Magic and irony
If there was a person who existed in this modern era with absolutely no knowledge about the past, they might be surprised, or even disturbed, to learn that in primitive cultures of humanity, magic was taken for granted. This is true in African cultures, Asian cultures, Native American cultures, and even in the Bible, in which there is common belief in magic and witchcraft. Although today, we don't often think about magic and witchcraft in those ways, there is an ironic dilemma to be solved, and Frazer discusses it.
Ancient folklore and modern science
Obviously, technology and science are the human way of doing things, right? Not exactly. Although they are one way of human life, there is another mode. Frazer explains that contrary to what one might expect, ancient folklore is universally religious. There are only differences about what those religious beliefs entail. He adds onto this conversation the curious strategy of analyzing past religious assumptions through a scientific lens, which often yields fascinating results.
Human sacrifice
One of the most perplexing parts of the religious mode of human life is that in primitive societies, human sacrifice is a very common motif. This might seem irrelevant to modern man, but ancient moments of human sacrifice still dominate modern conversations of religion. In other words, human sacrifice is still part of the human mode of religious thought—like Jesus, for instance. This is a strange problem, and he attempts to analyze it scientifically. He comes away with a Darwinian idea, arguing that perhaps the religious practice of human sacrifice is the codification of a human desire for survival of the fittest. The reader can decide what they believe about it, but no one can doubt the irony of the problem.
The ineffability of art
Before one throws away the religious mode of human consciousness, Frazer says to take a closer look at art. Isn't art inherently religious? There is something ineffable about the human propensity to analyze artwork in reference to their soul, or life. Also, the practice of art is clearly related to the human desire for a meaningful life, terms which belong properly in the religious sphere. He does analyze them using the tools of science, but this just amplifies the mystery (which might be a good thing!)
Mystery and reality
The ultimate irony is depicted in this attempt at objectivity. Although humans are clearly motivated by discovering truth, as Frazer himself is, there is an ironic limitation to that pursuit. Who can escape their human mind for long enough to be scientific about human life itself? Even an absolute atheist must admit that it is somewhat telling for all human primal myths to be inherently religious. This suggests that human life is mysterious and worthy of exploration, but that doesn't mean that science doesn't have clear advantages. Religious belief might also have advantages, he suggests.
