Roald Dahl said that “whoever does not believe in magic will never find it. “Interestingly, human beings have always tended to believe in magic since the dawn of time. Derived from this faith in the inexplicable, today we find what was called magical thought.
We travel the world applying the logic of cause and effect, so in the face of an event or phenomenon that has no scientific explanation, it is easy to wonder about the subject of many other “magic explanations”. In fact, this is perhaps one of the main reasons religions have survived over the centuries and the relentless development of science.
- Psychology and anthropology consider magical thinking to describe illogical attributions to certain causes without any empirical evidence.
This phenomenon is particularly relevant when the person considers that his thinking can have consequences in the outside world, such consequences may come from his own action or from the belief in the intermediation of supernatural forces.
When we look at societies around the world, we see that in almost every culture there is a magical thought. It is a natural process that has a biological basis. Humans establish causal relationships based on circumstantial associations and are difficult to consistently demonstrate.
We find examples of magical thinking easily. A child who believes that if he misbehaves he will be kidnapped by the “bag man. ” Dances and rituals with the aim of raining or, again, attributing the cause of an atmospheric phenomenon to the action of a superior deity.
“This is the first law of magic: disorientation. Don’t you ever forget?-Donna Tartt-
Two main causes help us explain this phenomenon, one refers to the proximity of events and the second is explained by associative thinking:
However, despite the causes associated with magic thinking, this phenomenon also has important functions, that is, it can be very useful in some very specific situations:
Today we can find dozens of examples that are a clear example of magical thinking, in fact, it is present in everyday situations, without reaching the point of being considered pathological.
In many cases, magical thinking, far from causing discomfort, brings relief. The problem arises when this is not the case or when this short-term relief becomes long-term harm.
Between the age of 2 and 7 (preoperative phase), children may come to think that they have the power to change the world only with their minds, both voluntarily and involuntarily, have difficulty understanding abstract concepts and their gaze hardly turns to other instances than the “I”. So, for example, they may think that something might happen to their parents for wishing someone a punishment.
For example, under certain circumstances, children may tend to blame the the child for certain events without participating in the event; however, this egocentrism tends to decrease over time.
Superstition and supernatural thinking, so prevalent in our society, continue to change magical thinking. The number 13 in our culture, or the 4th in Japanese culture, are numbers associated with bad luck in the collective unconscious. These are numbers that many athletes don’t want, to wear on their shirts or on the floor of a building where many people avoid choosing to live.
It can also occur in delirium circumstances, in contexts of psychosis and schizophrenia. Overly irrational beliefs are marked by magical thinking.
In fact, we can also see this magical thinking as a form of defense, a defense against what we cannot explain, so our brain seeks an association that, true or not, serves as a tranquilizer to the anxiety that uncertainty can cause. .
“Magic is the ability to think, isn’t it a matter of strength or language?. – Christophe Paolini-