Revival: Primitive Mentality (1923) - Paperback

by Lucien Levy-Bruhl (Author), Lilian a. Clare (Translator)

The primitive mind does not differentiate the supernatural from reality, but rather uses "mystical participation" to manipulate the world. According to Bruhl, moreover, the primitive mind doesn't address contradictions. The modern mind, by contrast, uses reflection and logic. Bruhl believed in a historical and evolutionary teleology leading from the primitive mind to the modern mind.

Author Biography

Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (10 April 1857 - 13 March 1939) was a French scholar trained in philosophy, who made contributions to the budding fields of sociology and ethnology. His primary field of study involved primitive mentality. He was an anthropologist who wrote about the 'primitive mind'.