Shaman's Thinking

Vladimir Serkin, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor in the Department of Psychology at the National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (HSE). The peculiarities of the shaman’s thinking are due largely to two factors: — the specifics of the culture of the community in which the shaman operates (major activities: reindeer herding, sea mammal hunting/harvesting, hunting, fishing, and gathering); — the specifics of a special activity determined by the shaman’s role as mediator between the Human World and the Worlds of Spirits, Ancestors, and Elements. Today, there are not enough linguistic resources to describe the shaman’s thinking. That’s natural, since shaman activity in a tribal society is not widespread and therefore not a subject of communication. However, I tried not to introduce new terms besides two that are quite obvious by their composition: noogenesis and psychotelo. The text uses both works by already authoritative authors and accounts describing the lives and activities of well-known psychics and forecasters. Of course, I also relied on my own observations and on the stories of trustworthy witnesses.