Fanaticism refers to all that passion and / or activity that manifests itself with an exaggerated, excessive, tenacious and irrational passion, around an idea, a theory, a culture... Adherence to this idea is total and unconditional, fanaticism is related to sects.
In this Psychology-Online article we will see in depth the meaning of fanaticism, the types What can we find and some examples that make us understand better what we are talking about exactly.
Index
- Meaning of fanaticism
- How is a fanatic?
- The types of bigotry that exist
- Examples of bigotry in our society
Meaning of fanaticism.
For various authors, fanaticism is a state of mind characterized by persistent and prolonged adherence to certain beliefs. In the mind of a fanatic person, these beliefs take on a much higher importance than other ideas to the point of transforming his actions into ways of manifesting these ideas. They believe in an absolute and unconditional way in a given topic or issue and show a strong emotional attachment to it.
According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, it is defined as fanatic to anyone who defends with excessive tenacity and passion a belief, a culture, an idea, an opinion... Above all, it refers to ideas of the religious or political type.
How is a fanatic?
To better understand what we are referring to, we must emphasize the double dimension of fanaticism, since that, beliefs by themselves do not constitute the fanatic, beliefs are part of the human being and all have. They are the way we create a world and with it, our way of being.
Cognitive dimension
The cognitive dimension of the fanatic is constituted by the set of ideas with certain characteristics and beliefs that make the fanatic subject their own. The believer tends to believe not only that the world is one way but that he can transform it through that belief in what he wants.
Personological dimension
At present, there is insufficient evidence to classify fanaticism as a personality disorder. If it is true that some fanatic people can present personality disorders, but it does not mean that fanaticism is. However, common features are found in fan personality:
- Combative self-image
- Suspicious and explosive observable behavior
- Dichotomous and dogmatic cognitive style
- Irascibility
- Interpersonal behavior ranging from submission to the extrapunitive
- Some defense mechanisms like rationalization and sublimation
- A certain fragility of the self
The types of fanaticism that exist.
There are different types of fanaticism depending on what type of idea is the one that predominates in the fanatic:
- Religious fanaticism: one of the most controversial in history. Under its influence, genocides, armed conflicts, terrorist acts have been carried out ...
- Sports fanaticism: towards a team.
- Political fanaticism: towards a match, an idea ...
- Anti-religious fanaticism: anti-Christian, anti-Muslim ...
- Fanaticism towards the unknown: predicting the future, for example.
- Fanaticism towards a person: singer actor...
Examples of fanaticism in our society.
An obvious example of fanaticism in our society that caused a lot of pain in history is the holocaust, which led to genocides, massacres, wars... Another example is found with the Ku Klux Klan, or with the Inquisition, the Crusades ...
We also find, for example, a high level of fanaticism in the case of writer Emily Brontë. Many fans began to consider that in her novel "Wuthering Heights" she invited people to dinner with the devil and she herself was about to be a victim of those fans.
Something similar happened with the poet BaudelaireHe was accused of being harmful and they wanted to send him to the stake for writing "Las flores del mal". In this case, he was also falling victim to fanatical ideas like Emily. Karl Marx he has also unleashed many fanatics, using his work as an impetus to commit terrorist crimes.
Ultra sports groups They are also related to fanaticism, in fact, it is something that we see on television quite often in our society.
The well-known case of the book "The Catcher in the Rye" from J.D. Salinger with which various fans have associated their ideas of murder, for example, the boy who killed John Lennon later sat quietly to read this novel. The writer Salinger ended up secluded in a house away from the world to write and not be a victim of these fanatics.
Examples of religious fanaticism today
A clear example of religious fanaticism today would be the terrorist group ISIS. The recruited boys, in many cases have problems of identity and of social or family relationship. Religious fanaticism in this case clearly functions as a cult of adepts. Physical violence and the idealization of death also intervene in this specific case of religious fanaticism.
According to the psychologist Peraldo in an interview conducted for the newspaper Public about this issue: "We are clearly facing a phenomenon known in psychology and psychiatry as dissociation. In the first place, all those essential aspects that define his identity are eliminated from the individual and progressively, are replaced by a new identity through a process that requires unwavering and seamless adherence to the new group. "
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Fanaticism: meaning, types and examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Social psychology.
Bibliography
- Anonymous. (2015). In the brains of ISIS fans. Public Newspaper. Recovered from: https://www.publico.es/internacional/cerebro-fanaticos-isis.html
- Rey, G. H. (2018). The dangers that can be reached with fanaticism. Time. Recovered from: https://www.eltiempo.com/salud/como-afecta-el-fanatismo-a-las-sociedades-254464
- Villarejo, A. (2010). Fanaticism: interest in criminal forensic psychiatry. Quad Med Forensic, 16(3), 137-144.
