Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "James Frazer" - New World

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James George Frazer (born January 1, 1854 – died May 7, 1941), was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion.

Life

James Frazer was born in Glasgow, Scotland, as the oldest of four children of Daniel Frazer and Katherine Brown. He studied at Larchfield Academy and later at the University of Glasgow and Trinity College at Cambridge, where he graduated with honors in Classics. His dissertation was published years later in his book The Growth of Plato's Ideal Theory. He went on, much due to his father’s desire, to study law at the Middle Temple. He became a lawyer in 1897, but decided not to practice law. Instead, he devoted himself to writing and research. He married Elisabeth Grove in 1896, who was a great help in his work.

Frazier’s interest for social anthropology started with the work of E.B. Taylor Primitive Culture (1871). After reading it, Frazier knew that he wanted to dedicate his life to study anthropology. His friend, the biblical scholar William Robertson Smith, who was linking the Old Testament with early Hebrew folklore, helped him in his plans. Frazier’s work, The Golden Bough immediately became a bestseller, and was widely used for decades as a sourcebook in different social sciences.

Frazier was four times elected to Trinity's Title Alpha Fellowship, and was associated with the Cambridge College for most of his life, except for a year, 1907/08, which he spent at the University of Liverpool. He was knighted in 1914. He was, if not blind, then severely visually impaired from 1930 on. Frazier died in 1941.

Work

The study of mythology and religion was Frazier’s area of expertise. Although he was far from being the first to study religions dispassionately, as a cultural phenomenon rather than from within theology, he was among the first to notice the relations between myths and rituals. His The Golden Bough - the study of ancient cults, rites, and myths, including their parallels with early Christianity, arguably his greatest work - is still rifled by modern mythographers for its detailed information. The first edition, in two volumes, was published in 1890. The third edition was finished in 1915 and ran to twelve volumes, with a supplemental thirteenth volume added in 1936. He also published a single volume abridgement, largely compiled by his wife Lady Frazer, in 1922, with some controversial material removed from the text.

Most of Frazier’s work can be considered pioneering in the area of anthropology. His theories of totemism were later superseded by Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Frazier’s view of the annual sacrifice of the Year King has not been verified by field studies. His generation's choice of Darwinian evolution as a social paradigm, interpreted by Frazer as three rising stages of human progress — magic giving rise to religion, then culminating in science — has not proved valid.

Legacy

Notably, The Golden Bough influenced René Girard to develop his mimesis theory of the scapegoat. The work's influence also spilled well over the conventional bounds of academia. The symbolic cycle of life, death and rebirth, which Frazer divined behind myths of all pedigrees, captivated a whole generation of artists and poets. Perhaps the most notable product of this fascination is T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Downie, Angus R. (1940). James George Frazer: The Portrait of a Scholar. Watts & Co.

Bibliography

Frazer, James G. 1942. Man, God, and Immortality. Kessinger Publishing (original published 1927). ISBN 0766101886

Frazer, James G. 1967. The Growth of Plato's Ideal Theory. Russell & Russell Pub. (original published 1930). ISBN 0846208407

Frazer, James G. 2000. The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead. Routledge-Curzon (original published 1913). ISBN 0700713395

Frazer, James G. 2000. The Fear of the Dead in Primitive Religion. Routledge-Curzon (original published in 1933). ISBN 0700713409

Frazer, James G. 2000. Totemism and Exogamy. Routledge-Curzon (original published 1910). ISBN 0700713387

Frazer, James G. 2002. Creation and Evolution in Primitive Cosmogenies, and Other Pieces. Curzon Press. (original published 1935). ISBN 0700714502

Frazer, James G. 2002. Devil's Advocate: A Plea for Superstitions. Curzon Press. (original published 1928). ISBN 0700714448

Frazer, James G. 2002. Folk-lore in the Old Testament: Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. Curzon Press. (original published 1918). ISBN 0700714405

Frazer, James G. 2002. Garnered Sheaves. Curzon Press. (original published 1931). ISBN 0700714391

Frazer, James G. 2002. The Gorgon's Head and other Literary Pieces. Curzon Press. (original published 1927). ISBN 070071443X

Frazer, James G. 2002. The Magical Origins of Kings. Curzon Press. ISBN 0700714413

Frazer, James G. 2002. Myths of the Origin of Fire. Curzon Press. (originalpublished 1930). ISBN 0700714510

Frazer, James G. 2002. The Worship of Nature. Curzon Press (original published 1926). ISBN 0700714421

Frazer, James G. 2005. Stories of the Great Flood from Different Civilizations. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1425362818

Frazer, James G. 2006. Adonis Attis Osiris: Studies in the History of Oriental Religion. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1425499910

Frazer, James G. & Stocking, George W. 1998. The Golden Bough: Abridged Edition. Penguin Classics (original published 1890). ISBN 0140189319

External links

Sir James Frazer: brief analysis

The Golden Bough: on-line text, 1922 abridged edition

Works by James Frazer. Project Gutenberg

Credits

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 [[Image:James-George Frazer.png|200px|right]]
-'''James George Frazer''' (born January 1, 1854, in]] &ndash; [[May 7]], [[1941]]), was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[social anthropologist]] influential in the early stages of the modern studies of [[mythology]] and [[comparative religion]].
+'''James George Frazer''' (born January 1, 1854 &ndash; died May 7, 1941), was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[social anthropologist]] influential in the early stages of the modern studies of [[mythology]] and [[comparative religion]].
 ==Life==
-James Frazer was born in Glasgow, [[Scotland]]. He studied at the [[University of Glasgow]] and Trinity College at Cambridge, where he graduated with honors in [[Classics]] (his dissertation would be published years later as ''The Growth of [[Plato]]'s Ideal Theory'') and remained a Classics Fellow all his life. He went on from Trinity to study law at the [[Middle Temple]] and yet never practised. He was four times elected to Trinity's Title Alpha Fellowship, and was associated with the college for most of his life, except for a year, [[1907]]-[[1908]], spent at the [[University of Liverpool]]. He was knighted in [[1914]]. He was, if not blind, then severely visually impaired from [[1930]] on.
+James Frazer was born in Glasgow, [[Scotland]], as the oldest of four children of Daniel Frazer and Katherine Brown. He studied at Larchfield Academy and later at the [[University of Glasgow]] and Trinity College at Cambridge, where he graduated with honors in [[Classics]]. His dissertation was published years later in his book ''The Growth of Plato's Ideal Theory''. He went on, much due to his father’s desire, to study law at the [[Middle Temple]]. He became a lawyer in 1897, but decided not to practice law. Instead, he devoted himself to writing and research. He married Elisabeth Grove in 1896, who was a great help in his work.
-Except for [[Italy]] and [[Greece]], Frazer was not widely traveled. His prime sources of data were ancient histories and questionnaires mailed to missionaries and Imperial officials all over the globe. Frazer's interest in social anthropology was aroused by reading [[E. B. Tylor]]'s ''Primitive Culture'' (1871) and encouraged by his friend, the biblical scholar [[William Robertson Smith]], who was linking the Old Testament with early Hebrew folklore.
+Frazier’s interest for social anthropology started with the work of E.B. Taylor Primitive Culture (1871). After reading it, Frazier knew that he wanted to dedicate his life to study anthropology. His friend, the biblical scholar [[William Robertson Smith]], who was linking the Old Testament with early Hebrew folklore, helped him in his plans. Frazier’s work, The Golden Bough immediately became a bestseller, and was widely used for decades as a sourcebook in different social sciences.
+Frazier was four times elected to Trinity's Title Alpha Fellowship, and was associated with the Cambridge College for most of his life, except for a year, 1907/08, which he spent at the [[University of Liverpool]]. He was knighted in 1914. He was, if not blind, then severely visually impaired from 1930 on. Frazier died in 1941.
 ==Work==
-The study of [[mythology|]] and [[religion]] became his areas of expertise
+The study of [[mythology]] and [[religion]] was Frazier’s area of expertise. Although he was far from being the first to study religions dispassionately, as a cultural phenomenon rather than from within theology, he was among the first to notice the relations between myths and rituals. His ''The Golden Bough'' - the study of ancient cults, rites, and myths, including their parallels with early [[Christianity]], arguably his greatest work - is still rifled by modern mythographers for its detailed information. The first edition, in two volumes, was published in 1890. The third edition was finished in 1915 and ran to twelve volumes, with a supplemental thirteenth volume added in 1936. He also published a single volume abridgement, largely compiled by his wife Lady Frazer, in 1922, with some controversial material removed from the text.
-Frazer was far from being the first to study religions dispassionately, as a cultural phenomenon rather than from within theology. He was though the first to detail the relations between myths and rituals. His theories of [[totemism]] were superseded by [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] and his vision of the annual sacrifice of the [[Year King]] has not been borne out by field studies. His generation's choice of [[Darwinian evolution]] as a social [[paradigm]], interpreted by Frazer as three rising stages of human progress — magic giving rise to religion, then culminating in science — has not proved valid. Yet ''[[The Golden Bough]]'', his study of ancient cults, rites, and myths, including their parallels with early [[Christianity]], arguably his greatest work, is still rifled by modern mythographers for its detailed information. Notably, ''The Golden Bough'' influenced [[René Girard]]; and led him to study anthropology to develop his [[mimesis]] theory of the [[scapegoat]]. The work's influence spilled well over the conventional bounds of academia, however; the symbolic cycle of life, death and rebirth which Frazer divined behind myths of all pedigrees captivated a whole generation of artists and poets. Perhaps the most notable product of this fascination is [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[The Waste Land]]''.
-The first edition, in two volumes, was published in [[1890]]. The third edition was finished in [[1915]] and ran to twelve volumes, with a supplemental thirteenth volume added in [[1936]]. He also published a single volume abridgement, largely compiled by his wife Lady Frazer, in [[1922]], with some controversial material removed from the text.
+Most of Frazier’s work can be considered pioneering in the area of anthropology. His theories of [[totemism]] were later superseded by [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]], and Frazier’s view of the annual sacrifice of the [[Year King]] has not been verified by field studies. His generation's choice of [[Darwinian evolution]] as a social [[paradigm]], interpreted by Frazer as three rising stages of human progress — magic giving rise to religion, then culminating in science — has not proved valid.
 ==Legacy==
+Notably, ''The Golden Bough'' influenced [[René Girard]] to develop his [[mimesis]] theory of the [[scapegoat]]. The work's influence also spilled well over the conventional bounds of academia. The symbolic cycle of life, death and rebirth, which Frazer divined behind myths of all pedigrees, captivated a whole generation of artists and poets. Perhaps the most notable product of this fascination is [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[The Waste Land]]''.
 ==References==