Blurbs
on the cover contain endorsements by James Randi and Martin Gardner. There is,
apparently, no comparable work to this one from a Christian perspective. There
needs to be.
John W.
Burgeson
Durango,
Colorado, August 1998
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