A symbolic theory of history. The Christian Myth as the main structuring-sym- bol of the Alterity Pattern in Western culture
Keywords:
symbolic anthropology, symbolic history, cultural self, alterity pattern, cultural pathology, inquisition, renaissance, pathological defenses of the cultural self, dissociation of the cultural self, hysteriaAbstract
The article develops a concept of Symbolic An- thropology to study the Cultural Self based on four archetypal structures, matriarchal, patriarchal, alterity and cosmic as they historically contribute side by side to develop Individual and Collective Consciousness through structuring symbols. This method allows us to study the interaction of structuring symbols in multicultural societies in a dynamic and equalitarian context even though one culture is highly advanced technologically and the other has no written language. This symbolic perspective is also used to study the transition of our patriarchal Roman-Judaic tradition towards the alterity democratic pattern through the structuring symbols of the Christian Myth. Symbolically, the fourteen centuries of the Inquisition are seen as a reintensification of the patriarchal pattern to the point of patriarchalizing the Christian Myth, establishing the Christ-Devil dichotomy splitting the image of the Christian Godhead and culminating in a severe dissociation of the Cultural Self in the 18th century with an intense injury to the implantation of the alterity pattern which affects us greatly today in all cultural dimensions. The importance of the concept of Symbolic Anthropology and History is stressed to study phenomena such as Cultural Pathology, fixation and dissociation of the Cultural Self. The author stresses the importance of matriarchal dynamism functioning side by side with patriarchal dynamism for society to attain and exercise the alterity democratic pattern of Consciousness. The symbolic richness of Indian and Negro Cultures and the absence in them of a dissociation similar to the Christ-Devil dichotomy is also emphasized as their possibility to contribute to a healthier Cultural Self in our multi-cultural society.
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