Revival: Primitive Mentality (1923)
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Book Description
The primitive mind does not differentiate the supernatural from reality, but rather uses "mystical participation" to manipulate the world. According to Bruhl, moreover, the primitive mind doesn't address contradictions. The modern mind, by contrast, uses reflection and logic. Bruhl believed in a historical and evolutionary teleology leading from the primitive mind to the modern mind.
Table of Contents
1. The primitive's indifference to secondary causes 2. Mystic and invisible forces 3. Dreams 4. Omens 5. Omens (continued) 6. The practices of divination 7. The practices of divination (continued) 8. Ordeals 9. The mystic meaning of accidents and misfortunes 10. The mystic meaning of the causes of sucess 11. The mystic meaning of the white man's appearance and of the things he brings with them. 12. The primitive's dislike of the unknown. 13. The primitive's attitude to the European remedies 14. Conclusion.
Author(s)
Biography
Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (10 April 1857 – 13 March 1939) was a French scholar trained in philosophy, who made contributions to the budding fields of sociology and ethnology. His primary field of study involved primitive mentality. He was an anthropologist who wrote about the 'primitive mind'.