Comments on: Defining Paganism II: Foundations of Word Meaning

By: Defining Paganism IV: Is Paganism a Religion? « Druid Journal

Defining Paganism IV: Is Paganism a Religion? « Druid Journal — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:59:40 +0000

[...] the last few posts, I proposed a definition of pagan based on the notion of prototypes. In this definition, [...]

By: Jeff Lilly

Jeff Lilly — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:27:45 +0000

Argenta, I think you’re right — I was misusing ‘archetype’. After a little more research, I think the correct linguistic term is ‘prototype’. I’m going to make edits in the post and fix it up. It’s sad to have to change the title, but so it goes. Thanks for pointing it out!

By: Argenta

Argenta — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:04:43 +0000

“Well, think of house. What comes to mind? I’m guessing it’s a single-family home, free-standing, with one or two stories and maybe a garage and some windows and a lawn. Obviously not all houses are like that, but when you think house, that’s the image that comes to mind. It’s a stereotypical house — or, to use a somewhat prettier term, an archetypal house.”

Dear Jeff,
something’s been bothering me for a while about this paragraph, but only today did I remember what! What you are describing here is not an archetypal house (no matter how pretty the term), which would be more universal and world-spread, but a culture-specific GENERIC house. An archetypal house would be,for example, the House of Death or lunar houses – that type of house which is shared in time and space through many cultures. A generic house is simply the best example of the word for a given community, in this example, a North American one. Where I come from, a generic house is a bit different, and usually does not have a lawn but a flower garden, and sometimes a vegetable garden or an orchard in the back.

Hope it wasn’t too preposterous of me to point out.