The Spiritual Quest: Transcendence in Myth, Religion, and ScienceRobert Torrance's wide-ranging, innovative study argues that the spiritual quest is rooted in our biological, psychological, linguistic, and social nature. The quest is not, as most have believed, a rare mystical experience, but a frequent expression of our most basic human impulses. Shaman and scientist, medium and poet, prophet and philosopher, all venture forth in quest of visionary truths to transform and renew the world. Yet Torrance is not trying to reduce the quest to an "archetype" or "monomyth." Instead, he presents the full diversity of the quest in the myths and religious practices of tribal peoples throughout the world, from Oceania to India, Africa, Siberia, and especially the Americas. In theorizing about the quest, Torrance draws on thinkers as diverse as Bergson and Piaget, van Gennep and Turner, Pierce and Popper, Freud, Darwin, and Chomsky. This is a book that will expand our knowledge—and awareness—of a fundamental human activity in all its fascinating complexity. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994. Robert Torrance's wide-ranging, innovative study argues that the spiritual quest is rooted in our biological, psychological, linguistic, and social nature. The quest is not, as most have believed, a rare mystical experience, but a frequent expression of o |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 16 | |
Linguistic Foundations of the Quest | 30 |
The Questing Animal | 48 |
THE SPIRITUAL QUEST IN RITUAL AND MYTH | 57 |
Ritual as Affirmation and Transformation | 59 |
Myth and the Journey beyond the Self | 80 |
Mobility and Its Limits in Communal Ritual and Myth | 92 |
Shamanism Possession and Ecstasy Australia and the Tropics | 133 |
Shamanic Heartland Central and Northern Eurasia | 147 |
FORMS OF THE QUEST IN NATIVE AMERICA | 167 |
The Arctic and Western North America | 169 |
Mesoamerica and South America | 194 |
Eastern North America and the Great Plains | 226 |
THE THEORY OF THE QUEST SOME CLOSING CONSIDERATIONS | 257 |
A Ternary Process | 259 |
SPIRIT POSSESSION AS A FORM OF THE SPIRITUAL QUEST | 99 |
The Varieties of Spirit Possession | 101 |
Possession and Transformation | 115 |
FORMS OF THE SHAMANIC QUEST | 131 |
The Reality of Transcendence | 276 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 293 |
INDEX | 339 |
Other editions - View all
The Spiritual Quest: Transcendence in Myth, Religion, and Science Robert M. Torrance Limited preview - 2023 |
The Spiritual Quest: Transcendence in Myth, Religion, and Science Robert M. Torrance Limited preview - 2023 |
Common terms and phrases
affirms African Algonquian American ancestor worship ancient animal attained become belief Black Elk called candomblés central ceremonies Chomsky Coast Salish communal conception consciousness continually contrast creative cult culture curer curing dance dead divine dreams earth ecstasy ecstatic Eliade Eskimo existence future goal gods guardian spirit heavens hero Huichol Hultkrantz human indeterminate Indians individual initial interaction journey knowledge language langue liminal linguistic living magic means medicine medium mediumship Mesoamerica mobile myth nagual narrative Navajo never North object Ojibwa organization passive past Peirce performance peyote Popper potential practices priest priestly ritual Pueblo reality realm religion religious rites of passage sacred seek Selk'nam shaman shamanistic Siberian Sioux social order society soul spirit mediumship spirit possession spiritual quest structure suggests supernatural theory Tikopia tion tradition trance trans transcendence transformation tribal tribes truth Tungus University unpredictable vision quest visionary writes Zuñi