Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of MankindWundt, Wilhelm Max
Science
Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of Mankind
Wundt, Wilhelm Max
Ethnopsychology
Although this theory is doubtless in greater consonance with certain
general characteristics of myth development than is the ancestor
theory, we would urge, as one chief objection, the fact that its
god-concept unites mythological-religious elements of a very different
nature. In particular, the so-called 'god of a moment' is neither a
god, in the proper sense of the word, nor even a demon, but either a
particular impression arousing fear, or, on a higher plane, a single
manifestation of the activity of a demon or god. The Greeks referred
the flash of lightning to Zeus, the lightning-hurler. On a more
primitive level, the North American Indian sees in the lightning and
thunder the acts of a demon hidden in the clouds. In neither case are
the momentary phenomena identified with gods or demons themselves.
There is not a shadow of proof in the entire history of myth that
such acts or attributes as these, which were attributed to gods and
demons, ever existed as independent realities of even but a moment's
duration. The so-called 'particular gods,' on the other hand, are in
every respect demons and not gods. They are not personal in nature;
this also implies that they are not conceived as having a particular
form, for somehow the latter always leads to personalization. As a
matter of fact, these 'particular gods' are only objectified emotions
of fear and terror. Spirits, in the sense of magical agents of disease
conceived as invisible beings, or occasionally imaged in the form of
fantastic though ever-changing animal shapes, are not gods, but demons.
The same holds true of the multitude of nature demons that infest
field and forest and the vicinity of streams and gorges. Wherever myth
has given these spirits definite forms, they reveal no evidence of
traits such as would constitute them individual personalities. This,
of course, does not imply that there are no cases at all in which the
indeterminate traits ascribed to them are so combined as to result
in individual beings. When this occurs, however, we have already
transcended the stage of so-called 'particular gods.' Such beings as
the Greek Pan or the Germanic Hel must already be classed with gods
proper, even though they exhibit traits indicative of a demoniacal
past; for the narrowness of character which they manifest results
from the fact that they originated directly in a particular emotion.
Surely, therefore, the decisive emphasis in the case of deity ideas
in general must be placed on the attribute of personality. Gods are
personal beings, whose characters reflect the peculiarity of the people
who have created them. We see in the god Jahve of the Israelites the
clear-cut lines of the stern god who threatens the disobedient, but
who also rewards the faithful. More impressive still is the uniqueness
of personality in those cases in which a multiplicity of gods causes
the development of diverse and partly opposed characteristics in the
various gods.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account