Origin of Myths Related to Curative, Antidotal and Other Medicinal Properties of Animal “Horns” in the Middle Ages

Lavers, Chris

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809554-6.00010-x

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Alicorn was believed to offer a strong protection against poison, and it was an expensive item. The inventory of the royal wares of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1558 included a unicorn horn (the Horn of Windsor) with a recorded value of 10,000 pounds sterling, the holy Roman Emperor Charles V paid off his debt (equivalent to a million U.S. dollars today) with two unicorns, and the King of France's alicorn was valued at 20,000 pounds (Lavers 2017). 3 King James I of England put the alicorn's magical power to the test by summoning a servant to drink poison mixed with unicorn powder.…”

Section: Superstitions As Instruments Of Social Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Special Issue

Baris,

Pelizzo

2023

World Affairs

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This World Affairs 2023 special issue contains six contributions, including this one, exploring some of the key political consequences of traditional beliefs such as magic and superstition in the developing societies of the Global South as well as in certain industrially advanced societies of the Global North. To show why traditional beliefs matter, we provide an explanation in this introduction for why traditional beliefs exist in developing countries, why they survive in developed countries, and why they may become more popular over time. By utilizing a simple game theoretic approach, we explain why rational people can sometimes increase their payoffs by subscribing to a superstition while superstitious people never gain by switching to rationality. In fact, the superstition—which has no causal connection with the natural course of events—may even yield better results, not only for the individual but also for the group. This is the reason why, in the framework of evolutionary stable equilibrium, superstitious people can demographically dominate an entire population over time. In addition to explaining the existence and the persistence (or the popularity) of traditional beliefs, we highlight the key findings presented in the articles included in this special issue. All of them underline a cardinal point: traditional beliefs matter. They shape electoral behavior, they shape attitudes toward democratic governance, and they influence voters’ assessment of political figures and historical events. Precisely because traditional beliefs have such extensive implications for a country's political life, we believe that in the future scholars will have to pay greater attention to such beliefs to have a better understanding of political phenomena and trends.

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Section: Superstitions As Instruments Of Social Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Special Issue

Baris,

Pelizzo

2023

World Affairs

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“…Instead of basing campaigns on misinformation and mistruths or strategies involving poisoning rhino horn (Ferreira et al, 2014), demand reduction campaigns should present evidence from credible scientific studies -and perhaps most effectively if involving human subjects -evaluating the medicinal benefits of rhino horn compared with recognized medical alternatives in clinical settings. Specifically, research should be conducted using rigorous methods such as randomized controlled trials to show whether alternatives, including other animal horns (Lavers, 2017;Still, 2003) and Western medicine, are more effective in the right dosage as well as cheaper and without negative conservation implications. Campaigns based on an oversimplification of the science will not work and neither will campaigns based on simplistic narratives about consumer preferences (Hinsley & 't Sas-Rolfes, 2020).…”

Section: Organizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence or delusion: a critique of contemporary rhino horn demand reduction strategies

Nielsen

2020

Human Dimensions of Wildlife

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Considerable effort has been devoted to reducing rhinoceros (i.e., rhino) horn demand by changing consumer behavior. Implementing organizations often claim that their campaigns are based on reliable insights into rhino horn demand and that there is no scientific support for any medicinal effects of rhino horn. In this opinion piece, we evaluate the scientific evidence supporting this claim and discuss how campaigns using a delusive and paternalistic approach may backfire. As the use of rhino horn in traditional medicine has a thousandyear history, it is unlikely that such deeply entrenched beliefs will be swayed by a one-sided representation of the limited scientific evidence evaluating its efficacy. Difficulties in interviewing rhino horn consumers have further contributed to lacking information about their values and characteristics. We call for more scientific evidence and a more culturally nuanced approach to rhino horn demand reduction campaigns.

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Origin of Myths Related to Curative, Antidotal and Other Medicinal Properties of Animal “Horns” in the Middle Ages

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

Introduction to the Special Issue

Introduction to the Special Issue

Evidence or delusion: a critique of contemporary rhino horn demand reduction strategies

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