ABSTRACT
Theatrical magic is one of the most popular forms of live entertainment of the last 200 years. Nevertheless, philosophers, art critics, and art historians have paid it scant attention. This is unfortunate, because magic is a rich and fascinating artform that deserves—and rewards—critical reflection. The basic condition for a successful magic performance is that an impossible event appears to happen. The best way to understand the experience of magic is to consider what undermines it. If magic is experienced, in part, as unreal, then it must also be distinguished from demonstrations of skill, endurance stunts, and so on. Moreover, if magic is experienced, in part, as real, then magic is not fiction. Magicians sometimes say that the experience of magic essentially involves suspension of disbelief. A way to put the problem with the idea that suspension of disbelief is essential to the experience of magic is that suspending disbelief in the impossible generally does not result in cognitive dissonance.
