Man is becoming increasingly word-conscious. The power of language has come to hold the central position in our conception of human mentality. Today, the man in the street has realized with astonishment how easy it is to be deceived and misled by words. This ‘magical’ power of the word has caught the attention of those who explore the nature of the human mind and the structure of human knowledge.
The present work by the late Japanese scholar Toshihiko Izutsu, first published in 1956, tackles this complex and difficult subject. He studies the worldwide belief in the magical power of language, and examines its influence on man’s thought and action, with the aim of carrying out an inquiry into the nature and origin of the intimate connection between magic and speech.
‘My purpose in this book is to study the world-wide and world-old belief in the magical power of language, to examine its influence on the ways of thinking and acting of man, and finally to carry out an inquiry, as systematically as may be, into the nature and origin of the intimate connection between magic and speech.’
-Toshihiko Izutsu
