Shamanism And Schizophrenia Essay

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Healer or Mentally Ill Mad Man ? Healer or Mentally Ill Mad Man? An Exploration of Shamanism in Relation to Schizophrenia The intention of this paper is to explore the various opinions and debates in regards to schizophrenia in relation to shamanism. The sources drawn upon in this paper date from 1983 to 2006 however there has been further debate before and after these years. The question explored throughout the five sources is if in fact shamans are affected by a psychopathic disorder, most commonly schizophrenia and the arguments backing the opposing opinion are convincing for both positions on the matter. It is important for me to note that my personal opinion is not expressed throughout the paper, for it is an investigation of scholarly research that exists on the subject. Shamanism…show more content…
N.p., 30 Aug 2011. Web. 7 Mar 2012. <http://www.evolver.net/user/ibbey3000/blog/shamanism_vs_schizophrenia>. Glossary 1- Altered State of Consciousness: Any mental state that differs from a normal mental state. (Stein,259) 2- Shaman: A part-time religious specialist who receives his or her power directly from the spirit world and acquires status and the ability to do things through personal communication with the supernatural. (Stein,264) 3- Healer: A religious specialist who concentrates on healing. Relation to my paper: Noll’s paper refers to the fact that it is shaman’s job to heal himself or others, therefore making the shaman a healer. (Stein,261) 4- Supernatural: Entities and actions that transcend the natural world of cause and effect. (Stein,265) 5- Status: A social position that is defined in terms of appropriate behaviour, rights and obligations, and its relationship to other statues. (Stein,264) Each definition was pulled from this source: Stein, Rebecca, and Philip Stein. Anthropology of Religion,Magic, and Witchcraft . 3rd . Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011.

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