Paper short abstract:

The aim of the paper is to explore the theory of magical thinking in the early writings of Eugeniusz Frankowski, a Polish ethnologist of the interwar period. The author uses semiotic tools to explore various uncertainties evident in the research, textual and methodological layers of his work.

Paper long abstract:

The aim of the paper is to explore the theory of magical thinking in the early writings of Eugeniusz Frankowski (1884-1962), a Polish ethnologist of the interwar period. Frankowski as a young anthropologist took an interest in archaeology as a discipline that uncovers the very origins of humanity. This interest is reflected in his understanding of folklore as 'folk knowledge', preserving relics of ancient beliefs through which one can study the 'folk soul,' a concept giving insight into magical thinking. This idea would be investigated through the analysis of the work La lucha entre el hombre y los espíritus malos por la posesión de la tierra y su usufructo. The development of Frankowski’s theory of magical thinking could be traced back to his “Spanish” period (1914-1920): the outbreak of the World War I found him in Spain, which resulted in his stay being extended. By analysing La lucha... with semiotic tools proposed by Juri Lotman, the author uncovers various uncertainties evident in the work in its subsequent layers of research, text, and methodology. Author argues that these uncertainties came from Frankowski’s necessity of using different scientific languages and inspiration drawn from various theoretical approaches of classical anthropology (e.g.: E. B. Tylor, J. G. Frazer, J. Lubbock).

Through analysis carried out in the text author argues that Frankowski’s research uncertainties can be viewed as an example of the dynamic theoretical and methodological changes experienced in the Polish and European cultural sciences during the first half of the 20th century.