Scientism and Post-Truth

two contradictory Paradigms underlying Contemporary Shamanism?

Abstract

The last decades have seen an increasing interest towards Shamanism in the Western world, both among scholars and those who practise shamanism.
The academic interest has been mainly focussed on identifying the differences between forms of contemporary Shamanism in the West and traditional Shamanisms as experienced among indigenous peoples. A related aspect that needs further development in the field is the analysis of the philosophical underpinning that lies behind this relatively new religious tradition and its manifestations.

Initial findings, derived from data collected as part of a research project on autochthonous and trans-cultural Shamanism in Italy, suggest that there are two paradigms shaping the neo-shamanic experiential approach. I will start by clarifying the notion of paradigm as the founding basis of every reasoning process, cultural production and hence religious movement. Then, I will argue that the Scientistic and Post-truth paradigms represent two founding bases of Neo-shamanism and its scholarly recognised traits and will conclude by addressing the issue of a potential contradiction between the two will be addressed.