Fatalism – Georgian Cultural Model

In: Prizren social science journal, Band 3, Heft 3, S. 41-52

Open Access

Abstract

Fatalism—belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable—have been studied by researchers from different disciplines as it is a significant notion to explain various aspects of individual and social life (health behavior, economic capital, political activity, social participation, etc.). However, the weakness of using only etic methods to understand this complex phenomenon is strongly emphasized. We fully share this viewpoint and think that it is far more appropriate to study fatalism with an interdisciplinary approach such as Contemporary Psychological Anthropology. The aim of the present study was to emphasize the theoretical and methodological opportunities of studying fatalism within this field (specifically, within cultural models school) and presenting the results of the empirical study on the Georgian cultural model of fatalism in the light of the opportunities discussed.
The theoretical apparatus of the cultural models' school allowed us to think of culturally shaped fatalism, not only as an element of objective culture beyond the mind but also as a part of the mind, namely, as a cognitive schema formed on the basis of shared experiences. To reveal components of this schema we used the in-depth interview as a data collection method and cultural analysis of discourse (specifically, metaphor analysis) as the data analysis method. Personal control, Deity, Destiny, Luck, and Helplessness emerged as the components of Georgian cultural schema according to this analysis.
Key words: Fatalism, Cultural Model, Emic Approach, Mutually Inclusive.