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Animism - Definition of Animism

Wednesday, 26 October 2016 20:11 Written by
Animism - Definition of Animism: All that is beautiful, magnanimous and altruistic comes neither from the cold reason, nor from the emotional heart, but rather from the soul. "Primitive peoples" believed in the existence of a soul for objects and animals, thus leading to the conviction in the existence of human soul; and the latter preceded the belief in the existence of a deity. Animism - Definition of Animism: All that is beautiful, magnanimous and altruistic comes neither from the cold reason, nor from the emotional heart, but rather from the soul. "Primitive peoples" believed in the existence of a soul for objects and animals, thus leading to the conviction in the existence of human soul; and the latter preceded the belief in the existence of a deity. Picture: Marc Chagall.

Animism is a power of the soul, its effect on men is always positive, somehow divine.

But what is soul?

It is the spiritual component of men in contrast to their body; it has nothing to do with mind and intellect, or with heart and feelings, as the ancient animists and the modern psychology of the unconscious believe.

The recognition of a living entity inside men able to survive after their death is a form of animism.

All that is beautiful, magnanimous and altruistic comes neither from the cold reason, nor from the emotional heart, but rather from the soul.

The belief in the existence of a human soul preceded the conviction in the existence of one or multiple gods.

It is the animistic component of men which urges them to save the life of another man in peril at the expense of their own interest or life: reason immediately highlights fears or any possible danger and eventually withdraws, while the heart intervenes only if it is emotionally engaged.  

Now, if we go back to the soul, we shall realise that all the so-called "primitive" people (even if, from an animistic point of you, we are the true primitive men!), such as the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Andean peoples, firmly believed in the existence of a spirit which lived not only in men but also in objects and non-human beings (animals); therefore it can be regarded in my opinion, as a condition preceding the belief in the existence of a human soul.

Therefore, the recognition of something able to outlive men is the first form of animism.

Men possess one or multiple spirits also after their death (up to seven or even thirteen in Melanesia), however, at a later time, almost all the peoples have dissociated soul from spirit.

When it comes to the animism of the objects, the situation is far more complex, since their animism does not necessarily result from the objects themselves. When a child bumps into a table, he believes that the table may have a spirit because it is responsible for the accident.

Similarly, the Bible (Exodus XX, 28-29) inflicts penalties on a bull which has horned a man or a woman, thus clearly assuming an extensive form of animism.

In fact, if we believe in the responsibility of an animal, we are stating that it has a soul.

Animism improves the condition of men, and is a substantial part of their virtue; by way of example, the following proverbs are provided:

- Twin soul / soul mate;

- Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies;

- and then Faust, the protagonist of a famous work of Goethe, who sold his soul to the devil, i.e. he was ready to commit any offence (be ready to incurring at in any guilt).

Therefore, we soon realise the importance of animism for the comprehension of mankind.

 

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Power and limits of fanatic doctrines.

The power and the strength of a community does not only depend on the members or components and on their number, but very much on the economic component, but even more on the doctrine that prophesies and that everyone carries out. Let's see therefore how a fanatical doctrine (and we see even today with the Isis) often increases a community's power.

Today they are trendy, perhaps more than before, their influence on power has great practical importance, so a nation or group of fanatics has odds of success in war, this is a major impediment to democracy and democratic peoples in general; it has more success than a nation where there is a large population of wise men.

Consider this in the light of history.

It is possible to note that cases in which fanaticism led to success are much more known than those in which they failed, because these events remained in the dark.

Certainly a too quickly examination can mislead; it is obvious that if we stay on our guard is easy to avoid it.

A classic example of the fanatic power was that of Hitler's national socialism, but today we have to remember that the maximum fanatic power example is represented by the history of Islam.

Muhammad did not ever add anything to the knowledge and material resources of the Arabs, yet few years after his death they had acquired a vast empire by defeating the powerful neighbours; the religion founded by the Prophet was material and essential element to the success of the nation.

In this paragraph I shall talk about animist nomadism and its myths: over the course of history, it is rooted in the Period of Origins, when neither the State nor the Class Properties existed, while the Law of Life ruled over the world, intended as the Word which conveys the interests of the Weak, together with rationality, novelty and true spiritual paternity.

"Spirituality" should not countervail the body and the matter; the concept of Spirit has been pathologically divulgated by the developing religions, however, we intend Spirit as a form of love for each kind of matter, for all the bodies even without blood ties, since they all share the same Cosmic Origin, they all belong to the same cosmic body.

In this sense, within nomadic animism, hospitality is extremely important: any foreigner (without any blood tie) is sacred, the outcasts are gladly welcomed, because they are the "future God" which brings novelty and happiness (as evidenced by all the nomadic, Hellenic, Jewish and Native American traditions.)

Only following the path "of the last who shall be first, and the first last" (thus avoiding the concept of “last”, “first”, “coincidence” and “removal of opposites”), we can feel universal love, which will enable us to love and help both our friends and enemies looking for humanization; just like the sun, we shall spread light, life and warmth not only to our friends, but also to the secret needs of our enemies.

However, the "turn the other cheek" motto refers exclusively to those who have "another cheek," but the poor, conversely, have none.

Therefore, this ethical motto addresses especially the authorities and the rich, those who have the choice and means to freely act; it does not refer to those who live outside a “moral context" and have no freedom to choose their means and acquire knowledge: this truth must be revealed to all the theologians, wise men, politicians and "non-violent" activists (in words) of the world; to all the priests, and bishops who address the humiliated and offended masses, to all the poor Lazarus in Africa, Latin America and the whole world.

Moreover, the authorities, in the true sense of the word, should comply with the provisions of the Gospel – especially with the Parable of the "Prodigal Son" - and adhere to the Canticle of Mary, mother of Jesus.

The love of the prophets, of these men guided by love, springs from the path taken by Prophet Abraham, the father of all the prophets.

A heart full of love is the result of intelligence, strength-knowledge, and acts against any supremacy; it precisely arises from the unity of life stating that

"The true worship of God means breaking the yoke around the neck of the oppressed and set the slaves free" (Isaiah the prophet, 58), i.e. it stems from an agreement established with the poor, the oppressed and the last in the whole world.