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The Evil Eye ( għajn ) in Malta: Grappling with Skinner’s pigeons and rehabilitating lame ducks 1
Author(s) -
Baldacchino JeanPaul
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the australian journal of anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1757-6547
pISSN - 1035-8811
DOI - 10.1111/j.1757-6547.2010.00078.x
Subject(s) - superstition , orthodoxy , irrational number , reflexivity , idolatry , subversion , philosophy , psychology , sociology , epistemology , theology , law , anthropology , political science , mathematics , geometry , politics
In this paper, I construct a plea for superstition and examine the ways in which contemporary scholars use the term to denote irrational belief. ‘Superstition’ has, throughout history, been used as a derogatory term denoting inferior and dangerous beliefs. Examining the process whereby people continue to believe that which they deem irrational, I adopt a reflexive and phenomenological approach. Focussing on the evil eye ( għajn ) in Malta and the Mediterranean, I redefine ‘superstition’ as the product of an intrasubjective antinomy between orthodoxy and its subversion.