Primitive Mentality in Gerardus van der Leeuw’s De primitieve mensch en de religie | Amsterdam University Press Journals Online
2004
Volume 78, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2542-6583
  • E-ISSN: 2590-3268

Abstract

Abstract

As part of NTT JTSR’s series on Key Texts, this article discusses Gerardus Van der Leeuw’s 1937 monograph . In this book, Van der Leeuw discusses primitive mentality, which he derives from Lucien Lévy-Bruhl. According to Van der Leeuw, primitive mentality is of great importance to human life and, in particular, to religion. The concept largely disappeared from anthropological discourse after World War II and was criticized for several reasons. Although that criticism is justified, and the term primitive mentality should be avoided, Lévy-Bruhl and Van der Leeuw use it to refer to a participatory attitude that can be distinguished from a scientific way of reasoning. Based on their work, four forms of thinking that belong to a participatory attitude can be identified. The distinctive character and value of a participatory attitude are illustrated by examples from Christology.

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