Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb fānāticē [fren-fānāticus; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious][1]) is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm.
Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim".[2] The fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions. Tõnu Lehtsaar has defined the term fanaticism as the pursuit or defence of something in an extreme and passionate way that goes beyond normality. Religious fanaticism is defined by blind faith, the persecution of dissidents and the absence of reality.[3]
Fanaticism is a result from multiple cultures interacting with one another.[4] Fanaticism occurs most frequently when a leader makes minor variations on already existing beliefs, which then drives the followers into a frenzy. In this case, fanaticism is used as an adjective describing the nature of certain behaviors that people recognize as cult-like. Mead referred to the style of defense used when the followers are approached.[4] The most consistent thing presented is the priming, or preexisting, conditions and mind state needed to induce fanatical behavior. Each behavior is obvious once it is pointed out; a closed mind, no interest in debating the subject of worship, and over reaction to people who do not believe.[4]
In his book Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk, Neil Postman states that "the key to all fanatical beliefs is that they are self-confirming....(some beliefs are) fanatical not because they are 'false', but because they are expressed in such a way that they can never be shown to be false."[5]
Similar behaviorsedit
The behavior of a fan with overwhelming enthusiasm for a given subject is differentiated from the behavior of a fanatic by the fanatic's violation of prevailing social norms. Though the fan's behavior may be judged as odd or eccentric, it does not violate such norms.[6] A fanatic differs from a crank, in that a crank is defined as a person who holds a position or opinion which is so far from the norm as to appear ludicrous and/or probably wrong, such as a belief in a Flat Earth. In contrast, the subject of the fanatic's obsession may be "normal", such as an interest in religion or politics, except that the scale of the person's involvement, devotion, or obsession with the activity or cause is abnormal or disproportionate to the average.[ambiguous]
Sports fanaticism – high levels of intensity surrounding sporting events. This is either done based on the belief that extreme fanaticism can alter games for one's favorite team (Ex: Knight Krew),[7] or because the person uses sports activities as an ultra-masculine "proving ground" for brawls, as in the case of football hooliganism.
See alsoedit
Wikiquote has quotations related to Fanaticism.
Look up fanaticism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^ abcMead, Margaret (1977). "FANATICISM: The Panhuman Disorder". ETC: A Review of General Semantics. 34 (1): 35–38. ISSN 0014-164X. JSTOR 42575220.
^Postman, Neil (1976). "Fanaticism". Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk. pp. 104–112. ISBN0-440-01554-5.
^Thorne, Scott; Bruner, Gordon C. (2006). "An exploratory investigation of the characteristics of consumer fanaticism". Qualitative Market Research. 9 (1): 51–72. doi:10.1108/13522750610640558. ISSN 1352-2752.[permanent dead link]
^Mackellar, J. (2006). "Fans, fanatics or just good fun - travel behaviours of the leisure fanatic". Journal of Vacation Marketing. 12 (3): 195–217. doi:10.1177/1356766706064622. S2CID 154937113.
Further readingedit
Haynal, A., Molnar, M. and de Puymege, G. Fanaticism. A Historical and Psychoanalytical Study. Schoken Books. New York, 1987
Rudin, J.Fanaticism. A psychological Analysis. University of Notre Dame Press. London, 1969.
Collins, Jack. "Real Times". University of Santa Barbara. California. 1993.
External linksedit
Media related to Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism at Wikimedia Commons
April 05, 2024
fanaticism, other, uses, fanatic, disambiguation, from, latin, adverb, fānāticē, fren, fānāticus, enthusiastic, ecstatic, raging, fanatical, furious, belief, behavior, involving, uncritical, zeal, obsessive, enthusiasm, fanatics, tangier, eugène, delacroix, mi. For other uses see Fanatic disambiguation Fanaticism from the Latin adverb fanatice fren fanaticus enthusiastic ecstatic raging fanatical furious 1 is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm The Fanatics of Tangier by Eugene Delacroix Minneapolis Institute of Arts Contents 1 Definitions 2 Causes 3 Similar behaviors 4 Types 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksDefinitions editPhilosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim 2 The fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions Tonu Lehtsaar has defined the term fanaticism as the pursuit or defence of something in an extreme and passionate way that goes beyond normality Religious fanaticism is defined by blind faith the persecution of dissidents and the absence of reality 3 Causes edit nbsp Japanese holdouts persisted on various islands in the Pacific Theatre until at least 1974 Hiroo Onoda offering his military sword on the day of his surrender Fanaticism is a result from multiple cultures interacting with one another 4 Fanaticism occurs most frequently when a leader makes minor variations on already existing beliefs which then drives the followers into a frenzy In this case fanaticism is used as an adjective describing the nature of certain behaviors that people recognize as cult like Mead referred to the style of defense used when the followers are approached 4 The most consistent thing presented is the priming or preexisting conditions and mind state needed to induce fanatical behavior Each behavior is obvious once it is pointed out a closed mind no interest in debating the subject of worship and over reaction to people who do not believe 4 In his book Crazy Talk Stupid Talk Neil Postman states that the key to all fanatical beliefs is that they are self confirming some beliefs are fanatical not because they are false but because they are expressed in such a way that they can never be shown to be false 5 Similar behaviors editThe behavior of a fan with overwhelming enthusiasm for a given subject is differentiated from the behavior of a fanatic by the fanatic s violation of prevailing social norms Though the fan s behavior may be judged as odd or eccentric it does not violate such norms 6 A fanatic differs from a crank in that a crank is defined as a person who holds a position or opinion which is so far from the norm as to appear ludicrous and or probably wrong such as a belief in a Flat Earth In contrast the subject of the fanatic s obsession may be normal such as an interest in religion or politics except that the scale of the person s involvement devotion or obsession with the activity or cause is abnormal or disproportionate to the average ambiguous Types editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Consumer fanaticism the level of involvement or interest one has in the liking of a particular person group trend artwork or idea Emotional fanaticism Ethnic or racial supremacist fanaticism Leisure fanaticism high levels of intensity enthusiasm commitment and zeal shown for a particular leisure activity Nationalistic or patriotic fanaticism Political ideological fanaticism Religious fanaticism considered by some to be the most extreme form of religious fundamentalism Entail promoting religious point of views Sports fanaticism high levels of intensity surrounding sporting events This is either done based on the belief that extreme fanaticism can alter games for one s favorite team Ex Knight Krew 7 or because the person uses sports activities as an ultra masculine proving ground for brawls as in the case of football hooliganism See also edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Fanaticism nbsp Look up fanaticism in Wiktionary the free dictionary The Anatomy of Revolution Antifanaticism A Tale of the South Basking in reflected glory Celebrity worship syndrome Cult of personality Enthusiasm Extremism Falsifiability Fan person Fan loyalty Fanboy Fixation psychology M Lamar Keene Obsession psychology Phillie Phanatic Purity spiral The True Believer True believer syndrome ZealotryReferences edit THE MANY FACES OF FANATICISM PDF Santayana George 1905 Life of Reason Reason in Common Sense New York Charles Scribner s Sons 13 THE MANY FACES OF FANATICISM PDF a b c Mead Margaret 1977 FANATICISM The Panhuman Disorder ETC A Review of General Semantics 34 1 35 38 ISSN 0014 164X JSTOR 42575220 Postman Neil 1976 Fanaticism Crazy Talk Stupid Talk pp 104 112 ISBN 0 440 01554 5 Thorne Scott Bruner Gordon C 2006 An exploratory investigation of the characteristics of consumer fanaticism Qualitative Market Research 9 1 51 72 doi 10 1108 13522750610640558 ISSN 1352 2752 permanent dead link Mackellar J 2006 Fans fanatics or just good fun travel behaviours of the leisure fanatic Journal of Vacation Marketing 12 3 195 217 doi 10 1177 1356766706064622 S2CID 154937113 Further reading editHaynal A Molnar M and de Puymege G Fanaticism A Historical and Psychoanalytical Study Schoken Books New York 1987 Rudin J Fanaticism A psychological Analysis University of Notre Dame Press London 1969 Collins Jack Real Times University of Santa Barbara California 1993 External links edit nbsp Media related to Credulity Superstition and Fanaticism at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fanaticism amp oldid 1216808942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
