Fanaticism  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Fanaticism is an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby.

According to philosopher George Santayana, "Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim" (Life of Reason (1905) vol. 1, Introduction U); according to Winston Churchill, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject".

The difference between a fan and a fanatic is that while both have an overwhelming liking or interest in a given subject, behaviour of a fanatic will be viewed as violating prevailing social norms, while that of a fan will not violate those norms (although is usually considered unusual).

A fanatic differs from a crank in that the latter term is typically associated with a position or opinion which is so far from the norm as to appear ludicrous and/or provably wrong, while the subject of the fanatic's obsession may well be "normal", with only the scale of involvement being abnormally disproportionate.

Categories of fanaticism

• consumer fanaticism - the level of involvement or interest one has in the liking of a particular person, group, trend, artwork or idea.
• religious fanaticism - considered by some to be the most extreme form of religious fundamentalism.
• political, ideological fanaticism.
• ethnic, national, racial fanaticism.
• leisure fanaticism - high levels of intensity, enthusiasm, commitment and zeal shown for one's leisure activities.

See also

• Antifanaticism: A Tale of the South
• Enthusiasm
• Extremism
• Fanboy
• Fixation (psychology)
• Obsession (psychology)
• Religious fanaticism
• Zealotry