Jesper Sørensen, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in Comparative Religion, Institute of Philosophy, Pedagogic, and the Study of Religion, University of Southern Denmark, and International Fellow at the Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen's University Belfast. He is the author of numerous other works and articles in the fields cognitive and evolutionary underpinning of religious phenomena, method and theory in the study of religion, and Western Esotericism.

Sorensen's discussion conveys a mastery of cognitive theory and is meticulously presented….A Cognitive Theory of Magic makes important contributions to our understanding of magic….it contains many potential hooks that could connect it to theories of perception and deception to make a yet broader and richer theory of magic.

• Part 1 FiguresPart 2 TablesPart 3 IntroductionPart 4 Magic in the History of the Social SciencesPart 5 The Cognitive Foundation of Magical ActionPart 6 Magical Rituals and Conceptual BlendingPart 7 Transformation and Manipulation: A Typology of Magical ActionsPart 8 Frames of Ritual Action: Causation, Diagnosis and PrognosisPart 9 Ritual Purpose and the Relation Between Magic, Culture and ReligionPart 10 References

Jesper Sørensen, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in Comparative Religion, Institute of Philosophy, Pedagogic, and the Study of Religion, University of Southern Denmark, and International Fellow at the Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen's University Belfast. He is the author of numerous other works and articles in the fields cognitive and evolutionary underpinning of religious phenomena, method and theory in the study of religion, and Western Esotericism.

Sorensen's discussion conveys a mastery of cognitive theory and is meticulously presented….A Cognitive Theory of Magic makes important contributions to our understanding of magic….it contains many potential hooks that could connect it to theories of perception and deception to make a yet broader and richer theory of magic.

• Part 1 FiguresPart 2 TablesPart 3 IntroductionPart 4 Magic in the History of the Social SciencesPart 5 The Cognitive Foundation of Magical ActionPart 6 Magical Rituals and Conceptual BlendingPart 7 Transformation and Manipulation: A Typology of Magical ActionsPart 8 Frames of Ritual Action: Causation, Diagnosis and PrognosisPart 9 Ritual Purpose and the Relation Between Magic, Culture and ReligionPart 10 References

Jesper Sørensen, Ph.D. is Associate Professor in Comparative Religion, Institute of Philosophy, Pedagogic, and the Study of Religion, University of Southern Denmark, and International Fellow at the Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen's University Belfast. He is the author of numerous other works and articles in the fields cognitive and evolutionary underpinning of religious phenomena, method and theory in the study of religion, and Western Esotericism.

Sorensen's discussion conveys a mastery of cognitive theory and is meticulously presented….A Cognitive Theory of Magic makes important contributions to our understanding of magic….it contains many potential hooks that could connect it to theories of perception and deception to make a yet broader and richer theory of magic.

• Part 1 FiguresPart 2 TablesPart 3 IntroductionPart 4 Magic in the History of the Social SciencesPart 5 The Cognitive Foundation of Magical ActionPart 6 Magical Rituals and Conceptual BlendingPart 7 Transformation and Manipulation: A Typology of Magical ActionsPart 8 Frames of Ritual Action: Causation, Diagnosis and PrognosisPart 9 Ritual Purpose and the Relation Between Magic, Culture and ReligionPart 10 References