a Few Kind Words For Superstition Summary Essay
In his essay “A Few Kind Words for Superstition,” Robertson Davies
focuses on people’s attitude towards superstitions and the four main types of superstition. Through his essay, he implies that people may hesitate to admit in believing superstitions, yet it is something they take part in, as shown at the university he attended.
Davies explains how unreasonable things such as Parapsychology,
UFO’S, miracle cures, and transcendental meditation are disapproved in our societies; however, superstition is slightly objected by many people. He states there are four forms of superstition, as proven by theologians. The first one is “Vain Observances,” which is formed by beliefs. Davies defines Vain Observances with an example of how his professor spilled some salt, and then threw a pinch of it over his shoulder to “hit the devil in the eye.” The second form is known as “Divination,” which is based on being guided by a religious group. Davies shows this form through the example of how thousands of people, including one of his professors, refer to the I Ching for good advice. The third form is a common one shown at many university exams, when lucky items are placed on the student’s desks. This form is known as “Idolatry.” “Improper Worship of the True God” is the fourth form, which Davies displays through an engineering student and how he placed a two-dollar bill everyday on the altar of the college chapel, to bribe god to help him with girl issues
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The term superstition is thought to derive from the Latin superstitio, meaning “to stand over in awe.” Many believe that superstitious beliefs originated during the earliest days of humanity. Faced with natural phenomena like thunderstorms and earthquakes, as well as the unpredictability of illness and food supply, human beings attempted to create an understandable world of powers that could be influenced by action. The earliest superstitions were created as a way to deal with the ignorance and fear of the unknown. Chance misfortunes could be ascribed a cause, and the potential to avoid or control them was created.[2]
Superstitions are thus a way of attempting to regain control over events, particularly when one feels helpless. Some groups are more prone to superstitious beliefs than others. Actors, miners, fishermen, and gamblers all tend to be more superstitious than average; the success of all these occupations tends to be more out of the control of the individual.[3]
Often, superstitions are born from casual coincidence. For example, if an athlete wears a particular pair of socks on a day he performs particularly well, he may continue to wear the same pair of socks in the belief that the socks were responsible for the success. Future successes reinforce such a belief. In some cases, it is certainly possible that the simple belief in success or failure can influence the outcome. The athlete who cannot find his “lucky socks” may, due to lack of confidence, perform poorly, further reinforcing the belief in the power of the socks.
Superstitions can also be learned behaviors. Children who watch those around them perform superstitious actions like “knocking on wood” or not walking under ladders may adopt these behaviors. The true origins of certain superstitions can be centuries old, having been passed down from generation to generation through such an observational learning process.
What is the difference between science and superstition?
science = the study of the physical world and its manifestations, especially by using systematic observation and experiment while
superstition = an irrational but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a particular action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing itThe Difference:
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– Science has evidence to support its claims (and is thoroughly researched and experimented through the many years by people specialized in this field) such that even the general public are aware of the foundations.
-However Superstitions evolve mainly from cultural beliefs. It’s main foundation, is of unseen forces taking activity in our lives; be it for a positive/negative cause (though It may change from time to time depending on the advancement of the era).
Therefore due to the advancement of time, not many are well updated with all these information as superstition now can be choice of whether to believe or not.
Three on a match (also known as third on a match) is a supposed superstition among soldiers during the Crimean War to World War I. The superstition goes that if three soldiers lit their cigarettes from the same match, one of the three would be killed or that the man who was third on the match would be shot. Since then it has been considered bad luck for three people to share a light from the same match.
The belief was that when the first soldier lit his cigarette, the enemy would see the light; when the second soldier lit his cigarette from the same match, the enemy would take aim and note if the soldier was friendly or foe; when the third soldier lit his cigarette from the same match, the enemy would fire. Another explanation for this was that the first to light the match gave an enemy marksman the range to the target, the second gave the windage on the target, and the third one was shot using this information.
The 1932 Hollywood film Three on a Match made use of the superstition, but also had a graphic of a “Believe it or Not” newspaper clip that explains Kreuger’s exploitation of the superstition. The character in the film who is “third on the match” does die at the end of the picture and the final scene depicts the surviving two sharing a match.
People fear what they don’t understand and from that fear certain rituals, or superstitions, have been practiced throughout time as a form of protection from these unknown fears. Although most of the superstitions from the past have since been proven by science as unnecessary, ineffective, or simply ridiculous, many are still religiously practiced today by very intelligent and sane people. Following is a list of some of those superstitions and why they were originally started in the first place.
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Breaking a Mirror – Even today, when someone breaks a mirror their first thought is that they have just brought upon themselves some unwanted bad luck. It was once believed that one’s reflection in a mirror represented their soul. If you were to break that reflection, it would then be harmful to your soul.
Walking Under a Ladder – Most people believe this to be just common sense, in case the ladder falls while you are passing under it. But that is not how it got its start. A very long time ago, the triangle was considered a symbol of life. Walking through any triangular shape, ladder leaning against a wall or otherwise, was considered to be tempting one’s fate.
Knock on Wood – Few people know why they do it, but still today when we mention something good that is supposed to happen in the future, many of us “knock on wood” twice to keep from jinxing the expected good fortune. Once upon a time, it was thought that trees were the homes of the gods. When in need of a favor or some good luck, one politely mentioned this wish to a tree and then touched the bark, representing the first “knock.” The second “knock” was to say “thank you.”
Friday the 13th – This superstition comes directly from Christianity although many unreligious people are still very careful about making decisions or taking any action whenever this day and date coincide, usually two or three times each year. There were thirteen people at The Last Supper. Judas, the betrayer of Christ, was the 13th guest. Christians also claimed that at satanic ceremonies, there were always twelve witches and one devil present. Then it was on a Friday when Christ died. But even before that, it was a Friday when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and it was also on Friday when Noah’s great flood began. So the combination of the two, Friday and the 13th, was deemed as the unluckiest day on the calendar.
Black Cats – In the Middle Ages, black cats were believed to be the companions of witches. After seven years, these cats were believed to then turn into witches, devils or demons themselves. No one wanted to cross paths with a witch or a demon, hence, when a black cat crosses your path, it might be safest to just turn around and find a different route to where ever it was you were headed.
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Trick Or Treat – The Druids believed that on October 31st, the dead rose from their graves to revisit their old homes. The frightened villagers would put out offerings of fruits and nuts to keep the wandering souls from destroying their homes and property. Today we no longer practice this superstition, but instead we make light of it by dressing our children up (many of them AS the dead) and sending them out to collect goodies from our (no longer fearful) neighbors.
