A Neurocognitive Realist Perspective on Magic
Edward Bever
Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft September 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1353/mrw.2026.a1004083 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that magic references real phenomena rooted in alterations of neural functioning that enable heightened access to knowledge and expression of human powers. Contends that witchcraft involves ill-will communicated through mind-body connections, while sorcery, divination, and healing deliberately alter consciousness, either intensely through shamanic "tuning" or subtly through incantations and bodily activity. Concedes that not all magical beliefs and practices are valid or efficacious. |
Abstract
Abstract: Magic is a useful term because it references something real: a set of phenomena stemming from alterations of neural functioning that facilitate heightened access to knowledge and manifestation of human powers. Witchcraft anthropologically defined centers on the potential for one person's ill-will to be communicated and trigger another's illness or accident spontaneously through the connections between minds and bodies. Sorcery and beneficent magical practices like divination and healing center on the potential for deliberate activities altering consciousness and neural functioning—whether intensely, as in the "tuning" of the nervous system to induce ecstatic trance in shamanism, or subtly, as in less intense "fine-tuning" of the nervous system induced by verbal incantations and bodily activity—to bring into awareness understandings and produce physiological effects that are less- or inaccessible in normal waking consciousness. Not all magical beliefs and practices are valid or efficacious, of course, but the term references something real.