The Structure of Magic
The Structure of Magic is a two-volume book series (1975, 1976) by John Grinder and Richard Bandler, co-founders of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which is considered a pseudoscience. The series explores how humans construct internal models of the world through language and nonverbal communication. They introduce a process of modeling, through which the authors sought to identify the replicable patterns of thought, language, and behavior modeled from "outstanding psychotherapists", namely Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy) and Virginia Satir, a family systems therapist. The foreword to the first volume was written by Virginia Satir and the introduction by Gregory Bateson.
According to psychiatrist Robert S. Spitzer, after months of careful listening and transcribing Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir working with clients, Bandler began to incorporate the speech patterns and mannerisms of these therapists into his own communication. The Structure of Magic presents a formal model of linguistic patterns intended to make those patterns explicit and learnable.
References
Further reading
Critical analyses
- Tobin, Bruce Arthur (1983). The Roles of Modeling Theory and Transformational Grammar in the Development of a Theory of Verbal Intervention in Psychotherapy: A Critical Analysis of Bandler and Grinder's "the Structure of Magic" (Dissertation). University of Washington. OCLC 1602497.
Book reviews
- Barth, Joan C. (1980). "Book Review: Grinder, John and Bandler, Richard. The structure of magic II". Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 6 (1): 96. doi:10.1111/j.1752-0606.1980.tb01711.x. ISSN 0194-472X.
- Clair, R. N. S. (1977). "The Structure of Magic by Richard Bandler and John Grinder". Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic (book review). 41 (4): 405.
- Kadis, Leslie B. (1977). "The Structure of Magic, II: A Book about Communication and Change". Family Process. 16 (1): 131–133. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.1977.129_4.x. ISSN 0014-7370.
- Stewart, John; Bliese, John R. E.; Enos, Richard Leo; Measell, James S.; Conley, T.M.; Lyne, John; Bytwerk, Randall; Smith, Eugene; Simons, Herbert W.; Applegate, James L.; Parks, Malcolm R.; Shedletsky, Leonard J.; Weitz, Shirley; Fogel, Daniel; Davis, Leslie K. (1979). "Book reviews". Quarterly Journal of Speech. 65 (4): 445–457. doi:10.1080/00335637909383495. ISSN 0033-5630.
Other
- Taler, Izabella (1991-04-01). "Neurolinguistic Programming: A selective bibliography". Reference Services Review. 19 (4): 49–62. doi:10.1108/eb049138. ISSN 0090-7324.