The Structure of Magic

{{Short description|1970s book series}}

{{italic title}}

{{Infobox book series

| name = The Structure of Magic

| image =

| image_caption =

| books = The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy
The Structure of Magic II: A Book About Communication and Change

| author = Richard Bandler; John Grinder

| country = United States

| language = English

| discipline = Communication

| publisher = Science and Behavior Books

| pub_date = 1975–1976

| number_of_books = 2

}}

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.{{Cite book |title=Science and Pseudoscience in Social Work Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nE9FCQAAQBAJ&q=nlp&pg=PA166 |publisher=Springer Publishing Company |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-8261-7769-8 |first1=Bruce A. |last1=Thyer |first2=Monica G. |last2=Pignotti |pages=56–57, 165–167 |quote=As NLP became more popular, some research was conducted and reviews of such research have concluded that there is no scientific basis for its theories about representational systems and eye movements.}}{{cite journal | last=Sharpley | first=Christopher F. | title=Research findings on neurolinguistic programming: Nonsupportive data or an untestable theory? | journal=Journal of Counseling Psychology | volume=34 | issue=1 | date=1987 | issn=1939-2168 | doi=10.1037/0022-0167.34.1.103 | pages=103–107}}

{{cite journal |last=Witkowski |first=Tomasz |title=Thirty-Five Years of Research on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP Research Data Base. State of the Art or Pseudoscientific Decoration? |journal=Polish Psychological Bulletin |date=1 January 2010 |volume=41 |issue=2 |doi=10.2478/v10059-010-0008-0|quote=All of this leaves me with an overwhelming impression that the analyzed base of scientific articles is treated just as theater decoration, being the background for the pseudoscientific farce which NLP appears to be. Using "scientific" attributes, which is so characteristic of pseudoscience, is manifested also in other aspects of NLP activities... My analysis leads undeniably to the statement that NLP represents pseudoscientific rubbish|doi-access=free }} 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",{{cite journal |last1=Passmore |first1=J. |last2=Rowson |first2=T. S. |year=2019 |title=Neuro-linguistic-programming: a critical review of NLP research and the application of NLP in coaching |journal=International Coaching Psychology Review |volume=14 |number=1 |pages=57–69|doi=10.53841/bpsicpr.2019.14.1.57 }} 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{{cite web |url=https://apps.abpn.org/verifycert/?lastName=Spitzer&firstName=Robert&certificationId=19 |title=Certification and Status Verification |publisher=The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology |accessdate=2024-05-06 |quote=Psychiatry; Certified Awarded: 30/04/1964, Certificate Number: 8166}} 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.{{cite magazine |title=Virginia Satir & Origins of NLP |first=Robert S. |last=Spitzer |author-link=Robert Spitzer (psychiatrist) |date=July 1992 |magazine=Anchor Point Magazine |url=http://www.nlpanchorpoint.com/Satir395.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920024418/http://www.nlpanchorpoint.com/Satir395.pdf |archive-date=2009-09-20 }}{{cite journal |last1=Fialkoff |first1=Y. |last2=Pinchevski |first2=A. |year=2022 |url=https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/19608/4010 |title=From System to Skill: Palo Alto Group's Contested Legacy of Communication |journal=International Journal of Communication |volume=17 |number=19 |pages=541–559}} The Structure of Magic presents a formal model of linguistic patterns intended to make those patterns explicit and learnable.{{Cite journal|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/036215377800800113|title=Book Review: The Structure of Magic|first=Jacqui|last=Lee Schiff|date=January 28, 1978|journal=Transactional Analysis Bulletin|volume=8|issue=1|pages=44|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1177/036215377800800113}}