(DOWNLOAD) "Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease" by H. Sidky # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease
- Author : H. Sidky
- Release Date : January 20, 2004
- Genre: Social Science,Books,Nonfiction,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 8225 KB
Description
Long before the political mass-murders witnessed in the present century, western Europe experienced another kind of holocaust – the witch-hunts of the early modern period. Condemned of flying through the air, changing into animals, and worshipping the Devil, over a hundred thousand people were brutally tortured, systematically maimed and burned alive. Why did these persecutions take place? Was it superstition, irrationality, or mass delusion that led to the witch-hunts? This study seeks explanations in the tangible actions of human actors and their worldly circumstances. The approach taken is anthropological; inferences are grounded on a wide spectrum of variables, ranging from the political and ideological practices used to mystify earthly affairs, to the logical structure of witch-beliefs, torture technology, and the role of psychotropic drugs and epidemic diseases.