Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis III 1922 1.djvu/119

 BOOK REVIEWS m

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upon imagination that cannot be verified' (p. 72); the power of the non-evidential causes of belief being excessive in immature minds and in tlie lower stages of culture. 'The peculiarity of savage beliefs is due not to corrupt and clouded perception, but to the influence of desire and anxiety upon their imagination, unrestrained by self criticism and reinforced by popular consensus. The savage's imagination is excited by the pressing needs of his life in hunting, love, war, agriculture, and therefore by hunger and emulation, hate and grief, fear and suspicion. Imaginations spring up in his mind by analogy with experience ; but often by remote or absurd analogies; and there is no logic at hand and not enough common sense to distinguish the wildest imaginative analogies from trustworthy conclusions ' (p. 86). The two most widespread and important superstitions are Magic and Animism; Magic being prior to Animism, a view in which Mr. Read agrees with Freud and dissents from "Wundt. Not the least important difference bet^veen Magic and Animism is that, whereas Animism necessarily assumes that the universe is governed by caprice, and tends to develop into Religion, Magic postulates a rigid sequence of cause and effect, thus having some important elements in common with the scientific point of view. Magic and Science both start from Common Sense and ' expand at very unequal rates in opposite directions . . . Whilst Magic rapidly distorts, perverts and mystifies it out of recognition by innumerable imaginations, Science slowly connects its fragments together, corrects, defines and extends it, without ever altering its original positive character' (p. 327).

The psychological and historical basis of both Magic and Animism (those twin errors with which the human mind is ' everywhere befogged ') are treated at length and afford most interesting, though often melancholy, reading. In view of the immense blunders, ineptitudes and misconceptions into which they have lead humanity, the question arises as to the nature of the biological factors which permitted their growth and vast develop- ment in human society. Mr, Read's answer to this question is that ' these superstitions were useful and (apparently) even necessary in giving to elders enough prestige to preserve tradition and custom when the leader of the hunt was no longer conspicuous in authority. A magic-working gerontocracy was the second form of society; and the third form was governed by a wizard-king or a priest-ldng, or by a king supported by wizards or priests ' (p. vi). In later stages of culture Animism (especially in its religious developments) has indirectly been of immense service to civilisation, since the development of art and science has been so largely connected with the priestly castes. Even here however humanity has had to pay dearly for the progress it has made, counterbalanced as this is by a weight of superstition, which has prevented the applic- ation of human powers to the understanding and control of nature. 'It is the tragedy of the world that for thousands of years the specula-