Man and nature in archaic collective consciousness

The central plot of the book is the fate of the forgotten theory of the French philosopher and ethnographer Lucien Levi -Bryul, the scientific significance of which the author intended to evaluate. The essence of this concept is that in the early stages of cultural evolution, the consciousness of people could not be the same as we see at it at the advanced stages of civilization. The scientist called cognitive operations on the interpretations of the picture of the world at that time. Moreover, he believed that it remains the currently inherent carriers of the so -called traditional cultures with low technological development. These are hunters-gatherers, including those who are in the way of transition to sedentary. Nowadays, such a way of life is characteristic of a large number of small ethnic groups, still retaining their original traditions. Their worldview is commonly called animism.
The gradual change in the attitude of scientists to the theory of Levi-Brulya is described. For a long time, it was not taken seriously by the anthropologists who saw in her a hint of racism, and she caused a serious distrust on their part. The situation has changed radically at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when ethnologists closely began to study the lifestyle of small societies, far from the achievements of civilization. The results of these studies did not freeze little to persuade the scientific community to the point of view expressed by Levy-Bryal almost a hundred years ago