The Origin of Man and of His SuperstitionsRead, Carveth
Philosophy
The Origin of Man and of His Superstitions
Read, Carveth
Animism; Human beings -- Origin; Magic; Superstition; Totemism
exaggeration, and overlook the patent facts of individualism, as shown
by the hypocrite, the criminal, the vagrant, the contra-suggestible,
the hermit, the sceptic, the saint. Some people—without being in any
way morbid—find that a good deal of solitude is necessary to the
complete life: by nature the student and the pioneer escape from the
crowd.
(_d_) The later stages of human development have been considerably
modified by certain imaginary conditions peculiar to Man; for he—we
know not at what date—invented them. These may be summed up under the
names of Magic and Animism; and in subsequent chapters they will be
discussed, with their astonishing vagaries and still more astonishing
reactions upon human life.
The chief conditions, then, to which man has been adapted, and thereby
differentiated in body and mind from the anthropoid stock, I take to be
four: the hunting life; geographical circumstances; social life; and
his own imaginations.
§ 3. PRIMAL SOCIETY
In looking for the probable form of the earliest human or (rather)
prehuman society, one naturally makes a survey of other mammalian
societies; and the task is soon accomplished. It is surprising how
few and simple the types of them are, in contrast with the elaborate
polities of some hymenoptera and of the termites: these have much
greater superficial resemblance to modern human societies; but, in
fact, they are families rather than societies; their interesting
activities will one day probably be traced to relatively simple
mechanisms; and in every way they are too remote from us for any useful
comparison. As for mammalian societies, even using the term to include
families, they may be classified under four or five types:
(1) Families: (_a_) Monogamous: of which the best examples seem to
be found in some monkeys. Many of the cats are believed to pair
monogamously; but it is doubtful whether, or in what measure, the male
takes part in the rearing of the whelps.
(_b_) Polygamous: characteristic of many species of deer;—after the
breeding-season, the stags often wander away by themselves.
(2) Associations of families without apparent structure or
organisation, such as those of the vizcacha and the beaver. They
have no leaders, and make no attempt at mutual defence; but their
inco-ordinated activities, in making their burrows, dams, etc., have
results which, especially in the case of the beavers, look as if the
animals had worked upon a common, premeditated plan. Gregariousness
exists widely in the animal kingdom without any utility in attack or
defence, but merely for convenience of breeding, or for the advantage
of signalling the approach of danger, from any direction, to the whole
flock.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account