Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Enchantment - A Critical Primer - Ian Alexander Cuthbertson

Modern Enchantment

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 describe my own take on enchantment. I draw upon the theoretical frameworks discussed in previous chapters along with recent philosophical work on the connections and disjunctions between belief and behaviour to propose a novel approach to an understudied variety of modern enchantment – a variety that I refer to as ‘fluid enchantment.’ I begin by outlining the binary model of belief on which the accounts of enchantment, disenchantment, and re-enchantment rely. Next, I outline three accounts of partial belief that challenge the binary model. Finally, I outline the ways the concept fluid enchantment might be used to describe situations and contexts in which individuals partially, ironically, or playfully engage with magical or supernatural beliefs and practices without fully adhering to these beliefs and without necessarily viewing these practices as being straightforwardly effective.

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Citation

Cuthbertson, Ian Alexander. Modern Enchantment. Enchantment - A Critical Primer. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 109-127 Aug 2024. ISBN 9781800504462. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=43970. Date accessed: 09 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.43970. Aug 2024

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