The 7 Laws Of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, And Sane (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking by Matthew HutsonThe main claim of this book is that magical thinking is much more common or prevalent than we normally realize. And that it is at times beneficial. Magical thinking is defined as the mingling of mental and physical concepts, attributing physical causes to mental acts, and mentality to physical ones.To prove his point, the author divides the ways we think magically into 7 common types or laws.You may disagree with some of these or perhaps know of some other general category that he hasn't considered. Mr. Hutson even allows for that, stating that these categories are not set in stone. There might have been six. Or eight. The general point remains that we do think magically in many different ways, about many different things. His divisions include imbuing objects with invisible essences, distant cause and effect, the afterlife, confusing symbolic associations with physical causal relationships, our belief that the world is alive, and the belief in destiny or fate. Now, some of these categories can be contentious. In my earlier years I remember debating the concept "life." At one time in the history of the universe there was a time when nothing was what we would call "alive." Then, at some future moment in time, there was. My point being there had to be some potential for life even in objects we do not normally consider "alive." That the division we make is not as clear cut as it might seem. And, in that way perhaps the world can be considered alive. Which was mainly how it had been seen by humans, from the time it was possible for members of our species to have that thought until the modern turn. And the singularity that blossomed some 13.7 billion years ago is where everything in the known universe originated. So, in that manner we are all joined, also. And these associations I would not consider magical. A belief in the afterlife is a fundamental part of many of the world's great religions, and I am sure many people would not consider them magical thinking. These areas of contention doubtless do account for some of the mixed reviews this book has received. I agree that we do commonly think magically in nearly all the ways the author mentions. However, I am not so sure that is the most surprising part of what is going on in modern times. You see, all these magical modes of thought have been common throughout most of mans' history. Superstition, demons and angels, ESP and voodoo? In fact, they were the norm. It was only with the development and growth of literacy, aided especially by the invention of the printing press, the analytical, logical modes of thought we take for granted in modern times came to the fore. Prior to that, magical thinking was a tremendous part of everyday life. It is striking that we have come so far that having these magical modes pointed out shocks us! My feeling is that we moderns cannot truly totally imagine how it was to live in that prior world of almost completely magical thought. We only think that we can. Mr. Hutson does us all a terrific service in drawing attention to the magical thinking that still prevails, and surprised me a number of times with his examples. Due to his work, we can all become more aware of the nature of, inconsistencies and fallacies in, our everyday modes of thought. Perhaps, as he states, they give us a necessary sense of control, of purpose and connection and meaning. Awareness of these modes will certainly allow us to better decide if that is true. But I do believe the true magic in our thinking is in the way we have used our symbolic worlds to become who and what we are in the modern day, and in the potential of our species for future change and growth. **Magical reading**If you think about it, the existential realities of life are pretty harsh: life has no inherent meaning, purpose, or order...and the only certainty we can count on is death. It’s not hard to see how we need some kind of psychological buffer to soften the existential blows. Enter magical thinking. In the words of author Matthew Hutson:“Magical thinking provides a sense of control. The value of an illusory sense of control is that it reduces anxiety and increases a feeling of agency, which can spur you to seize real control. Second, magical thinking provides meaning. There’s meaning as in comprehension—understanding how things happen or how to do things—which allows for control. But there’s also meaning as in a sense of purpose—grasping why things happen or why anything is worth doing. This is the stuff that gets you out of bed in the morning and lets you sleep at night... These habits of mind guide us through the world every day. In very basic ways they provide a sense of control, of purpose, of connection, and of meaning, and without them we couldn’t function.” (pp. 239, 9)In other words, a spoonful (/neocortex-ful) of magical thinking helps the existential realities go down. And, as Matthew convincingly conveys, we all think magically—whether we believe it or not. He’s divided the cerebral magic into seven (lucky number!) different forms: (1) imbuing essences into objects (your kid’s blanky, your wedding ring, an autographed book); (2) psychologically connecting symbols to their real-life counterparts (imagine the difference between throwing darts at a picture of your mother vs. a picture of Hitler); (3) engaging in superstitious rituals and harnessing luck through physical acts (avoiding walking under ladders, knocking on wood, wearing your lucky shirt); (4) believing we can control matter with our minds (prayer, transcendent thinking, sending lucky vibes through your TV as you boisterously cheer on your favorite team during the playoffs); (5) denying our finiteness (try imagining the absolute abyss of your own death); (6) treating inanimate objects as conscious intentional ones (who hasn’t yelled at their rebelliously slow computer or sworn at a traffic light that spitefully turned red?); (7) assigning meaning to random coincidences and natural events (everything happens for a reason, right?). So, even if you don’t believe *in* magic, you do think *with* it. Speaking of magic—I experienced this book as being quite magical. From page one, I was under its spell. I found the content so fascinating, the writing so skillful, and the humor so right-up-my-alley (I may have even laughed out loud more than a few times while reading this book). And, the magic of this book continued long after I finished the book: its contents have had some serious staying power and have helped me refine the way I make peace with those existential realities. In the introduction of the book, Matthew shares his intent for writing this book:“I’m dissecting the sacred because the same magical thinking that leads to sentimentality, altruism, and self-efficacy can also lead to vilification, fatalism, irrational exuberance, or even depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis. By tearing down everything holy and pointing out the sand it was built on, I’m hoping we can learn how to build meaning back up in constructive ways. I don’t want to eradicate magical thinking. I want to harness it.” (p. 4)In my opinion, he accomplished his mission. Magically so, even.
What do You think about The 7 Laws Of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, And Sane (2012)?
Pop science and I love the subject but the writing did nothing for me. Did not finish.
—tmas781
Light and entertaining, Hutson's "laws" don't withstand much critical scrutiny.
—stark
Everyone is guilty of magical thinking and it's a good thing.
—mandyy
