The end of magic?

I have recently purchased a facsimile copy of Reginald Scott's The Discoverie of Witchcraft (originally published in 1584).

This is an important book in the history of Western civilisation as it is the first ever book in which methods for creating magic are explained. This might seem an overstatement, as magic is nowadays a trivialised from of theatre which barely has any influence on the way we think.

Scott's book is important because it was the first time somebody openly challenged the belief in witchcraft and supernatural powers by exposing conjuring methods. The book contains some interesting magic; there are pictures of trick knives that make it seem like you are cutting your nose or finger. The picture on the left shows a contraption used to create the illusion of somebody's head being severed. There is also a description of a Magic Colouring Book, which is still used in children's magic shows and many other tricks still performed by contemporary magicians.

The book was published in the Renaissance, a period which heralded Western culture as we know it today. Although many people see the renaissance as a period where Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, some do not see this as a positive development. Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, for example, questioned whether the renaissance was a positive change and argued that it was a period of decline from the High Middle Ages, destroying much that was important.

One of the important things that was destroyed is a sense of magic and The Discoverie of Witchcraft illustrates, if not helped the cause, this development. It might seem strange for an engineer/philosopher like myself to argue that dispelling a belief in magic would not be a good thing. Magic is, however, more than a simplistic belief in supernatural forces that control our lives.

Magicians have been part of human civilisation for as long as there are records - and possibly as long as human culture exists. There are many anthropological accounts of medicine men and shamans using conjuring skills as part of their healing and rituals. Most magic history books interpret this use of sleight of hand as an attempt by the shaman to obtain power mischievously. But there is much more to magic than one person gaining power over others.

Magic is a psychological force - a means to understand our position in nature. Although some might argue that magic has been wiped from contemporary culture, it has never actually disappeared from our psyche. Simple acts, such as writing your name on a wall are in fact magical. To some this is a simple act of vandalism, but that is not the real motivation for people to do this.

Writing your name on a wall makes the wall becomes an extension of yourself and you become part of the wall. It is a way to exert our self onto the world. This is I think the deeper psychological reason for the popularity of tagging. Tagging is a way to impart part of your self onto the environment in which you live. This is in essence an act of magic because it is a way to connect the inner world (psychology) with physical reality. There is no rational reason to write your name on a wall

There are many more examples of non rational behaviour; why do we prefer one brand over another? Why we choose one political party or football team over another? When analysing motivations in every day choices we see that people often cross the horizon of reason and this is the realm of magical thinking. Magic, as a psychological force, is still alive and kicking in a hyper-modern world.

From Shaman to Showman

Earlier this month, I attended the Centenary Convention of the Australian Society of Magicians. This convention has reignited my passion for performing magic, albeit in a different direction.

The amazing Jeff McBride used the phrase 'from shaman to showman' several times during his performances and lecture. The shaman, or medicine man, used to perform a central function in prehistoric and primal cultures and incorporated the philosopher, healer and entertainer. In contemporary culture, these functions have, however, been separated and the philosopher, healer and entertainer are different people and the magician usually only functions as the entertainer, working for children, performing close-up in restaurants or more traditional stage acts.

Performing magic can be a powerful experience for the spectator as well as the magician and is, in McBride's words, a 'mood altering device'. Experiencing well crafted magic releases positive chemicals in the brain and magic becomes, following Eugene Burger, a way of transcending the human condition, even if it is only for a fleeting moment. In this way the magician becomes a healer.

The magician becomes philosopher by providing meaningful context to the magical experience. The philosophy expressed by performing magic is not about providing a solution to the life's problems. In magical thinking the world is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be experienced. By providing the spectator with a sense of mystery, magicians can integrate the philosopher back into their performances.

Unfortunately, most magic has not elevated itself from triviality and remains a fringe form of entertainment. Magicians try to provide people with puzzles to solve, rather than with mysteries to absorb. Hearing Eugene Burger and Jeff McBride speak and seeing them in action has greatly inspired me to attempt to attempt to create some meaningful magic, combining my passion for philosophy, skill in magic and knowledge of psychology.

The Wonder of Religion

Dutch Magician Tommy Wonder provides an interesting insight in Volume I of The Books of Wonder (1996). He gives advice to magicians on what to do when a spectator discovers - or beliefs to discover - the secret to a magic routine:

I've frequently wondered why people sometimes come up with painfully silly solutions and don't stop to realize it. If they would give the matter more thought they would quickly see that their solution couldn't possibly work. I believe their reasoning runs something like this: The moment a spectator sees a magical effect that he [sic] doesn't understand, he is confronted with a problem, a problem that stands square in front of him like a granite boulder. [...] Now if the spectator contrives some solution, in a way he has enabled himself to move the problem. He can roll this boulder out of his way, so that he is no longer confronted by it. The problem seems to be solved. [...] his mind throws a big party. He's solved the problem! (p. 251)

This observation from the every day practice of a professional magician shows a very interesting psychological mechanism at work. Somebody is presented with a problem, which creates a conflict of the mind. As soon as a solution is presented, no matter how improbable, the conflict seems to disappear. Wonder continues:

Because his mind is dancing and celebrating its victory, it never stops to realize that it only moved the problem, [...] it still exists in another place.

The psychological mechanism at work is a process of cognitive dissonance. When a magician makes a ball disappear, there are two observations for which there is no causal relationship. It is the job of the magician to hide this cause - the causeless event is the magical effect. Humans are inclined to remove any tension between dissonant observations, even if this means inventing miraculous connections - cognitive dissonance.

The term 'cognitive dissonance' is often used as an explanation for the emergence of religion in pre-scientific cultures. The idea being that ancient people experienced a cognitive dissonance in their experience of natural occurrences, such as the daily disappearance and re-appearance of the sun. The explanations created to relieve the tension is what we now know as religion.

I think this is only a partial explanation, as much of religion is a means of providing explanations for the way the world is - albeit very non satisfactory in modern scientific terms. Religion is much more, however, it is - for those who follow it - a vehicle to provide meaning to life and a foundation for ethics.

But does all cognitive dissonance need to be resolved? Why can we not live with the tension - accepting that there are questions for which we do not have an answer, or for which there even might not be an answer?

Tommy Wonder touches on this when he argues that magicians should aim to defuse the cognitive dissonance experienced by the spectator, creating suspension of disbelief and giving rise to a feeling that magic really exists - even if it is only for a fleeting moment, as our rational mind quickly takes over, trying to resolve the dissonance.

Magic and Philosophy

I recently turned back to pick up my teenage passion of performing magic tricks. Some might think that it is quite a big step from the seriousness and heaviness of philosophy to the giddiness and lightness of magic. The two are actually much more closely related to each other than obvious at first glance.

Both the magician and the philosopher have arisen from the same archetypical and historical figure of the shaman. The anthropological record shows that shamans use technical and psychological principles, similar to those used by contemporary stage magicians, to aid there spiritual work.

I became interested in philosophy as a teenager by reading books about the history of magic that refer back to the shamanistic origins of the craft. Snowballing my way through literature I eventually stranded at philosophy itself. My journey has gone full circle and I am back at studying magic tricks!