"The case for Frazer—who like Spencer is rather under a cloud to-day—is too complex and technical to be argued briefly here. His use of the comparative method on an enormous scale can be faulted, though the fascinating detail it reveals and the charm of his Augustan style ensure that he is still read. His industry was truly Darwinian, and I believe that his success in subsuming vast masses of data under a few leading ideas was considerable. Unfortunately the anti-evolutionary reaction, largely led by Malinowski, has resulted in neglect of Frazer's achievement. Such a reaction was not surprising, for hypothetical yet untestable evolutionary theories had multiplied endlessly in the early years of the present century. In rejecting these a new freedom was gained, but, alas, much that was solid in the work of a Frazer or a Westermack was forgotten."
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Lawyers from ScotlandUniversity of Cambridge facultyPeople from GlasgowAnthropologists from ScotlandNon-fiction authors from Scotland
Original Language: English
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Donald Gunn MacRae, 'Darwinism and the Social Sciences', in S. A. Barnett (ed.), A Century of Darwin (1958), p. 308
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Frazer
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James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer (January 1, 1854 – May 7, 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. He is often considered one of the founding fathers of modern anthropology.
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