The lure of magic thinking.
The development of the thinking processes from childhood to maturity is analyzed and three stages are distinguished: the magic omnipotent stage of the preschool child, the development of the realistic ego, and the future-directed value-building superego. The role of the lure to return to the magic thinking in our culture is described.
D000367:Age Factors; D001154:Art; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003469:Culture; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D007323:Instinct; D008273:Magic; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011037:Poetry as Topic; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012043:Regression, Psychology; D012067:Religion; D012070:Religion and Science; D013475:Superego; D013483:Superstitions; D013850:Thinking