5/5
Finally, we can see that magic undeniably has power: the power to reach people's imagination and one's deepest fantasy. This is were it draws its effectiveness and were it might be dangerous. As a matter of fact, taking in consideration the observations above, there are obviously two reasons one performs magic. A magician working to see the complicity light in the eyes of his audience, in one word, to entertain people, is in fact performing for the "others". On the other hand, the use of magic in enslaving and deceiving purposes, can be considered as magic for "one's self".
In fact, just like in every field tending to be hazardous for humanity (genetics, nuclear power, and chemicals&ldots;), there should be ethics rules to be respected, to prevent people from being abused. But of course it is pretty difficult to control a magician (how can he be charged for playing with people's credulity, when it's his job) and set up a definite border between the "good" and the "bad".
Nevertheless the power of the magician himself must be toned down: a big part of the job is indeed produced by the spectator. Stefan Alzaris explains that illusion is not a concrete reality, but mostly created by the human brain. Spectators are betrayed by their senses, and their intellect plays tricks on them. As we said above, the spectator is a co-actor of the tricks, and the magician is simply here to suggest logical borders and challenge them. The spirit of the spectator is then in charge of making the impossible come true. By this mean, it holds part of the "magical power".
Through this analysis, a question could be raised about the difference between an illusion and a miracle. Both accomplish the impossible, but one is supposed to be true, when everyone knows illusion is bogus. From illusion to miracle, the gap is not wide, since it is only based on perception and context. In our society, miracles play a very important role, especially in religion. For some people, such assertions could question the very foundations of religion. Wasn't the Christ the greatest illusionist of all times? However, since then, nobody ever claimed to have performed walking on water. But all this is a problem of personal beliefs, and challenging the essence of religion by doubting miracles is quite reductive, even for atheists.
Illusionisme et magie, Stefan Alzaris.
Les faiseurs de miracles, Gérard Majax.
Au cœur de l'extraordinaire, Henri Broch.
Magie et magiciens, Peter Eldin.
Ancient deceptions: the first magic trick, Gabe Fajuri.
Magic history and magical myths: the historian's challenge, Sara Crasson.