Refutation and Desire: European Perceptions of Shamanism in the Late Eighteenth Century*
The article discusses learned debates that evolved at the end of the eighteenth century in Europe about the interpretation of shamanism. Intellectuals, philosophers, and enlightened monarchs engaged in controversies about shamanism that were clearly linked to Enlightenment ideals of rationality and...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2012
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| In: |
Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2012, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 100-121 |
| Further subjects: | B
Shamanism
Enlightenment
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Catherine the Great
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The article discusses learned debates that evolved at the end of the eighteenth century in Europe about the interpretation of shamanism. Intellectuals, philosophers, and enlightened monarchs engaged in controversies about shamanism that were clearly linked to Enlightenment ideals of rationality and religious critique. The article addresses the ambivalence of ‘refutation and desire’ in French, German, and Russian responses to shamanism, with special attention to the French Encyclopedists, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Catherine the Great. The controversies reveal the intrinsic tension of the European project of ‘modernity’: what was discussed as ‘shamanism,’ ultimately turned out to be the result of European self-reflection. |
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| ISSN: | 1874-8929 |
| Contains: | In: Journal of religion in Europe
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/187489211X612622 |