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Ancient Beliefs And Modern Superstitions
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Book Synopsis Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions by : Martin Lings
Download or read book Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions written by Martin Lings and published by . This book was released on 2001-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon his wide knowledge of world religions the author in this book strikes at the root of everything that makes it difficult for people today to believe wholeheartedly in religion and in doing so, it shows modern man to be, in his own peculiar twenty-first century way, the embodiment of superstition in its most dangerous form. We are faced in the modern world with a situation similar to that in the fable of the Emperor's new clothes. This book aims to speak the truth about the modern outlook especially concerning science and metaphysics, in order to dispell the illusion that prevents the intellect from seeing things as they really are.
Book Synopsis Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions by : Martin Lings
Download or read book Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions written by Martin Lings and published by . This book was released on 1964 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis The Betrayal of Tradition by : Harry Oldmeadow
Download or read book The Betrayal of Tradition written by Harry Oldmeadow and published by World Wisdom, Inc. This book was released on 2005 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays by eminent traditionalists and contemporary thinkers throws into sharp relief many of the urgent problems of today.
Download or read book Superstition written by Stuart Vyse and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today? This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Book Synopsis The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland by : Steve Roud
Download or read book The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland written by Steve Roud and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2006-04-06 with total page 1004 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are black cats lucky or unlucky? What should you do when you hear the first cuckoo? Since when have people believed that it's unlucky to shoot an albatross? Why does breaking a mirror lead to misfortune? This fascinating collection answers these and many other questions about the world of superstitions and forms an endlessly browsable guide to a subject that continues to obsess and intrigue.
Book Synopsis Inventing Superstition by : Dale B. Martin
Download or read book Inventing Superstition written by Dale B. Martin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Roman author Pliny the Younger characterizes Christianity as “contagious superstition”; two centuries later the Christian writer Eusebius vigorously denounces Greek and Roman religions as vain and impotent “superstitions.” The term of abuse is the same, yet the two writers suggest entirely different things by “superstition.” Dale Martin provides the first detailed genealogy of the idea of superstition, its history over eight centuries, from classical Greece to the Christianized Roman Empire of the fourth century C.E. With illuminating reference to the writings of philosophers, historians, and medical teachers he demonstrates that the concept of superstition was invented by Greek intellectuals to condemn popular religious practices and beliefs, especially the belief that gods or other superhuman beings would harm people or cause disease. Tracing the social, political, and cultural influences that informed classical thinking about piety and superstition, nature and the divine, Inventing Superstition exposes the manipulation of the label of superstition in arguments between Greek and Roman intellectuals on the one hand and Christians on the other, and the purposeful alteration of the idea by Neoplatonic philosophers and Christian apologists in late antiquity. Inventing Superstition weaves a powerfully coherent argument that will transform our understanding of religion in Greek and Roman culture and the wider ancient Mediterranean world.
Book Synopsis Believing in Magic by : Stuart A. Vyse
Download or read book Believing in Magic written by Stuart A. Vyse and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs.
Book Synopsis Staging the Superstitions of Early Modern Europe by : Asst Prof Verena Theile
Download or read book Staging the Superstitions of Early Modern Europe written by Asst Prof Verena Theile and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-03-28 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Engaging with fiction and history-and reading both genres as texts permeated with early modern anxieties, desires, and apprehensions-this collection scrutinizes the historical intersection of early modern European superstitions and English stage literature. Contributors analyze the cultural mechanisms that shape, preserve, and transmit beliefs. They investigate where superstitions come from and how they are sustained and communicated within early modern European society. It has been proposed by scholars that once enacted on stage and thus brought into contact with the literary-dramatic perspective, belief systems that had been preserved and reinforced by historical-literary texts underwent a drastic change. By highlighting the connection between historical-literary and literary-dramatic culture, this volume tests and explores the theory that performance of superstitions opened the way to disbelief.
Book Synopsis Magic and Superstition in Europe by : Michael David Bailey
Download or read book Magic and Superstition in Europe written by Michael David Bailey and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic and superstition in Europe from antiquity to the present. Focusing mainly on the medieval and early modern era, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems_particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca_from Europe to the United States. He explains how magic was understood, constructed, and frequently condemned and how magical beliefs and practices have changed over time yet also remain vital even today.
Download or read book Superstition written by Robert L. Park and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-22 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the battle between superstition and science is far from over From uttering a prayer before boarding a plane, to exploring past lives through hypnosis, has superstition become pervasive in contemporary culture? Robert Park, the best-selling author of Voodoo Science, argues that it has. In Superstition, Park asks why people persist in superstitious convictions long after science has shown them to be ill-founded. He takes on supernatural beliefs from religion and the afterlife to New Age spiritualism and faith-based medical claims. He examines recent controversies and concludes that science is the only way we have of understanding the world. Park sides with the forces of reason in a world of continuing and, he fears, increasing superstition. Chapter by chapter, he explains how people too easily mistake pseudoscience for science. He discusses parapsychology, homeopathy, and acupuncture; he questions the existence of souls, the foundations of intelligent design, and the power of prayer; he asks for evidence of reincarnation and astral projections; and he challenges the idea of heaven. Throughout, he demonstrates how people's blind faith, and their confidence in suspect phenomena and remedies, are manipulated for political ends. Park shows that science prevails when people stop fooling themselves. Compelling and precise, Superstition takes no hostages in its quest to provoke. In shedding light on some very sensitive--and Park would say scientifically dubious--issues, the book is sure to spark discussion and controversy.
Download or read book Superstitions written by D.R. McElroy and published by Wellfleet Press. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across all cultures and spanning centuries, superstitions rooted in cultural legends and myths have formed and influenced daily life. Superstitions: A Handbook of Folklore, Myths, and Legends from around the World explains how and why these legends and the associated behaviors behind them developed, accompanied by beautiful illustrations. In this definitive reference, you’ll learn the fascinating and often bizarre histories of a comprehensive range of superstitions from around the world. For example, the belief that one will have seven years' bad luck if you break a mirror is said to come from the Romans, who were the first to create glass mirrors. And in Japanese culture, cutting your nails at night is thought to lead to a quick death because the two phrases sound similar. You’ll also find out why some superstitions vary from culture to culture. For instance, the “unlucky” number 13 is considered a bad omen in some countries, like the US, and “lucky” in other countries, like Italy—where the number 17 is considered unlucky. The information is organized by country, so you can easily investigate the popular superstitions linked to your own or other specific ethnic heritage or cultural identity. Satisfy your burning curiosity with this complete guide to superstitions, folklore, and myths. The Mystical Handbook series from Wellfleet takes you on a magical journey through the wonderful world of spellcraft and spellcasting. Explore a new practice with each volume and learn how to incorporate spells, rituals, blessings, and cleansings into your daily routine. These portable companions feature beautiful foil-detail covers and color-saturated interiors on a premium paper blend. Other titles in the series include: Witchcraft, Love Spells, Moon Magic, Knot Magic, and House Magic.
Download or read book Superstition written by Sally Coulthard and published by Quadrille Publishing. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Superstitions have captured our imaginations for centuries but we are often unaware of where they came from and why. In her new book Superstition, Sally Coulthard explores the history and background of 50 of these fascinating cultural behaviours, how they affected our everyday, and how many of these beliefs still permeate modern life. From opening umbrellas indoors to not putting new shoes on the table, Sally gets under the skin of these peculiar pastimes and reveals how they started and why they became so popular.
Download or read book Epicureanism written by Catherine Wilson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This very short introudction corrects the prevalent view of Epicureanism that often conjures up ideas of tasty delights and hedonism. Wilson explains the philosophical and scientific ideas of Epicurus and his followers and the legacy of Epicureanism on later European thought.
Download or read book Twins written by William Viney and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2021-05-05 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human twins have many meanings and different histories. They have been seen as gods and monsters, signs of danger, death, and sexual deviance. They are taken as objects of wonder and violent repression, the subjects of scientific experiment. Now millions are born through fertility technologies. Their history is often buried in philosophies and medical theories, religious and scientific practices, and countless stories of devotion and tragedy. In this history of superstitions and marvels, fantasies and experiments, William Viney—himself a twin—shows how the use and abuse of twins has helped to shape the world in which we live. This book has been written not just for twins, but for anyone interested in their historical, global, and political impact.
Book Synopsis A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles by : Stephen Roud
Download or read book A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles written by Stephen Roud and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first major new book on British superstitions and their history in over a generation, this survey not only explains what people have believed and why, but when superstitions arose, which parts of the country adopted them, how they evolved and what people believe today. Drawing extensively on literary sources from medieval times to the present, the book settles many arguments, debunks many myths and provides in the process a fascinating sideways view of social customs and beliefs over the centuries.
Download or read book Enchanted Europe written by Euan Cameron and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-03-18 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the dawn of history people have used charms and spells to try to control their environment, and forms of divination to try to foresee the otherwise unpredictable chances of life. Many of these techniques were called 'superstitious' by educated elites. For centuries religious believers used 'superstition' as a term of abuse to denounce another religion that they thought inferior, or to criticize their fellow-believers for practising their faith 'wrongly'. From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, scholars argued over what 'superstition' was, how to identify it, and how to persuade people to avoid it. Learned believers in demons and witchcraft, in their treatises and sermons, tried to make 'rational' sense of popular superstitions by blaming them on the deceptive tricks of seductive demons. Every major movement in Christian thought, from rival schools of medieval theology through to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, added new twists to the debates over superstition. Protestants saw Catholics as superstitious, and vice versa. Enlightened philosophers mocked traditional cults as superstitions. Eventually, the learned lost their worry about popular belief, and turned instead to chronicling and preserving 'superstitious' customs as folklore and ethnic heritage. Enchanted Europe is the first comprehensive, integrated account of western Europe's long, complex dialogue with its own folklore and popular beliefs. Drawing on many little-known and rarely used texts, Euan Cameron constructs a compelling narrative of the rise, diversification, and decline of popular 'superstition' in the European mind.
Download or read book Before Religion written by Brent Nongbri and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-22 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining a wide array of ancient writings, Brent Nongbri dispels the commonly held idea that there is such a thing as ancient religion. Nongbri shows how misleading it is to speak as though religion was a concept native to pre-modern cultures.
