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The 1uestions Evans Pritchard as&ed was wh$ do the Azande #elieve in o#vious non)

sense such as witches% witchcraft% oracles and magic4 The$ are rational people and

e*plain the wor&ing of the world in a rational wa$! Wh$ then do the$ hold irrational

 #eliefs4 s it possi#le for rational people to accept magic and its efficac$4

Three notions of &nowledge are suggested% m$stical notions related to supra) sensi#le1ualities not logicall$ inferred from o#servation% Common)sense notions logicall$

inferred from o#servation and which can #e mista&en as a result of incomplete

o#servations! These are not m$stical! And Scientific 5otions that are developed from

common)sense notions #ut are more methodical and involve superior forms of

reasoning! n 1uestioning m$stical and common)sense notions% scientific notions are

seen as providing a means on which to #ase a .udgement! (ut the Azande do not

 possess scientific notions and cannot distinguish #etween the other two!

Wh$ have the$ not developed scientific notions ena#ling them to see m$sticism and

magic as fantastic4

6! Social Structure o#stacle – #oth common sense and m$stical ideas #ecomeadapted in different social situations! All rituals +witchcraft and magic, ta&e

 place within families! For instance death is interpreted as either the su#.ect of

witchcraft as the result of an individual #eing a witch! ($ e*tension ever$#od$

in Azande societ$ can #e a witch #ecause witchcraft is inherited% #ut the

Azande do not #elieve that most people are witches!

2! Categorical – there is no distinction #etween natural and super)natural and

therefore no need to delineate #etween m$stical and common sense actions

7! 'imits in the mode of e*perimentation – the e*perience of the Azande with

oracles and magic ma&es them sceptical a#out the a#ilities of witch)doctors%

 #ut the$ do not 1uestion the underl$ing assumptions of oracles or magic! An$

failure in the oracle or magic is simpl$ put down to the magic-ritual not having

 #een done properl$!

8! 'ac& of technolog$ of reason – The Azande have no measuring apparatus or

the technolog$ necessar$ to put m$stical #eliefs to the test! ncluding in this is

the lac& of a means of measuring time!

9! 0entalit$ of 0agic – The Azande are involved in a world #e$ond e*perience%

a world not su#.ect to empirical test therefore magic cannot fail and cannot #e

tested!

The idea of witchcraft and the notion of rational and irrational with respect to it is

not alien to civilized societies% as evidenced #$ the C6: and C6; witch hunts at thesame time as the$ were doing science and with the same people sometimes

supporting #oth +eg "o##es,! t was the scientific revolution that undermined

these m$stical #eliefs! Evans Pritchard saw the Azande as irrational when

measured against science! n this respect he saw scientific &nowledge as distinct

and a#le to provide .udgement! "owever he failed to recognise the continuities

 #etween m$stical #eliefs and science! n civilized scientific societies #eliefs are

not alwa$s empiricall$ demonstra#le and-or crucial to social order! llnesses are

e*plained in causal terms% #ut crime in societ$ is e*plained% in social and moral

terms – criminals are seen as responsi#le for their actions% a moral value is

attached in that the$ are seen to choose to do #ad things! This approach ignores

an$ scientific e*planation #ased on up#ringing% genetics or #ac&ground! Peopleare generall$ seen as self)determining% #ut wh$ do we have this idea4 All actions

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have causes) the$ are determined% wh$ then do we allocate the idea of free will% it

is not part of an$ scientific theor$4

The distinction #etween natural and supernatural is drawn too thic&l$ in modern

societies% and tends to ma&e redundant traditional forms of &nowledge with

evident material effects% which might include her#al medicine% acupuncture andhomeopath$! t also influences our perception of the character of scientific

&nowledge! Evans Pritchard used science as the .udge #etween m$sticism and

common sense% #ut what if science is itself #ased on assumptions that are untested

and untena#le4 Thomas 3uhn argued that the onl$ thing that .udges< science is

science itself% there is no going outside in order to loo& in! Science forms it