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In Melanesian and Polynesian cultures, mana is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. [1] Anyone or anything can have mana. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a source of power. [1] It is an intentional force. [1]
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent non-material value, or powers, to an object. Talismans and amulets are related. Fetishes are often used in spiritual or religious context.
In philosophy, political science and sociology, elite theory is a theory of the state that seeks to describe and explain power relations in society.In its contemporary form in the 21st century, elite theory posits that (1) power in larger societies, especially nation-states, is concentrated at the top in relatively small elites; (2) power "flows predominantly in a top-down direction from ...
Three stages of Sociology. The law of three stages is an idea developed by Auguste Comte in his work The Course in Positive Philosophy.It states that society as a whole, and each particular science, develops through three mentally conceived stages: (1) the theological stage, (2) the metaphysical stage, and (3) the positive stage.
Animatism is a term coined by British anthropologist Robert Marett in the context of his teleological theory of the evolution of religion. It refers to "a belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control". [1]
Robert T. Pennock states that as supernatural agents and powers "are above and beyond the natural world and its agents and powers" and "are not constrained by natural laws", only logical impossibilities constrain what a supernatural agent cannot do. He says: "If we could apply natural knowledge to understand supernatural powers, then, by ...
It is the legitimate power which one person or a group holds and exercises over another. The element of legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority and is the main means by which authority is distinguished from the more general concept of power. Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence.
A South African fetish figurine whose supernatural powers protect the owner and kin in the natural world (c. 1900) A political poster shows gold coin as the basis of prosperity (c. 1896). The theory of commodity fetishism ( German : Warenfetischismus ) originated from Karl Marx's references to fetishes and fetishism in his analyses of religious ...