Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Langston, Douglas

Keywords

Rewilding, Phenomenology, Anarcho-Primitivism

Area of Concentration

General Studies

Abstract

Thesis analyzes the connections between domestication and its consequences in regards to the health of the human species. Rewilding, as I observe, is a neo-shamanic holistic health practice which has been adopted, consciously as well as unconsciously, by anarcho-primitivist intentional communities; more consciously as a strategy geared towards developing individual and communal autonomy via the dissolution of power relations, therefore as a philosophy of political resistance; more unconsciously as the experiential/phenomenal recovery of ancient shamanic preventative/curative healing methods, which are 'holistic' in the sense that treatment is aimed at the "whole" human � mind, body, and spirit, rather than a singular aspect or relation. A method of treatment which conjoins the health of mind, body, and spirit to the forces of nature may rightly be considered shamanic. In the context of modern western society, the practice of re-wilding is 'neo-shamanic', in that it does not emerge from an unbroken lineage of preserved tradition, but is instead a recovery and a rediscovery, as well as an amalgamation of the shamanic practices of indigenous cultures. Thesis will explore and analyze the healing phenomenology of shamanism, highlighting its position as the "perennial philosophy" - the philosophical basis of the religions and spiritual practices of modern civilization, and drawing meaningful comparisons between the practices of indigenous and modern cultures in regards to political/social structuring as well as approaches to health or "well-being".Thesis draws experiential evidence gleaned from my observations of a primitive skills gathering outside of Gainesville, Florida. Thesis concludes that "rewilding" is a neo-shamanic, preventative/curative treatment against the disease of domestication, its praxis as a manifestation of political/cultural resistance being a side effect resulting from the experience of holistic healing.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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