Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft: Inherently Human

Folklorists and anthropologists will benefit from Phillips Stevens’ contemporary analysis of the psychological forces underlying magic and witchcraft, as well as Stevens’ approach to how people relate to such phenomena. His work (in the form of a textbook) builds upon a careful examination of the existing literature coupled with his personal experiences, including those provided by his stint in the Peace Corps in the 1960s and his anthropological fieldwork in Nigeria. The writing is stimulating and timely, and includes interpretations of lyrics from noted blues songs as well as other examples of popular culture and current events.Stevens’ monograph has taken decades to develop; his book is an outgrowth of a course on witchcraft and magic that he taught at the collegiate level for many years. Its value as a textbook builds upon the long-term evolution of Stevens’ ideas within a classroom setting.He begins by observing that conventional anthropological theories of magic and witchcraft—and related activities—are closely linked to structural/functionalist social and cultural theories stemming from the work and influence of seminal anthropologists such as Emile Durkheim and Bronislaw Malinowski, as well as folklorists such as Sir James Frazer. Such perspectives focus upon how thinking and behavior contribute to social cohesion and stability. Thus, these orientations emphasize social, not psychological, perspectives.As an alternative and an enhancement of such thinking, Stevens combines anthropological theories and reasoning with evidence and orientations offered by the neurological sciences that focus upon the nature and functioning of the human brain. In developing his thesis, Stevens briefly refers to earlier thinkers, such as Carl Jung and William James, in order to draw attention to their pioneering psychological perspectives. Stevens, however, focuses upon more state-of-the-art neurobiological research. The book's subtitle “Inherently Human” reinforces his emphasis upon the intrinsically human biological and psychological nature of humankind and how these traits influence magic and witchcraft as well as how people relate to these phenomena. Such analysis embraces psychological interpretations in addition to cultural concepts such as social solidarity.In accordance with its textbook role, Stevens begins with an overview of anthropological methods and paradigms coupled with discussions of the benefits derived from neurobiological research. He explains: “There is now sufficient material from several social and neurobiological sciences to convincingly declare that the scope and method of anthropology offers superior perspectives” for examining magic and witchcraft (p. 22). After advocating theories and methods of anthropology (enhanced with neurobiological perspectives), Stevens presents focused chapters that deal with specific topics including the supernatural, magic, ritual, and witchcraft, providing both useful overviews of his topics as well as his own perspectives. He concludes the book with chapter 8, which deals with “dark shamans.”Stevens observes: “A central point . . . is that . . . our reactions [related to witchcraft and magic] are quickened by our brains’ negativity biases rooted in our evolutionary biology” (p. 164). Stevens develops a means of analyzing witchcraft and magic in ways that expand beyond traditional cultural and social explanations in ways that acknowledge individual people and their inherent psychic responses. Stevens affirms that “neuroscience is advancing rapidly today and is providing evidence for revolutionary new considerations of the nature of culture” (p. 13).Although he seeks to advance a particular paradigm that expands beyond cultural and societal explanations, his text also provides focused discussions upon a wide variety of topics that are relevant to those who are interested in magic and witchcraft. These reviews provide introductions and reviews of such topics; they are useful theoretic and literary analyses even for those who question the paradigm that Stevens develops.Some readers may ask why the issue of witchcraft emerges as more powerful and influential at specific periods in time. The answer appears related to the experiences to which people have been subjected. Among social sciences, Stevens observes that “it's axiomatic now that in normal low-stress times, witchcraft suspicions and accusations are mostly local between neighbors, and actual accusations are infrequent and fall along fairly predictable social patterns; however, in times of stress, suspicions more readily turn into accusations and the patterns dissolve, and the classic scapegoating and stress-release functions of witchcraft are revealed” (p. 164). He also notes that “a number of scholars turned to neurobiology for explanation. Such theories sought areas of brain and neural activity that make such experience possible” (p. 35).In making such observations, Stevens intuitively links his perspectives of witchcraft (and how people deal with it) with the classic anthropological concept of “anomie,” originally developed by Durkheim. The concept suggests that rapid and disruptive social and economic changes may lead to confusion and alienation, which trigger responses that are often socially divisive and may generate (while responding to) significant social disruptions. Stevens thus offers a new way to conceptualize and analyze the intuitive recognition that “witch-hunts” often occur under conditions of stress and rapid, uncontrolled change. They may occur in the “modern world,” not just within traditional societies. Stevens provides a summary and wrap-up in chapter 8.I recommend Stevens’ work both as a textbook and as the presentation of Stevens’ specific views involving magic and witchcraft. It embraces modern psychological and neurobiological perspectives and combines them with anthropological theory and method. Scholars with an interest in the subjects of magic and witchcraft should find Stevens’ work useful. Instructors who seek a state-of-the-art text that deals with these topics through the lens of anthropology should give it a look.