The Sacred and The Profane
The Sacred and The Profane
Mircea Eliade
Jordan Peterson
Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
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The Sacred and The Profane

The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion

Mircea Eliade
By
Mircea Eliade
4.1
8286
ratings on Goodreads

In "The Sacred and The Profane," Mircea Eliade embarks on a profound exploration of the dichotomy that has shaped human consciousness and culture throughout history. With an erudite grasp on the rituals, myths, and structures that define the sacred, Eliade delves into the essence of religious experience, contrasting it with the secular life that claims dominance in the modern era. He persuasively argues that the sacred, with its deep roots in symbolic acts and spaces, is not an archaic relic but a vital, underlying element that informs our perception of the world. Through a detailed examination of sacred time versus profane time, the symbolism of the cosmos, and the sanctity of natural phenomena, Eliade presents a comprehensive analysis that bridges the gap between the ancient and the modern, highlighting the unbreakable thread of the sacred that weaves through the fabric of human existence. Eliade's work is more than a scholarly inquiry into the history of religions; it is a compelling invitation to rediscover the sacred dimensions of our own lives. By uncovering the universal patterns and themes that have transcended civilizations, "The Sacred and The Profane" offers readers a lens through which to re-evaluate their understanding of the world. Eliade's insightful observations encourage a reconnection with the profound and the transcendent, suggesting that even in our secular, rationalist societies, the memory of the sacred continues to shape our behaviors, beliefs, and rituals. This seminal book not only serves as an exceptional introduction to the study of religion but also challenges us to consider the potential dimensions of human existence, beyond the confines of the profane.

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Released
1957
1 Jan
Length
256
Pages

1

recommendations

recommendation

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
It was lunar symbolism that enabled man to relate and connect such heterogeneous things as: birth, becoming, death, and ressurection; the waters, plants, woman, fecundity, and immortality; the cosmic darkness, prenatal existence, and life after death, followed by the rebirth of the lunar type ("light coming out of darkness"); weaving, the symbol of the "thread of life," fate, temporality, and death; and yet others. In general most of the ideas of cycle, dualism, polarity, opposition, conflict, but also of reconciliation of contraries, of coincidentia oppositorum, were either discovered or clarified by virtue of lunar symbolism. We may even speak of a metaphysics of the moon, in the sense of a consistent system of "truths" relating to the mode of being peculiar to living creatures, to everything in the cosmos that shares in life, that is, in becoming, growth and waning, death and ressurrection.
— Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and The Profane

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