The cultural construction of the Western conception of the realm of the sacred: co-existence, clash and interbreeding of magic and sacred thinking in fifth- and sixth-century Umbria

Author: Bartocci G.

Source: Anthropology & Medicine, Volume 7, Number 3, 1 December 2000 , pp. 373-388(16)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $50.43 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

The domain of the ultra-human is a manmade world which, despite its pretence of being untouched by the passing of time, has nonetheless undergone continuous change through the course of history: the passionate conceptions connected to the world of magic and the anodyne conceptions of spirituality have repeatedly merged and clashed, thus creating a multifarious construction of extra-mundane beliefs. These representations necessarily condition the 'psychological climate' and individual psycho-biological development and the construction of the self. In this article, the author opens a perspective on both a micro and macro panorama: the different phases of the breakdown of the world of magic and development of sacred thought in Umbria (Italy) in the course of the sixth century.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: WPA Transcultural Psychiatry Section, Italian Institute of Transcultural Mental Health, Rome, Italy

Publication date: 2000-12-01

More about this publication?