Product Description

Glucklich offers a new approach towards the definition and understanding of magic. Basing himself in the Indian city of Banaras, where magic is a familiar part of everyday life, he reviews the major theories that have explained (or explained away) magic over the last century. He argues that all of these theories leave out something critical, namely what he calls "magical consciouness" - a special state of awareness of magicians and their clients which, though extraordinary, is also perfectly natural.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #874982 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Review
"The reader experiences...a sensible and engaging argument, taking off from a series of humanly gripping anecdotes, that actually confronts the sorts of questions that ordinary rational and not-so-rational people have about magic. This book should be of great value in undergraduate courses on religion, anthropology, and popular culture."--Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago
"Like a boddhisattva, Glucklich succeeds in 'tricking' his reader into enlightenment, in this case into opening young minds to cutting edge social sciences theory and methodology as well as to a number of fundamental questions that ritual, belief, and yes, magic, pose for the fields of philosophy and religious studies."--David G. White, University of Virginia