Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

The Disenchantment Thesis

Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Ian Alexander Cuthbertson [+-]
Ian Alexander Cuthbertson is an independent scholar who is broadly interested in exploring how the category “religion” is deployed to legitimize certain beliefs, practices, and institutions while delegitimizing others. Ian lives in England with his wife Virginia and their son Ciaran and often puts pineapple on pizza.

Description

In this chapter, I provide an overview of the disenchantment thesis. Popularized by Max Weber, the disenchantment thesis argues that specific modern developments have caused irreversible intellectual and affective changes such that modern individuals prefer scientific explanations over magical ones and are increasingly immune to feelings of fullness, mystery, and awe. Because disenchantment is often described both as an important feature of modernity and as involving important changes to religious belief and practice, I begin the chapter with a brief overview of modernity and secularization. I then provide overviews of the three most well-developed arguments for disenchantment: Max Weber’s arguments concerning intellectualization and rationalization, Charles Taylor’s account of a shift from what he calls porous to buffered selves, and Marcel Gauchet’s description of increased transcendence and the modern shift away from sacral dependence.

Notify A Colleague

Citation

Cuthbertson, Ian Alexander. The Disenchantment Thesis. Enchantment - A Critical Primer. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 10-31 Aug 2024. ISBN 9781800504462. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=43965. Date accessed: 11 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.43965. Aug 2024

Dublin Core Metadata