| Added | Sun, 02/10/2016 |
Despite the fact that humanity has been separated from nature for a long time and the 21st century is characterized mainly by technological progress, omens and superstitions are still often included in our daily life and even skeptics sometimes, without noticing it, use them.
We will not describe all the signs and superstitions in detail in this article – many books and Internet resources are devoted to them (for example, [1]). In this article, we will only touch on their main types and illustrate them with a few examples, as well as understand the differences between the very concepts of "omen" and "superstition".
Sign
A sign is a subjective reaction of the cognizing mind of a person who is trying to identify the relationship between the mutually imposed processes to objective phenomena. Thus, a sign is the result of the work of the mind of a person who feels that everything in the world is interconnected. The observation of some people and their ability to understand this leads to the identification of stable relationships between individual processes, and, as a result, to the emergence of stereotypes for recognizing these relationships, which is formed in the form of folk signs. [2]
Most often, this type includes weather and agricultural signs. Basically, these signs are based on the observations of several generations of people for nature and the identification of some patterns. Many of these services are still used by tourists, fishermen, villagers and other people who need to quickly assess the surrounding situation without the possibility of using special devices.
As an example of such features, we can cite:
- "When the earth crumbles easily, they go out to plow." (This means that the ground is sufficiently dry and not wet, i.e. the most suitable for plowing.)
- "In winter, pillars spread out from the sun across the sky-to frost." ("Solar columns" is a fairly well – known optical effect caused by hexagonal crystals of ice suspended in the air.)
These folk signs were passed down from generation to generation, corrected, and with the spread of printing began to publish their collections. An example is [5].
The content of the omen or the fact that it was noticed may correlate with actual patterns that were too difficult to confirm scientifically at the time of the omen. [3]
Superstition
Superstition (formed from "sue" - in vain (without awareness of the reasons) and "faith", letters. "vain belief" — - a superstition that represents a belief in some otherworldly forces. It contains the assumption, often unconsciously, that one can find protection from these forces or reach a compromise acceptable to a person with them.
Most superstitions have deep historical roots, some relate to ancient religious beliefs. Features of the human psyche contribute to the spread of superstitions, especially in extreme circumstances:
- the desire to look into the near future;
- the desire to avoid adverse situations;
- impulses to comfort a person;
- the desire to prompt a person to behave correctly: either through fear of negative consequences, or by beckoning with positive consequences.
Superstitions are often confused with omens, because they are very similar in their construction. But there are significant differences between these two concepts. For the most part, the sign carries information about the obvious cause-and-effect relationships between one natural phenomenon and another, and superstition has a mystical subtext.
Although this is also not entirely true. Most superstitions have a mystical subtext only externally, while carrying a deep meaning. An interesting story can be given as an example:
"Once I managed to ask a very old village woman who lived under the Tsar: "What is the reason for the omen-not to cut a new loaf of bread after sunset?» "My great-grandmother told me that..." she began. I was expecting to hear a popular book version about round bread, as a symbol of the sun among the Slavs, which can not be cut after sunset, and if you cut it, you need to cut it in the middle and cut off the pieces from the middle to combine again when the meal is over. But no! "...that if the crust gets weathered overnight, it will remain crisp, and the flesh will become stale overnight and it will be unpleasant to eat, " she finished.»
In this way, you can consider a huge part of superstitions, and they will not only be devoid of mystical color, but also quite logical, at least for their time.
Everyday superstitions
These superstitions are aimed at ensuring that the owner and hostess of the house take care of their home, keep it in order and clean. From an early age, the child was taught to run a household, so that when he reached a certain age, he could easily determine how to act in a particular situation. To ensure the fulfillment of superstition, mystical consequences were often attributed to it. Sometimes mysticism appeared in the description of superstition after several generations, when it was observed thoughtlessly and the true reasons for this behavior were forgotten.
Usually such superstitions contain instructions concerning home management: how to clean the floor, how to store bread, do not forget to monitor the oven and the house, when to remove linen, how to store household utensils, etc.
The mystical significance of these superstitions is usually poorly indicated. As a rule, it was simply said that if you do not follow this rule, you can offend a brownie and/or lose money, quarrel with a dear person, or just get an abstract "misfortune".
Examples of such superstitions are:
- "Do not sweep the table with your hand - there will be no prosperity." (Sweeping away the wooden surface with your hand, you can get hurt, as this method does not allow you to clean the table from all the crumbs and drops, so cockroaches and other animals can get started)
- "If the loaf breaks in the hands when cutting, it portends a family quarrel." (If the bread crumbles – there may be a family quarrel about poorly baked bread or improper storage, as well as poorly sharpened knives. The sign was needed so that the owner and hostess did not allow the above incidents in their home.)
- "The tar has melted out of the hut into the street - for the worse." (The sign is aimed at forcing the owner of the house to "carry out prevention" of the structure and prevent this, since it leads to disastrous consequences.)
- "If the doors, which have never creaked, suddenly creak , it will be a nuisance." (Household omen is aimed at the fact that the owner of the house watched the loops and lubricated them in time)
- "In the open dishes left on the table in the evening, evil spirits frolic at night." (Various insects, carriers of various diseases, can crawl in the left open dishes.)
- "The broom should be kept behind the door with the handle down – from evil spirits." (In this position, the broom does not break and does not get in the way.)
Children's superstitions
These superstitions are primarily aimed at protecting the child from wrong actions that lead to unnecessary injuries, and contain instructions on how to behave with sharp objects, keep order in the house and not cause unnecessary inconvenience to adults. Such superstitions rarely have a mystical connotation.
This can be attributed to superstition and related to etiquette. They are aimed primarily at children who, growing up, transfer this knowledge into the life of an adult. They are also rarely associated with mystical beings or beliefs.
Examples:
- "Don't start eating sardines (or any other fish) from your head - you'll get into trouble." (It is most convenient to cut the fish from the tail. Butchering it from the head, more chance of injuring the bone.)
- "Play with a knife - to trouble" (in some variations – to quarrel). (Playing with a knife, you can cut yourself.)
- "To stir tea in a teapot is to provoke a quarrel." (Tea leaves and solid sediment rise. Pouring this tea into cups, you can cause a quarrel with those who will drink this tea)
- "If you were in a hurry to go somewhere, but had to go back – look in the mirror." (If you are in a hurry somewhere, you are likely to look untidy, and while looking in the mirror, there is a chance to remember what else you forgot, so that you do not come back again).
- "Sit down in front of the road." (This ritual helps you calm down and focus for the last time before going out and remember if you've forgotten anything.)
- "Add salt to the quarrel." (The salt was very expensive and rare, and it was really possible to quarrel with the person who bought it)
Some superstitions were so, because not everyone knew how the things around them were arranged, I.e. they were "marked cause-and-effect relationships", shrouded in a mystical character.
Everyday superstitions with implicit practical meaning
The above categories can be attributed in some ways closer to omens than to superstitions, since they did not have a direct mystical subtext. The following examples belong more to the section of pure superstition, but they can also have a practical explanation:
- "If a mirror falls and breaks, it is a sure sign of an early death in the family." It was believed that the mirror reflects not the body of a person, but his soul, so if you break the mirror, the soul of a person breaks. Mirrors were difficult to make and cost relatively expensive, so you need to be careful with this piece of furniture, and you can cut yourself with shards. (It is also possible that this superstition was connected with the mirror manufacturing technology – until 1835, mercury was used in the manufacture of mirrors, which was released when the mirror was broken. [1])
- "To stop hiccups, moisten the index finger of your right hand with saliva and cross the toe of your left Shoe three times, repeating "our father" in reverse." (The cause of hiccups is more abrupt than usual contractions of the diaphragm. All folk methods of treating hiccups are based on rearranging the rhythm of breathing – this is air retention, an attempt to drink in an uncomfortable position, a sharp fright. In these cases, the person focuses on their actions and involuntarily holds their breath.)
Superstitions that "control" reality
The following superstitions are psychological in nature. They arise, as a rule, completely irrationally. A person likes to imagine that by observing certain signs, he can influence his life, avert trouble and invoke happiness. There are a lot of such superstitions – some came to us from antiquity (they usually have quite interesting stories of origin), others were born in modern times. This category also includes superstitions observed in the circle of representatives of different professions (most often, speaking of professional superstitions, remember artists and sailors). Superstitions of this type are usually accompanied by rituals that can prevent impending trouble. Examples:
- "Knock on wood to avoid the evil eye."
- "Black cat will run across the road – to failure." (It was believed that a witch could turn into a cat)
- "A woman with an empty bucket met-unfortunately." (Perhaps this omen can be attributed to the previous section. A woman could only return from the well with empty buckets if there was an accident.)
There is also a set of signs that have a mystical meaning only in the modern world, whereas initially the meaning was completely pragmatic, but eventually lost its relevance.
Modern science and superstition
As shown in the previous sections, superstitions arise due to the peculiarities of the human psyche, and their study is engaged in psychology and its branches. At the moment, many effects that describe the principles of human reaction and behavior patterns have been discovered and studied. For example, speaking of superstitions, it is worth mentioning the effect called by the American psychologist R. Rosenthal "Pygmalion effect". This psychological phenomenon lies in the fact that the expectations of the person the prophesy largely determine the nature of its actions and the interpretation of the reactions of others, and provokes a fulfillment of prophecy. R. Curtis and K. Miller illustrated this process and conducted the following experiment. A group of College students, none of whom knew each other, were paired up. One person in each pair, chosen at random, received special information. Some students in a couple were told that they liked their partner, and some were told that they did not like them. Then pairs of students were given the opportunity to meet and talk to each other. As the researchers predicted, those students who thought they liked their partner behaved more agreeably towards their partner; they were more outspoken, expressed less disagreement on the topics discussed, and in General, their manner of communication was more cordial and pleasant than that of students who thought they did not like their partner. Moreover, those who thought their partner liked them actually liked them much more than those who thought their partner disliked them. That is, partners tended to copy the behavior of the other person in the pair. [4]
The Hawthorne effect and the Barnum effect, for example, can also be partially attributed here. The concept of the Hawthorne effect is to change people's behavior if they know that they are being studied. In this case, people do their daily work more diligently, knowing that they are constantly being watched by supernatural forces.
The Hawthorne effect is a condition in which novelty, interest in an experiment, or increased attention to a given subject leads to a distorted, often too favorable, result. The participants in the experiment act differently only because they are aware that they are involved in the experiment.
This effect was discovered by a group of scientists led by Elton Mayo during the so-called "Hawthorne experiments" (1924-1932).
It has a twofold interpretation:
- positive changes in people's behavior caused by the attention given to them, which people themselves interpret as benevolent participation;
- in experimental psychology-changes in the observed phenomenon that occur as a result of the very fact of observation. [6]
The Barnum effect is a General observation that people highly value the accuracy of such descriptions of their personality that they assume are created individually for them, but which are actually vague and generalized enough to be applied to many other people with the same success. [7]
Social psychology studies and identifies General trends in people's thinking, their perception of certain situations. And no matter how unique each person is in themselves, most people think the same way.
One example of similar behavior in different people is cognitive distortion. These are systematic errors in thinking or pattern deviations in judgment that occur in certain situations. The existence of most cognitive distortions has been described by scientists, and many have been proven in psychological experiments. In particular, an example of cognitive distortion is the illusion of control – the tendency of people to believe that they can control, or at least influence, the results of events that they can't actually influence. There are a lot of other examples, most of them are described in the relevant literature, and the lists are given in public sources [8].
Conclusion
The main difference between religion and superstition can be considered a place reserved for a person. If omens simply reflect a reality that a person cannot influence, then superstitions "allow" him to manipulate reality.
Since the main source of superstition is the peculiarities of human thinking, regardless of the level of technological progress, people will continue to believe in them for a long time.
Bibliography
- http://www.primeta.ru/
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
- A. Ermolov, folk agricultural wisdom in Proverbs and sayings, Saint Petersburg 1901
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
- http://ru.wikipedia.org
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Comments
Нашла небольшую подборку о плохих приметах в разных странах мира. Просто интересно как у разных людей "работают" порой противоположные приметы.
Видимо этот сайт часто пишет про приметы. Нашел у них же "Топ-5 суеверий легко объясняемых с точки зрения логики и рационализма":
Трое от одной сигареты не прикуривают
Довольно странное суеверие, которое, тем не менее, довольно прочно закрепилось в умах многих курильщиков. А пошло всё со времён Крымской войны. Местные снайперы очень быстро наловчились стрелять по солдатам, прикуривающим ночью от спички. Но на то, чтобы прицелиться – тоже нужно время. И вот как раз на третьем прикуривающем и можно было с уверенностью стрелять. Отсюда и пошло это поверье.
Нельзя класть ноги на стол
Ну вообще, это изначально целиком и полностью рациональное суеверие – мало ли в каких условиях вам понадобится кушать, а если постоянно закидывать на стол ноги в грязных ботинках – шанс подхватить пищевое отравление или какую-нибудь болезнь будет выше. И эту закономерность заметили ещё до того, как кто-то смог разглядеть первых микробов.
Бананы на борту корабля
Это суеверие незнакомо жителям постсоветского пространства, но европейцы знают про него довольно хорошо. Дело в том, что долгое время бананы экспортировались в довольно экстремальных условиях – корабли могли затонуть, сесть на мель и как-то ещё пострадать. А бананы, при этом, не тонут по определению. Так что когда на месте кораблекрушения находили всплывший груз бананов, невольно начинали думать, что именно бананы принесли это несчастье. Очень уж моряки суеверный народ.
Женщина на корабле – к несчастью
Представьте ситуацию – старый корабль, отвратительная еда, тяжелый труд, ужасные условия, вокруг куча нервных мужиков, которым только дай повод подраться – и тут на борту появляется дама. Конечно же начнётся «поединки» за право обладать её вниманием. А это уж точно не нужно ни капитану, ни команде в целом. Так что проще было запретить женщинам подниматься на борт. Но были и исключения – дамы, которые и сами могли кому отпор дать. Как, например, королева ирландских пиратов Грэйс о’Мэлли.
Чёрные кошки
Показательный пример того, к чему может привести личная антипатия высокопоставленных личностей. В далёком 1233 году некто папа римский Григорий IX объявил кошек «слугами Дьявола». Причём всех, но чёрных – в особенности. Чем кошки ему в своё время не угодили – история умалчивает. Однако когда из-за исчезновения этих животных по городам расплодились крысы, переносящие чумных блох – сразу же нашлись граждане, которые посчитали, что это так нечистая сила мстит. С тех пор в массовом сознании чёрные кошки плотно ассоциируются с нечистью и неудачами.
Про бананы я даже и примету-то такую не знал.