primitive mentality

is not an evolutionary retardation, but a a form of collective representation dominant among primitives where thought is not ruled by analytic logic. Rather, emotion (or affects) functions as an inseparable constitutive part of representations and thought is ruled by a kind of associational thinking.

more complex states in which emotional or motor elements are integral parts of the representation' (Levy-Bruhl 1985: 36). As they are acquired in a ritual context whenever the primitive encounter the representation '[a] wave of emotion will immediately surge over him . . . strong enough for its cognitive aspects to be almost lost sight of in the emotions which surrounds it' (37). These 'non-logical' properties led Levy-Bruhl to propose that primitive representations are governed by a 'law of participation,' according to which representations are intimately connected to other representations, forming a network grid of participatory connections.'

primitive mentality, n.All

primitive mentality