In this chapter, Johan Huizinga relates symbolism and religion. He includes, "When we see all things in God, and refer all things to Him, we read in common matters superior expressions of meaning." Huizinga believes hat this is the psychological foundation from which symbolism arises because with God and religion, there is a deeper meaning. He describes symbolism as a "short-circuit of thought", which I think is very clever and accurate. When a person sees or thinks of a symbol, the meaning of the symbol automatically pops into their mind without really having to think about it. For example, when driving along an unfamiliar road and a stop sign appears at the bottom of a hill, a driver sees the sign and automatically slows down the car because he or she knows they need to stop soon.
In Huizinga's studies, it is apparent that people found meaning and significance in everything that happened because everything was related to God. Some people practiced extreme asceticism to show their dedication to the Lord. Examples of asceticism would be fasting, living in silence (like in the desert), not sleeping, or wearing itchy wool clothing. These sacrifices were a sign of holiness and devotion to God. These were the Middle Ages when everything revolved around religion. Now we live in an age of science, which also connects society to symbols. Symbols are related to Freud's theory because they have to do with the unconscious psyche. For example, a very simple symbol can have a powerful, emotional effect on someone (a transcendental meaning can be found in anything).
Symbols play a very important part in social sciences as well. Sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists probably have to deal with symbols on a day-to-day basis. One job of a sociologist is to differentiate between manifest and latent functions of behavior. A manifest function is why we choose to do something and a latent function is the unconscious reason we do something. This is one of the reasons why symbols play such an important role in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment