The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

eason for the phenomenon’s persistence is that “(..) their consultants have remembered
successful predictions and forgotten unsuccessful ones” (Rose 1974: 775).
With Tylor and Rose we see a typical empiricist view on divination. The reality is out there
and the way to capture it is through observation. This is achieved through proper induction.
This has not been attained in lower levels of culture, why they are caught in the “mind-web”
of analogical thinking.
The French thread
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) and his nephew Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) had their own view
on collective representations. In De quelques formes primitives de classification, originally
from 1903, they express their dissatisfaction with contemporary psychology as being too
simple in its focus on the laws of contiguity and similarity. According to Durkheim and
Mauss this is not sufficient to explain the organization of concepts. Likewise logicians have
only view for the hierarchy of syllogistic expressions (Durkheim & Mauss 1963: 4). Instead
Durkheim and Mauss claims:”Every classification implies a hierarchical order for which
neither the tangible world nor our mind gives us the model” (Durkheim & Mauss 1963: 8). 9
Instead the basis for classification is to be found in the concept of kinship.
There is a clear relation between divination and the classification of things: “Every
divinatory rite (..) rests on the pre-existing sympathy between certain beings and on a
traditionally admitted kinship between a certain sign and a future event.(..)The science of the
diviners [forms] a system of classification” (Durkheim & Mauss 1963: 77). Thus kinship, not
association of ideas, is the key. Sociality, not nature or individual cognitive ability, is at the
basis of human thought reflected in divination. Another important idea expressed here is that
divination forms a microcosm. This is elaborated with the example of Chinese astrology.
Divination in this perspective helps to maintain the cultural classification system.
Lévy-Bruhl (1857-1939) was a contemporary with Émile Durkheim and was also
influenced by his thinking. He considered similar problems. In Les fonctiones mentales dans
les societes inferieures from 1910 he was more interested in the characterizing of primitive
mentality, than in determining the level and development of culture. Lévy-Bruhl however
conceded that primitive peoples did correctly perceive and understand “natural” causes
(Lévy-Bruhl 1985: 281), but collective representations made them think in terms of mystical
9 I have used English translations for citations where I have been able to find them.
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