SOC231H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Collective Effervescence, Ethics, Verstehen
Document Summary
Reveal, analyze and unpack the mechanisms of essence of religion. Identify its basic forms, use that for what religion forms. Well documented simplest tribes that can be identified in anthropological record. Problems with conceptualizing primitive tribe and culture: eurocentric, story told in european perspective, assumes to be norm, superiority in the notion of complexity. Western culture is more developed and complex, starting to complicate social evolutionary theory. Totenism: classify and link together spiritual objects and beliefs, link between spirit world and nature. Spirit world and natural animal and plant world. Differentiate between sacred and profane, practice of religion as religion. Establish moral order, how to behave in everyday. 3 conditions for establishing a religion: a set of religious beliefs. Unified system of beliefs, practices that unites into one community. The power of the society that makes us feel complete, feel power. Misconception of the perceiver, is people are fooled or misguided, marx.
