Zengotita, T. d. ( 1989 ) . On Wittgenstein ‘s Remarks on Frazer ‘s Golden Bough. In T. d. Zengotita, Cutlural Anthropology ( p. 390 ) . New York: American Anthropological Association.
In his book, Wittgenstein viewed metaphysics as a sort of thaumaturgy. He was careful non to support it or mock it and maintained that whatever that could non be seen or understood will stay unbroken. His work was non to seek and make connexions between things but instead to raise up something of higher order. Frazer believed that mythology provided account for barbarians and crude societies for their being through a totemism theory.
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He faulted Frazer by seeking to state that the rites and myths depended upon people ‘s sentiments about the universe. He sees myths and rites as connected to people ‘s emotions. Wittgenstein observes that ritual gestures may besides hold the same significances in words.
Robert, F. ( 1990 ) . The Making of the Golden Bough: The Origins and Growth of an Argument. London: Macmillan.
Robert Fraser notes that the “ The Golden Bough is one of the greatest classic of the worldaˆ¦ … a foundation rock of the modern sensibilityaˆ¦.. ” He notes that the book is a unsafe and has the ability to retain to confuse.
Frazer negotiations of unusual phenomenon. During the period of spiritual earnestness, Frazer did non adhere to any doctrinal belief. He chose to cast visible radiation on vague issues: faith and the root cause of tabu. Frazer knew the importance of tabu and the power of violation in the society. Taboo informed members of the society of who they were. Christians believed excessively much in tabu and believed that they had a particular Godhead disclosure. The Victorians did non like being 2nd to anything. They believed that they had a strong faith, belief, and religion. They besides did non like being told that forfeit could be interpreted merely as a mere charming prevarication at the roots or in animate beings.
Frazer was much interested in sameness other than distinctness. The impression that all people had an ‘essential similarity ‘ was viewed as a menace to Victorian heads. Robert writes that Frazer had a deep cultural roots and had besides carried thorough probe of others civilizations. In this context, he was much more interested in the impression of uniting experience, life and reading together.
Ackerman, R. ( 2002 ) . The Myth and Ritual School: J.G. Frazer and Cambridge Ritualists. London: Routledge.
Robert Ackerman notes that the “ The Golden Bough ” James Frazer is among the most outstanding figures in the survey of modern faith. Frazer ‘s work was the solely base influence on myth and ritualism in Cambridge school of idea.
Ackerman highlights Frazer ‘s attitude toward his plants. He claims that Frazer did non believe of trusting on secondary informations beginnings, and due to his personal duty to the household, he was unable to carry on a more first-hand surveies by himself.
He goes farther to include the plants of other bookmans like Jane Harrison, A.B Cook, F.M Cornford who are besides credited by immense part towards myth theory, classical plants and anthropology.
Ackerman traces the each work of these bookmans and highlight their involvements in myths, rites and faith, through to beginnings of calamity, comedy, art etc.
Encyclopedia.com. ( 1968 ) . International Encyclpedia of the Social Sciences. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from encyclopedia.com: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2- 3045000431.ht
The theory of tetomism is about the expressions at the human idea procedures, belief and tabu in adult male ‘s efforts to seek for the truth and control over his environment. He highlighted three most of import issues in his plants: the charming facets of which he believed is similar scientific discipline, the spiritual and the scientific thoughts.
Frazer dwelt excessively much on spiritual and forbidden issues. He portrayed adult male has crude turning up. He associated thaumaturgy to childhood, stripling associated with the spiritual belief while adulthood was dominated with scientific finds.
Frazer ‘s work is of great importance in the field of anthropology. His plants associated with the tabu, decease and totemism has now been abandoned due to developments and altering anthropological positions. However, these scholarly plants were more precious during his clip than in the modern universe.
Due to alterations and extended field work, the writer says that it is now hard to appreciate Frazer totemism theory. He acknowledges it ‘s of import, but besides indicate out that even Frazer knew that their theories would be disused some twenty-four hours and would merely be remembered or referred to out of wonder. Frazer farther wrote that his plants on faith, thaumaturgy, tabu and scientific discipline were merely the theories of idea ; possibly one twenty-four hours would be overtaken by new attacks of analyzing anthropology.
His coevalss were dragged into societal contention by the faith, notably William Robertson Smith. The writer point out that Frazer was treated faith with great regard and ne’er adopted any doctrinal instructions. He compared Christianity to paganism with a batch of tact. This denied Christianity its singularity in the society. He ne’er attacked the firmly doctrinal beliefs of his equals but instead undermined them. Because of his part to literature and anthropology, was rewarded by the province. His married woman is said to hold devoted her success single-mindedly to him entirely.
Mol, H. ( 1978 ) . The Origin and Functions of Religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 379-389.
Han dynasties Mol notes the Frazer was non among the first to be interested in totemism. However, his four work volumes had a major impact on the topic. His thoughts were influenced by his childhood. Therefore his attack to totemism is individualism perspective rational which was seen as the lone manner to development end. To Frazer, totemism was hence to run into the demands of an ordinary person in the society.
His attack to faith and thaumaturgy makes his positions unsatisfactorily and hence viewed as mistakes. Savages were treated with ambivalency and opposing statements. He implied that crude ideas were portion of human tradition. The agents and his priests self -deceived were besides considered agents of human advancement.
newworldencyclopedia.org. ( 2006, June 5 ) . hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Totemism. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newworldencyclopedia.org: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Totemism
To them faith was basically believing in the religious existences. This resulted into construct of animism ( belief that nature has soul ; the belief that things in nature, e.g. trees, mountains, and the sky, have souls or consciousness ) .
In their account, faith exists to help human existences understand things which would be excessively complicated to understand. This was through trusting on the unobserved and concealed forces of nature. This simply served the societal map of faith. Totem brought people together and helped in human development and civilisation. It besides helped to explicate the thoughts of construct and birth.
The modern development in totemism has seen persons following animate beings and attaching significance to them as personal totem. Totemism can besides be seen in naming of squads, pick of national symbols. The names or character seems to hold symbolic importance associated with the natural force. The feeling of importance bestows some sort of euphory to the squad or state.
The impulse to label some of the workss and animate beings with totemism is alive and exists today. It is still widely practiced cosmopolitan human activity. This is supported by the environing environment supplying such imagination to the people every bit good as symbols associated with them. Scholars see totemism as something which will go on to be for many old ages to come.
Frazer ‘s charming thoughts were conceived out of the impression that the existence is regulated by anon. and unchanging changeless Torahs i.e. he compared thaumaturgy to scientific discipline and both were likewise. The Torahs were known to these prestidigitators through their art applied as though proficient processs to command happenings. These beliefs were faulty based on concluding ; non like scientific 1s. The logical thinking was logically shallow and lacked in-depth like in scientific discipline. They assumed that the features of one ‘s object e.g. trees were supposed to give similar features in another.
The charming thoughts were bit by bit dismissed because its failures were evident. This paved ways for spiritual thoughts. In this respect, there was a belief that superhuman existences were in control. Nature was no longer taken for granted. Man turned to agents of supernatural existences for aid by Acts of the Apostless of entreaty and favour. Frazer besides recognized the restrictions of his ain thoughts and admitted that adult male achieve more with scientific thoughts.
Petrunic, J. ( 2009, January ) . Gifford Lecture Series. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from giffordlectures.org: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.giffordlectures.org/Author.asp? AuthorID=67
This is instead onslaught on the plants of James Frazer. The long philippic is a vituperative onslaught on the plants every bit good as the personality of Frazer. The writer identifies his personal failing, his trusting on other bookmans and missionaries. Petrunic besides claim the Frazer was less traveled and therefore was unable to carry on a thorough research on anthropological issues.
Petrunic observes that Frazer treated faith with exceeding grade of objectiveness, he still had his critics. The academicians accused him of keeping his cognition to himself and seldom willing to discourse them with the others or even lucubrate them. The article besides notes that Frazer did his work on his survey desk. He hence had small original work to portion. He read big sum of plants by other writers. The article besides claims that Frazer had the ability to enter notes and categorize.
Frazer seldom travelled. He relied on historical plants of ancient anthropologists. He besides worked closely with his fellow bookmans like Sigmund Freud, whom they agreed with on several plants, Bronislaw Malinowski with whom they wrote a similar topic about ; functionalism. T. S Eliot, the underlying subjects of decease, life rhythm and metempsychosis in his poesy were shared with Frazer.
However, the article gives him recognition on his systematic class of assorted plants he came across such as people ‘s civilization. His celebrity and success can merely be from popularising his theories of faith and thaumaturgy which subsequently had a great impact on the literary plant of his coevalss.
Frazer ‘s work was a comparative attack to faith and mythology. Its mark was great literary audience. The work of Frazer now is used by modern anthropologists as an attack to the survey of faith, from a cultural position instead from position of divinity. The influence of The Golden Bough on the literature of the clip was significantly felt.
Frazer is credited by conveying forth the anthropological cognition to modern bookmans and anthropologists. The battle to present the same now would hold long and boring. In this respect, he made the modern anthropology possible.
