Irrational?

Does a rational outlook to one’s surroundings imply the absence of
faith in magical rites?


Malinowski argues that the presence of magical rights does not imply a society is irrational. On page 29 the second paragraph explains how the Melanesians could acknowledge the effects caused by their farming techniques and what the intent of their magic was. The argument being that they knew what was going on.

I think this example could also be used to display how they were being irrational since they could see that it wasn't magic that was making their crops grow but their farming skills. In effect the magic was only a comfort their minds, not an effective way of growing crops. To be rational I think a person would want to spend their time doing things that have an effect on what they believe to be their end goal. Since magic doesn't have an effect on the end goal (growing food), it would be irrational to spend you time doing that in order to get your end goal.

But then again its all a matter of perspective. I don't think beliefs in magic or religion are entirely problematic for small scale societies, the same can't be said for industrialized/globalized societies.