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Social functionalism or individual psychological process? Are modern tools useful in investigating ecstatic cult?
Member rating: No Rating | Words: | Submitted: Mon Jun 19 2006
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Social functionalism or individual psychological process? Are modern tools useful in investigating ecstatic cult? "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality."1 This is a basic fact about human nature. In order to retain our sanity we are compelled to occasionally remove ourselves from the world around us through various methods of intoxication, be it drink, drugs, or spiritual possession. This intoxication performs a vital role in maintaining both the psychological balance of the individual and, by extension, the stability of the society they are part of, a fact that can be seen throughout history, right back to our earliest ancestors. From anthropological comparisons with later ecstatic religions we can note that Greek ecstatic cults satisfy a vital psychological requirement for the Dionysiac followers2, alleviating the anxieties that the participants may have had about environmental pressures surrounding them. However, this emotional outlet also...
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