영어로 읽는 고전 _ 앤드류 랭의 마법과 종교
"Magic and Religion"은 20세기 초에 쓰여진 Andrew Lang의 인류학적 연구서입니다. 이 작품은 마법과 종교 사이의 상호작용에 초점을 맞추며, 다양한 사회들에 걸쳐 이들의 정의, 역사적 선례, 그리고 문화적 중요성을 검토합니다. Lang은 E.B. 타일러와 J.G. 프레이저와 같은 학자들이 제안한 종교의 기원에 관한 복잡한 이론들을 숙고하면서, 동시에 이 주제에 대한 자신만의 견해를 확립하고자 합니다.
책의 도입부는 마법과 종교에 대한 기존 이론들에 대해 비판적인 톤을 확립하며, 종교적 사고의 진화를 검토하고자 하는 Lang의 의도를 제시합니다. 그는 종교의 기원에 대한 증가하는 관심을 논하면서, 불충분한 증거에서 비롯될 수 있는 추측성 가설들의 위험성을 강조합니다. Lang은 마법이 초기 신념 체계에 영향을 미쳤을 수 있지만, 신들에 대한 숭배로 특징지어지는 구조화된 개념으로서의 종교에 대한 이해도 다루어져야 한다는 자신의 입장을 제시합니다.
그는 이어질 에세이들의 내용을 개괄하기 시작하면서, 그의 탐구가 "차용된 신들"의 이론, 다양한 문화에서 나타나는 도덕적 창조 존재들의 존재, 그리고 이러한 믿음들의 본질과 발전에 관한 동료 학자들의 가설에 대한 비평과 같은 주제들을 포함할 것임을 시사합니다.
Classics Read in English _ Magic and Religion by Andrew Lang
"Magic and Religion" by Andrew Lang is an anthropological study written in the early 20th century. The work focuses on the interplay between magic and religion, examining their definitions, historical precedence, and cultural significance across various societies. Lang contemplates complex theories of religious origins, particularly those proposed by scholars like E.B. Tylor and J.G. Frazer, while also aiming to establish his own views on the subject. The opening of the book establishes a critical tone towards existing theories of magic and religion, laying out Lang's intent to examine the evolution of religious thought. He discusses the increasing interest in the origins of religion, highlighting the dangers of speculative hypotheses that can arise from insufficient evidence. Lang presents his stance that while magic may have implications in early belief systems, the understanding of religion as a structured concept, marked by the worship of deities, must also be addressed. He begins to outline the contents of the essays that follow, indicating that his exploration will include topics such as the theory of "loan-gods," the existence of moral creative beings in various cultures, and critiques of fellow scholars' hypotheses about the nature and development of these beliefs.
Among the contents
We all know what we mean by science; science is 'organised common sense.' Her aim is the acquisition of reasoned and orderly knowledge. Presented with a collection of verified facts, it is the part of science to reduce them to order, and to account for their existence in accordance with her recognised theory of things. If the facts cannot be fitted into the theory, it must be expanded or altered; for we must admit that, if the facts are verified, there is need for change and expansion in the theory. The 'colligation' of facts demands hypotheses, and these may not, at the moment of their construction, be verifiable. The deflections of a planet from its apparently normal course may be accounted for by the hypothesis of the attraction of another heavenly body not yet discovered. The hypothesis is legitimate, for such bodies are known to exist, and to produce such effects. When the body is discovered, the hypothesis becomes a certainty. On the other hand, the hypothesis that some capricious and conscious agency pushed the planet into deflections would be illegitimate, for the existence of such a freakish agency is not demonstrated. Our hypotheses then must be consistent with our actual knowledge of nature and of human nature, and our conjectured causes must be adequate to the production of the effects. Thus, science gradually acquires and organises new regions of knowledge.
