Mystical practices: why Russians believe in brownies and goblins
The results of a recent VTsIOM survey have stunned even the most tolerant Internet users. It turned out that in Russia, one in two believes in brownies, one in three believes in goblins, and one in five admits the existence of mermaids. Psychologists consider these to be echoes of ancient fears of the unknown. Why people allow the presence of something in their lives that contradicts science, and how kind fairy-tale characters still help those who believe in them — in the material of Izvestia.
The advantages of magical thinking
Belief in fairy-tale characters is characteristic of the so-called magical thinking, which has been passed down to us from the depths of time. The distant ancestors tried to somehow explain the unknown and terrible phenomena for them. For example, at the dawn of mankind, it was believed that when thunder rumbles, the spirits of heaven are angry. Forest fears were explained by the tricks of the goblin, and treacherous undercurrents were attributed to the pampering of mermaids.
— In magical thinking, everything inexplicable is considered magic, explained by the actions of spirits, in which you just have to believe, without proof or doubt, — says clinical psychologist Sergey Volkov. — In ancient times, such an explanation of the world established both the rules of behavior and the way of life of the entire tribe.
Nowadays, magical thinking is considered an obligatory stage of personality development. It is especially pronounced between the ages of three and six, when a child begins to explore a world full of unfamiliar phenomena and objects. According to the expert, during this period, the brain tries to create complex connections by combining all the images of the world into a single picture.
— The child gets a lot of separate disparate information, but the neural networks of the cerebral cortex are still very poorly formed and are not able to create opportunities for "adult" reasoning, — the specialist comments. — But as the brain grows and matures, it becomes more complex, and its most important feature, fantasy, becomes apparent. The little man begins to combine individual phenomena into a single picture of the world.
A clinical psychologist assigns magical thinking the role of the foundation for another — critical thinking: it is formed as a person grows up. Without the stage of building connections between individual objects (even if they are fantastic), other, more complex forms of mental work and reasoning cannot appear.
Modern people don't know how to think
However, what is good for the early stages of development is puzzling when it comes to adults. Sergei Volkov associates their faith in fairy—tale characters and mystical creatures with two main reasons - the degradation of critical thinking and the absolute uncertainty of life.
"People are given a lot of information, but they are not taught logic and philosophy, the most important sciences that help not only to receive information, but to explain it and draw correct, informed conclusions," the clinical psychologist believes. — This global trend has led to the fact that people have a huge set of knowledge, but they cannot correctly connect them into a single whole, which leads to a huge number of errors and hoaxes.
From the expert's point of view, lifestyle and the way of obtaining information also contribute to a decrease in the quality of thinking. Modern people learn most of their data through digital infrastructure, through fast clicks. The brain adapts to this lifestyle and takes only the beginning of this information (the question) and a ready-made solution (the result). What should serve as a connection between these two "points" falls out of the thought process.
— For example, a person enters a query: "What should be the thickness of the pillars for the gazebo" and receives an answer from the AI — "from 100 to 150 mm." Now he knows the optimal thickness, but he doesn't know why it should be that way. He just believes in it, like ancient people believed in sacred places and sacred trees," says Sergey Volkov.
There are calculations of engineering design, but for a particular person this knowledge is "beyond" the explicable. This is the brain's response to automation and acceleration of production processes, the expert emphasizes.
He believes that it is impossible to completely get rid of mystical thinking, since it is a form of the neurological structure of the brain, one of the possible variations of thinking that gives people the opportunity to hope for something.
"Hope is one of the forms of faith, and without faith, any proof will always be insufficient for a person," says the clinical psychologist. — For example, people with impairments in the development of thinking at the stage of magical perception of the world can deny even a material object. Even when they have a pot in their hands, they will claim that there is no pot, but they are being deceived. But this is a severe form of mental disorders.
The paradox is that even if you say "I don't believe in anything," you have to believe that this is really the case, the specialist draws attention to.
Why do people believe in mermaids?
Children's faith in fairy-tale characters can be considered a human reaction to the uncertainty of life, which in the last decade has become a characteristic of an ever-changing world, Sergei Volkov believes.
— The brain cannot be in a state of misunderstanding the surrounding conditions. He needs predictability. Since the world with its economic and political crises has become a chaos, people are looking for at least something definite and sustainable, says the clinical psychologist.
Analyzing the survey results, VTsIOM experts concluded that belief in the supernatural serves as a kind of indicator of our fears and indicates the need for protection. Perhaps that is why Russians place the greatest trust in brownies, a kind creature designed to protect people and maintain order in their homes.
— The brain is looking for explanations and stability in the conditions where it is located. And modern people, unlike peasants of tsarist times, spend a lot of time at home," explains Sergey Volkov.
One in three believes in goblins, and one in five admits the existence of absolutely fantastic creatures — mermaids. And this is not accidental.
— From an early age, children have heard and read in books about brownies, goblins and mermaids, they knew that our ancestors believed in them. Therefore, remembering such entities, the vast majority of people will first name a brownie, and then a goblin. This is a stable brain structure, but then people find it difficult to answer, simply not knowing the other characters. The brain chooses understandable and familiar images, which means they are safe," the specialist comments.
People adhere to such superstitions also because they help to cope with emotions: it is always easier to "blame" problems on someone, even if it is a fantastic character. Deep down, I would like to hope for support from at least some entity if you are very lonely.
— Superstition is a form of explanation of what is happening around, often accompanied by rituals. We can say that they make our world stable and predictable," continues Sergey Volkov. — In a world of constant change, when everything will be different tomorrow, a person needs something unchangeable. Superstitions give people some kind of support and a sense of control over their lives.
Meanwhile, technological progress has already, in a sense, supplanted the good old superstitions. A clinical psychologist believes that there is no difference between a modern person and ancient people in caves — only we look at the smartphone screen, and they looked at the stars.
— The world of critical thinking disappeared with the 20th century, and now we live in the formed "new Middle Ages". Only instead of brownies and field workers, people worship Wi-Fi, ask for help from AI rather than a magic mirror, "charm" themselves with affirmations and, like ancient people, look at the sky with hope and trepidation in anticipation of a mobile network. Gadgets are a new pocket altar," the expert says ironically.
At the same time, most people do not even know how smart devices work, but life becomes more complicated without such technologies, Sergey Volkov draws attention.
— We feel fear and awe of technical means, as if they were deities, — summarizes the clinical psychologist.
Mythical creatures from the point of view of science
People have been trying to look beyond the real world for a long time, but no one has yet managed to prove that there are scientifically inexplicable entities living in parallel with material objects. Mankind has been searching for such answers for centuries and will continue to do so in the future, Ilya Starodubtsev, an assistant at the Department of General Physics at the Institute of General Professional Training and the Department of History at the Institute of Fundamental Problems of Socio-Humanitarian Sciences at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, is convinced.
"With legends and myths, people try to make life more interesting and try to explain the inexplicable," he believes.
If a person is afraid of the dark, is afraid of the unknown and cannot explain some kind of anxiety, then a supernatural, specific explanation for an unknown phenomenon is born in his head.
"The brain tries to explain the cause of anxiety as simply as possible, most often using irrational methods," says the expert. — Again, fear releases adrenaline into the bloodstream. That's also why the brain stops working rationally.
The scientist suggests speculating about what is considered an immaterial entity. If this is a mysterious voice from nowhere, then it must belong to someone. A visual image in the form of a ghost or a mysterious creature must also have a material source. It is impossible to see or hear something that is not there — the fundamental laws of physics exclude this.
— A ghost or some other mystical being cannot materialize out of nothing, because, according to the first law of thermodynamics, energy does not arise from nothing and does not disappear anywhere, — Ilya Starodubtsev emphasizes. — The appearance of any energies from scratch is simply impossible.
Modern science does not actually give the otherworldly the right to exist. According to the laws of physics, objects perceived by the human eye should be tangible, if only because we do not see the objects themselves, but their reflection. Light reflected from the surface of objects enters the optical system of the eye, focuses the rays, and then the light energy is converted into a nerve impulse that is transmitted to the brain.
In any case, a person urgently needs critical thinking and a certain self-control in order not to completely go into mysticism, the scientist is convinced.
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