Superstition and magical thinking have continued to retain a strong hold on humanity despite the advances of science. It seems that people just don't want to let go of paranormal and supernatural explanations for things, regardless of what the evidence might indicate. Why is this and why does such thinking continue to be popular?

The reason, ironically, may be partly due to science. People need to feel like they are in control but science’s explanations for events seems to remove them from our control. Thus, the advance of science increases the need for control in other areas — and that’s where magic steps in:

Superstition and magic are a technique, albeit an illusory one, for controlling the world. The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski discovered in the 1920s that fishermen in the Trobriand islands, off Papua New Guinea, used their own skill and experience close to land, but out at sea deployed magic charms. The more threatening the environment, the greater the reliance on magic; and the upsurge in fantasy, myth and the supernatural in our culture may be a direct consequence of human doubt and stress.

Thus, if superstitious thinking is to be reduced, perhaps we need to help people feel in control of their lives in other ways.

 

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