Shaman's Thinking

Serkin Vladimir Pavlovich – Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Psychology of the National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (NRU HSE).

The characteristics of shamanic thinking are largely determined by two factors:
– the specifics of the culture of the community in which the shaman operates (main activities: reindeer herding, marine fur-bearing hunting, hunting, fishing, and gathering);
– the specifics of the special activity determined by the shaman's role as a mediator between the World of Humans and the Worlds of Spirits, Ancestors, and Elements.

Today, there is a lack of linguistic means to describe shamanic thinking. This is natural, as the activities of the shaman in tribal society are not mass and therefore are not a subject of communication. However, I tried not to introduce new terms except for two, which are quite obvious in composition: noogenesis and psychotelo. The text uses both the works of already authoritative authors and the testimonies describing the lives and activities of well-known psychics and forecasters. Of course, I also relied on my observations and the accounts of trustworthy witnesses.