Monday 23 January 2012
Alain de Botton's "Athiesm 2.0"
"You know the kind of thing I'm talking about - people who are attracted to the ritualistic side, the moralistic, communal side of religion, but can't bear the doctrine.
"Until now these people have faced rather an unpleasant choice. It's almost as if either you accept the doctrine - and then you can have all the nice stuff, or you reject the doctrine and you're living in a sort of spiritual wasteland under the guidance of CNN and Walmart.
"So, that's a sort of tough choice. I don't think we have to make that choice. I think there is an alternative. I think there are ways - and I'm being both respectful and completely impious - of stealing from religion. If you don't believe in a religion there's nothing wrong with picking and mixing - with taking out the best sides of religion."
"We have secularised badly, I would argue."
In the late 19th century church attendance dropped, Alain reports. People panicked: how are people going to find guidance, morality, and consolation? Influential voices pointed to culture: replacing scripture with culture.
"It's an idea that we have forgotten. If you went to a top university - let's say you went to Harvard, or Oxford or Cambridge - and you said, I've come here because I'm in search of morality, guidance and consolation - I want to know how to live! They would show you the way to the insane asylum. This is simply not what our grandest and best institutes of higher learning are in the business of. Why? They don't think we need it. They don't think we are in urgent need of assistance. They see us as rational adults: what we need is information, we need data, we don't need help.
"Now, religions start from a very different place indeed. All major religions at various points call us 'children.' And, like children, they believe that we are in severe need of assistance - we're only just holding it together - perhaps it's just me, maybe you - and we need help! Of course we need help! We need guidance and we need didactic learning."
"Religions are cultures of repetition. They circle the great truths again and again and again."
"The other things that religions do is to arrange time. All the major religions give us calendars. What is a calendar? A calendar is a way of making sure that across the year you will bump into very important ideas." (E.g. Catholocism and generosity)
"Religions set up rituals around important feelings." (E.g. buddhism and the moon)
"The other thing religions know is that we are not just brains, we are also bodies and when they teach us a lesson, they do it via the body." (eg Jewish forgiveness and mikvah)
"The people in the modern world, the secular world, who are interested in matters of the spirit, in matters of the mind, the higher, soul-like concerns, tend to be isolated individuals. They're poets, they're philosophers, they're photographers they're film makers, and they tend to be on their own. They are cottage industries. They are vulnerable single people. And they get depressed, they get sad on their own. And they don't really change much. What do organised religions do? They group together, they form institutions. That has all sorts of advantages.
"First of all scale. The Catholic church pulled in $97bn last year according to the Wall St Journal."
"They're collaborative, they're branded, they're multinational, and they're highly disciplined. These are all very good qualities, we recognise them in relation to Corporations - and corporations are very like religions in many ways, except they're right down at the bottom of the pyramid of needs, they're selling us shoes and cars - and the people who are selling us the higher stuff - the poets, the therapists - are on their own and they have no power, they have no might.
"Books written by lone individuals are not going to change anything. We have to group together."
Saturday 21 January 2012
A.J. Jacobs' year of living biblically
Author, philosopher, prankster and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about the year he spent living biblically -- following the rules in the Bible as literally as possible.
"The third lesson I learnt was that thou shalt have reverence. This one was unexpected because I started the year as an agnostic, and by the end of the year I became what a friend of mine called a 'reverent agnostic' - which I love. (I'm trying to start it as a movement so if anyone wants to join...) The basic idea is that whether or not there's a God, there's something important and beautiful about the idea of sacredness. Our rituals can be sacred, the sabbath can be sacred..."
"Another lesson is that thou shalt give thanks. This one was a big lesson because I was praying, giving these prayers of thanksgiving - which was odd for an agnostic - but I was saying thanks all the time everyday. And I started to change my perspective, and I started to realise the hundreds of little things that go right every day that I didn't even notice, I took for granted, as opposed to focusing on the three or four that went wrong. So this is actually a key to happiness for me."
Friday 13 January 2012
Schizophrenia and Shamanism
I went to the British Library to read this article and it was so interesting I ended up noting the whole thing down. I have (perhaps a little cheekily) copied it up here. I haven't included references.
Schizophrenia and the origins of shamanism among the Kawtikuti Martitime cultures of northwest North America: A hypothesis
Rif S. El-Mallakch, mood disorders research programme, department of psychiatry and behavioural sciences, University of Louiseville School of Medicine.
Dear Editors
19th Century anthropological field workers investigating Siberian natives were the first to introduce the idea that the shamans of this culture were 'psychopathic' individuals, whose psychopathology contributed to their success as shamans (refs). Subsequent investigations by psychologists and psychiatrists were limited, inconclusive or negative (refs).
The concept of shamanism has been poorly defined. The term "shaman" represents a wide range of medical, religious and political healers, practitioners and leaders in various cultures world-wide (refs). Consequently the term takes its meaning only when placed in the context of both time and place.
This paper will focus on shamans in the late 19th and early 20th century maritime cultures of North West North America. These cultures were relatively intact when anthropologic workers documented their cultures in the 1800s and 1900s. The shamens of this area served primarily as communicators with the spirits. Because of their unique and valuable ability, they could, at times, heal, foretell future events, and advise in individual and community decisions (refs).
In this culture, there were two general types or levels of shaman: the family and the professional shaman (refs). The family shaman was usually a family member with several relatives and, perhaps, an extended small community. Professional shaman usually lived in larger communities and served all. It is generally believed that professional shamanism evolved from the tradition of family shaman (refs), but the origins of family shamanism are much more obscure.
1. Pacific North West Maritime Cultures
Family shamans were men or women who were indistinguishable from their peers during their early development. Would-be shamans often became evident in late adolescence and early adulthood (Refs). They would endure a period of severe psychological distress that would lead the would-be shaman to seek solitude. In the depths of their distress they would either hear or see (or both) a spirit. This experience was often their salvation. From that point on, the shaman would have special contact with 'their' spirit. Some shamans, especially those connected with very powerful spirits, would be able to communicate with more than one spirit (refs).
Because of their special relationship with their spirit, these individuals would serve as family shamans whose essential service was communication with the spirits. They were sought when a spirit with whom they could communicate was felt to be involved in an event or process (refs). Family shamans were neither primary healers nor priests.
Family shamans never charged directly for their services. However they were generally 'cared for' by their family or community. This was essential since most family shamans were inept at performing the tasks needed for survival (ref).
Professional shamans probably evolved from the family shaman tradition (refs). They served larger communities and generally received some compensation for their activities. Although a mystical experience was still a necessary start to their shamanic career, there are few other similarities to family shamans. Apprenticeship among the professional shaman was a common practice. Frequently individuals with epileptic seizures were purposely recruited (refs). There is considerable evidence that professional shamans deliberately deceived or fabricated their supernatural feats (refs).
Professional shamans generally gained more status and wielded considerably more power than the family shamans. It is thus not surprising that anthropologic field workers generally sought and studied the professional shamans (refs).
2. Synthesis
An examination of the patterns of life histories of family shaman and modern schizophrenics reveals striking similarities. The prevalence of shamans in small communities is similar to most estimates of the prevalence of schizophrenia - roughly one per 100 - 150 individuals. The boringly unremarkable childhood and dramatically tumultuous early adulthood are striking. The requisite mystical (psychotic?) experience in the setting of severe psychological distress is very reminiscent of the schizophrenic's first psychotic break. Unlike the modern schizophrenic, the would-be family shaman finds that he / she is frequently sought out and respected by others. Despite the dramatically different cultural response, the family shaman and modern schizophrenic go on to lead somewhat similar lives. Both choose to isolate themselves and keep interactions with others to a minimum, psychotic or mystical experiences continue to occur throughout most of their lives. An apparent lack of initiative, and inability to blend into the mainstream of life and its demands, makes both shaman and schizophrenic incapable of performing the functions of everyday life. Members of the respective communities must care for these individuals (refs).
3. Summary
The dramatic failure of schizophrenics to assimilate into modern western style culture creates a subtle prejudice against the illness. Consequently, there is a visceral response when the word is used. This makes objective comparisons regarding other cultures difficult, especially when there is a heightened acceptance of cultural differences. Nonetheless, the observation that shaman of some cultures suffer from some forms of psychopathology, even when viewed in the context of their own cultures, has been made repeatedly. Unfortunately, a series of historical circumstances prevented objective examination of this hypothesis. In the late 19th and early 20th century North West North American Maritime cultures there existed two types of shamans, a fact not appreciated in previous investigations of this question (refs). It appears that one type of shaman - the family shaman - has sufficient similarities with modern schizophrenics to support the hypothesis that psychopathology may have been a force in the origin of shamanism in that culture.
Schizophrenia and the origins of shamanism among the Kawtikuti Martitime cultures of northwest North America: A hypothesis
Rif S. El-Mallakch, mood disorders research programme, department of psychiatry and behavioural sciences, University of Louiseville School of Medicine.
Dear Editors
19th Century anthropological field workers investigating Siberian natives were the first to introduce the idea that the shamans of this culture were 'psychopathic' individuals, whose psychopathology contributed to their success as shamans (refs). Subsequent investigations by psychologists and psychiatrists were limited, inconclusive or negative (refs).
The concept of shamanism has been poorly defined. The term "shaman" represents a wide range of medical, religious and political healers, practitioners and leaders in various cultures world-wide (refs). Consequently the term takes its meaning only when placed in the context of both time and place.
This paper will focus on shamans in the late 19th and early 20th century maritime cultures of North West North America. These cultures were relatively intact when anthropologic workers documented their cultures in the 1800s and 1900s. The shamens of this area served primarily as communicators with the spirits. Because of their unique and valuable ability, they could, at times, heal, foretell future events, and advise in individual and community decisions (refs).
In this culture, there were two general types or levels of shaman: the family and the professional shaman (refs). The family shaman was usually a family member with several relatives and, perhaps, an extended small community. Professional shaman usually lived in larger communities and served all. It is generally believed that professional shamanism evolved from the tradition of family shaman (refs), but the origins of family shamanism are much more obscure.
1. Pacific North West Maritime Cultures
Family shamans were men or women who were indistinguishable from their peers during their early development. Would-be shamans often became evident in late adolescence and early adulthood (Refs). They would endure a period of severe psychological distress that would lead the would-be shaman to seek solitude. In the depths of their distress they would either hear or see (or both) a spirit. This experience was often their salvation. From that point on, the shaman would have special contact with 'their' spirit. Some shamans, especially those connected with very powerful spirits, would be able to communicate with more than one spirit (refs).
Because of their special relationship with their spirit, these individuals would serve as family shamans whose essential service was communication with the spirits. They were sought when a spirit with whom they could communicate was felt to be involved in an event or process (refs). Family shamans were neither primary healers nor priests.
Family shamans never charged directly for their services. However they were generally 'cared for' by their family or community. This was essential since most family shamans were inept at performing the tasks needed for survival (ref).
Professional shamans probably evolved from the family shaman tradition (refs). They served larger communities and generally received some compensation for their activities. Although a mystical experience was still a necessary start to their shamanic career, there are few other similarities to family shamans. Apprenticeship among the professional shaman was a common practice. Frequently individuals with epileptic seizures were purposely recruited (refs). There is considerable evidence that professional shamans deliberately deceived or fabricated their supernatural feats (refs).
Professional shamans generally gained more status and wielded considerably more power than the family shamans. It is thus not surprising that anthropologic field workers generally sought and studied the professional shamans (refs).
2. Synthesis
An examination of the patterns of life histories of family shaman and modern schizophrenics reveals striking similarities. The prevalence of shamans in small communities is similar to most estimates of the prevalence of schizophrenia - roughly one per 100 - 150 individuals. The boringly unremarkable childhood and dramatically tumultuous early adulthood are striking. The requisite mystical (psychotic?) experience in the setting of severe psychological distress is very reminiscent of the schizophrenic's first psychotic break. Unlike the modern schizophrenic, the would-be family shaman finds that he / she is frequently sought out and respected by others. Despite the dramatically different cultural response, the family shaman and modern schizophrenic go on to lead somewhat similar lives. Both choose to isolate themselves and keep interactions with others to a minimum, psychotic or mystical experiences continue to occur throughout most of their lives. An apparent lack of initiative, and inability to blend into the mainstream of life and its demands, makes both shaman and schizophrenic incapable of performing the functions of everyday life. Members of the respective communities must care for these individuals (refs).
3. Summary
The dramatic failure of schizophrenics to assimilate into modern western style culture creates a subtle prejudice against the illness. Consequently, there is a visceral response when the word is used. This makes objective comparisons regarding other cultures difficult, especially when there is a heightened acceptance of cultural differences. Nonetheless, the observation that shaman of some cultures suffer from some forms of psychopathology, even when viewed in the context of their own cultures, has been made repeatedly. Unfortunately, a series of historical circumstances prevented objective examination of this hypothesis. In the late 19th and early 20th century North West North American Maritime cultures there existed two types of shamans, a fact not appreciated in previous investigations of this question (refs). It appears that one type of shaman - the family shaman - has sufficient similarities with modern schizophrenics to support the hypothesis that psychopathology may have been a force in the origin of shamanism in that culture.
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