Chapter 21 Supplementary Discussion G Superstition and Tradition Maintenance

G Superstition and maintenance of tradition As the book was about to be ready for publishers, D. A．A friendly comment on one of my lectures by Dr. Rees drew my attention to an excellent little work by Mr. James Fraser (1909): Tasks of the Mind, which bears the same subtitle as the one above.In the text, Fraser explained, he wanted to "sift the seeds of good from the seeds of evil."It addresses my central problem in many ways like mine, yet as it comes from an eminent anthropologist it is able to provide - especially in relation to the early development of property and the family - a great deal Empirical evidence, I can't help but want to reprint all 84 pages of it here as an illuminating appendix to this book.In his conclusions related to this book, he explains how superstition, by reinforcing respect for marriage, has the effect of making both married and unmarried people more strictly obey the rules of sexual morality.In the chapter on property (17) Fraser states that "the effect of making a thing taboo is to endow it with a supernatural or mystical power, thereby rendering it The taboo thus becomes a powerful means of strengthening private property relations—or perhaps our socialist friends would say forging such chains.”He then refers (19) to a long-ago author who stated that in New Zealand "the taboo form is the greatest protector of property," and to an earlier report (20) on the Marquand Islands, where " The first task of taboo is undoubtedly to establish the foundation of property for the whole society.

Fraser also concludes (82) that "superstition has been of great help to mankind. It has provided the multitude with motives to behave well, even if the motives themselves were wrong; Of course it is better for the world if we do something wrong. Society is about actions, not opinions: as long as we behave well, whether our opinions are wrong or not makes no difference to others."