Reflections on fanaticism.The distinguishing characteristic Noun 1. distinguishing characteristic - an odd or unusual characteristic distinctive feature, peculiarity characteristic, feature - a prominent attribute or aspect of something; "the map showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his best of the fanatic is his highly simplified and rigidly held view of social reality. He casts aside the complex and unintegrated beliefs about causality causality, in philosophy, the relationship between cause and effect. A distinction is often made between a cause that produces something new (e.g., a moth from a caterpillar) and one that produces a change in an existing substance (e.g. which others use to make rough sense out of their world, in favor of a tendency to see the cause of all problems in a single force for evil and the solutions for all those problems in a single force for good. He rejects the complex and unintegrated values which serve others as guidelines for moral behavior, in favor of a tendency to view as moral any behavior which contributes to victory for the forces of good and to view as immoral any behavior which delays or endangers that victory. Finally, he views with contempt the willingness of others to act without explicit reference See explicit link. to their basic beliefs and values. He sees it as weakness to act in accordance with different and often contradictory sets of guidelines in different areas of life, and insists that all behavior conform strictly and explicitly to his highly simplified set of beliefs and values. Fanaticism Fanaticism See also Extremism. Adamites various sects preaching a return to life before the fall. [Christian Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 8] assassins Moslem murder teams used hashish as stimulus (11th and 12th centuries). of this kind in isolated individuals can be traced to highly varied individual causes. But the waves of mass fanaticism which have moved history have been generated and focused by ideologies. Those ideologies contain beliefs, which shape our view of why things happen, values which govern our sense of worth and self-respect, and prescriptions about the appropriate form of social relationships with others. Together these three elements shape our perceptions both of what is and of what might be. When the gap between the two becomes too wide, mass fanaticism develops as a flight from an ideologically defined hell of the present to an ideologically defined heaven of the future. RELATED ARTICLE: The frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of their immediate feeling that he is leading them away from their unwanted selves. Surrender to a leader is not a means to an end but a fulfillment. Whither whith·er adv. To what place, result, or condition: Whither are we wandering? conj. 1. To which specified place or position: they are lead is of secondary importance. Propaganda does not usually deceive people; it merely helps them deceive themselves. We often use strong language not to express a powerful emotion but to evoke it in us. Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness pur·pose·less adj. Lacking a purpose; meaningless or aimless. pur  pose·less·ly adv. of their lives try to find a
new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also
by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers the unlimited
opportunities for both.
What are we when we are alone? Some, when they are alone cease to exist. ERIC HOFFER, AUTHOR OF THE TRUE BELIEVER true believer n. One who is deeply, sometimes fanatically devoted to a cause, organization, or person: "a band of true believers bonded together against all those who did not agree with them" : THOUGHTS ON THE NATURE OF MASS MOVEMENTS |
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