Andrew Lang

Magic and Religion

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Andrew Lang was one of the leading lights in the study of unexplained phenomena. In this collection of essays, he takes a look at the state of the study of early religion, ritual, magic, and myth. He begins by looking at science and superstition, and the dangers of allowing belief unsupported by fact to seep into science. He then discusses the origin or religion, and "loan gods," or borrowed religion, a theory advanced by E.B. Tylor. Lang then moves on to look at William Frazer's theory of the origin of the divine character of Christ. In addition, Lang discusses other topics related to early religious beliefs, including taboos and walking through fire. ANDREW LANG was born in Selkirk, Scotland, in 1844 and became an expert on a variety of topics. He translated The Odyssey and The Iliad; wrote a number of histories of Scotland; explored mythology, religion, and folklore in his writings; and authored novels, poetry, literary criticisms, and children's books. He was one of the founders of the study of Psychical Research, the scientific investigation of unexplained phenomena.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cosimo Classics
• Seitenzahl: 328
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. April 2005
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 203mm x 127mm x 19mm
• Gewicht: 396g
• ISBN-13: 9781596050952
• ISBN-10: 1596050950
• Artikelnr.: 21172248

Autorenporträt

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him. Lang is now chiefly known for his publications on folklore, mythology and religion. The interest in folklore was from early life; he read John Ferguson McLennan before coming to Oxford, and then was influenced by E. B. Tylor. The earliest of his publications is Custom and Myth (1884). In Myth, Ritual and Religion (1887) he explained the "irrational" elements of mythology as survivals from more primitive forms. Lang's Making of Religion was heavily influenced by the 18th century idea of the "noble savage": in it, he maintained the existence of high spiritual ideas among so-called "savage" races, drawing parallels with the contemporary interest in occult phenomena in England. His Blue Fairy Book (1889) was a beautifully produced and illustrated edition of fairy tales that has become a classic. This was followed by many other collections of fairy tales, collectively known as Andrew Lang's Fairy Books. In the preface of the Lilac Fairy Book he credits his wife with translating and transcribing most of the stories in the collections. Lang examined the origins of totemism in Social Origins (1903).