Through the detailed analysis of Mauss and Hubert, magic emerges as a particularly complex, intricate, and multi-layered set, a total, indeed, social phenomenon.

Although it is based on the same intellectual foundation as religion, magic is neither identified with nor confused with it. Magical-religious phenomena constitute a continuum, with sacrifice at one end and sorcery at the other. In contrast to the utilitarian and individualistic interpretations of their time, the authors insist on the social dimension of the phenomenon. Magic consists of social relations.

The power of the magician, validated by tradition, exists outside of him, emanating from society and “exists through social consensus and public opinion.” In this Outline, among other things, an attempt is inaugurated to read magic based on linguistic and symbolic phenomena: magical representations do not constitute passive associations between things of the external world, but rather serve as points that refer to one another.

Finally, at the heart of magic lies mana, a “fourth dimension of space,” an unconscious category of thought that allows for the transcendence of individual psychology “by objectifying subjective ideas and generalizing individual delusions.” [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]