Gambling; or, The art of exploiting chance to nullify it
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2227707 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Roberte Hamayon (École Pratique des Hautes Études, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 435-439 |
| Publication date | 2020-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2049-1115 • E-ISSN: 2575-1433 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/709668 |
| OpenAlex | W3023348765 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
For Lévy-Bruhl, "primitive mentality" can shed light on the "passion" that drives the casino player, gambler, or financial speculator to continue at the risk of losing everything. He draws a parallel between the divinatory practices of "primitive" peoples to reconcile the "invisible forces" that are supposed to decide the outcome, on the one hand, and on the other, the various methods used by gamblers and speculators to "exert a kind of mysterious influence" on the "imponderables" on which success depends. I argue that, although Lévy-Bruhl remarks that everyone seeks to defy chance, he does not define the notion but gradually replaces it with the concepts of "fate," "fortune," and "magic." Anthropology needs to question this set of notions and their family resemblances
Aesthetics · Economics · Epistemology · Law and economics · MAGIC (telescope · Microeconomics · Outcome (game theory · Passion · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Speculation · Computer Science · Emile Durkheim and Sociology · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Philosophy · Probability and Statistical Research · Psychology · Social Psychology · Finance
| Citations per year | 1.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |