Stone age & Prehistoric psychological thoughts Flashcards
Neolithic human brain and IQ were already well developed, allowing to (4)
(1) Survive in harsh conditions (climate, cataclysms, attacks of wild beasts, illnesses)
(2) communicate, share, hunt, play, pray, and create social life
(3) reflect on the powerful forces of nature and superior divine powers
(4) behaviour and its animating agency, the anima, soul or psyche
The old and new ways of understanding the mechanism of action (epistemology) (6)
(1) Anthropomorphism
(2) Animism
(3) Magic
(4) Religion
(5) Philosophy
(6) Scientific Psychology
Anthropomorphism def
From Greek: anthrōpos =human; morphē =a form (resemblance)
An attribution of HUMAN characteristics/thoughts & feelings to: other persons, gods, animals, forces of nature, non-living objects
=> Everything is animated by the spirit, like the human spirit
Animism def
ANIMA as the powerful agent residing within the organism or an object.
The anima is located within the LIVING ORGANISMS ONLY (human/animal): when it leaves, the body dies
-> CLOSE LINK between body and anima
Anima sometimes also called
Pneuma (breath of life), Soul
Animism - Can the anima leave the body?
Can leave the organism in cases of dreams - you can visit other anima.
-> The body is alive so long as the anima resides within it
-> The body dies at the moment the anima (breath of life) leaves it
Magic way of understanding def
“Spirit”, not anima. Body does NOT die when the anima (spirit) leaves it temporarily. The human IMMORTAL spirit is a part of the powerful cosmic Spirit
-> Spirit has the power of strength (which animates/controls/influences the body of its owner) + visits other persons/objets and exercises its power in their dreams and actions.
-> LOOSE LINK between body and anima
In the “magic” way of understanding, an individual spirit is …. (3)
(1) A part of the cosmic Spirit, thus eternal -> Not dying after death of physical body
(2) Detachable and mobile
(3) Controlling its habitat and other person/object (might be good or bad)
Religion way of understanding def
Belief that human actions are monitored, judged and influenced by cosmic, divine power and by the soul as its representative agency installed temporarily in the human mind.
Divine privileges and obligations: (responsibility, carrying, moral conduct…)
Belief in the afterlife and reunification with God
-> To deserve eternity, the human soul observes the divine rules of ethics
Philosophy way of understanding def
Switched attention to more cosmic issues - how do we exist in the universe. Meaning, destiny… -> ontology, epistemology, ethics, meaning/purpose of existence, human destiny…
-> The search for meaning transcending physical limitation guides us
Scientific psychology def
A rational and methodologically strict study of the biological, socio-cultural and experiential mechanisms of the: behavior, psyche (awareness) and mind (consciousness)
Documents about ancestral lifestyle & mentality (5)
(1) Archaeological sites & incriptions (e.g. wall & coffin texts)
(2) Scripts & Holy books (e.g. Book of the Dead, legal codes, Bible, Vedas)
(3) Mythologies, (e.g. Dreamtime stories, Sagas, Greek mythology)
(4) Prophetic teaching, (e.g. Abraham, Confucius, Buddha)
(5) Archaic philosophies, (e.g. ethos and laws in Europe and Asia)
Order of Ages
STONE (Stones for tools/weapons)
BRONZE (Bronze for tools/weapons + ornaments. Humans better prepared to defend, hunt and produce new tools)
IRON (Iron for tools/weapons. New European communities emerged & established themselves.)
SILICONE (Information as tool/weapon)
Stone age - grossomodo
- Aborigines in Australia
- European pro-magnon caves
- Hunter-gathering nomadic communities
- From nomadic to civic lifestyle
Bronze age - grossomodo
- Sumeria (Gilgamesh), Old Babylonia (Hammurabi code)
- Egypt (hieroglyphs)
- Minoan civilization (Crete, Knossos), Greek Alphabet
- China (1st dynasty)
- Hebrews
- Mycenaeans, Dorians, Ionian Greeks (Troy)
End = Climatic/Seismic cataclysms. Collapse of many cultures & demographic crises
Iron age- grossomodo
- Pre-Classic: Hebrews, Persian Zorostrarians, Ancient Rome
- Classic: Roman kingdom
- Hellenistic period
- Roman period
- Medieval period
- Renaissance
- Scientific revolution
- Naturalism/industrial/social revolutions
- Pragmatism/materialism/sexual revolution
Hunter-gathering communities in Europe, Asia, Africa, N. & S. America - How were they?
(1) Nomadic lifestyle dictated by natural circumstances (climate, shelter, food…)
-> Move from one place to another to avoid natural threats or escape attacks
(2) Cave wall paintings expressed their triumphs after hunting, religious rites & symbols of society
(3) Caves
Paleolithic tribes, _______, resided in _____ in southern France.
Cro-Magnons, caves
E.g. Chauvet, Lascaux, Altamira cave paintings, cults
Dreamtime mythology of Aborigines
Profound sense of connection with nature/universe. Reality both material & spiritual.
The presence, past and future are intertwined and friendly - Dreamtime is a period on a continuum of past, present and future.
The Spirits inhabit the entire Universe, they’re everywhere (plants/rocks/animals/humans…)
Any form of life = sacred → no distinction between profanum and sacrum, they’re integrated
A ____________ has gradually replaced the __________________ of human ancestors.
sensory-pragmatic orientation; intuitive, spontaneous orientative skills
Profanum and Sacrum def
Profanum: sensory perception and thinking
Sacrum: intuitive, numinous experience
-> In aborigines, no differenciation
Numinous experience def
Highly spiritual, intangible, contemplative and intuitive phenomenon. Numinous experience of belonging to the Universe: its magnificient greatness and beauty.
Has 2 components: Mysterium tremendum & fascinans
Numinous experience has 2 components, what are they?
Mysterium tremendum: tremendous fear, thrill, and respect
Mysterium fascinans: fascinating awe, delight, bliss, and admiration
What enabled nomadic communities to stay in permanent settlements?
Postglacial climate stabilization created better conditions.
From nomadic to civic lifestyle - how did it look like? And where was it?
- Lived in natural caves or within natural geotectonic formations (e.g. Jericho Walls, Tel-As-Sultan)
- Started constructing the first shelters (huts, houses, ritual sites, temples…)
- Permanent settlements in villages/small towns → First civilizations
=> Settlements and early civilizations in Mesopotamian Sumeria, Greece, Egypt, China!!!
Where started the first settlements and early civilizations?
Mesopotamian Sumeria, Greece, Egypt, China
