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What Does the Soul Say?: Metaphysical Uses of Facilitated Communication in the Jewish Ultraorthodox Community
Author(s) -
Bilu Yoram,
Goodman Yehuda C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
ethos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.783
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1548-1352
pISSN - 0091-2131
DOI - 10.1525/eth.1997.25.4.375
Subject(s) - metaphysics , judaism , possession (linguistics) , mysticism , deviance (statistics) , soul , jewish studies , sociology , psychology , epistemology , social psychology , aesthetics , philosophy , theology , computer science , linguistics , machine learning
Facilitated communication (FC), a set of techniques designed to improve the communication skills of children with pervasive developmental disorders, was transformed in the Jewish ultraorthodox community into a mystical device through which autistic children disclose otherworldly messages. We use this case to study the process whereby, in a given historical moment, specific forms of deviance are selected and molded into ritualized moralistic performances through which the values of the community are reasserted. Following a comparison between clinical and metaphysical FC, we explore synchronic and diachronic aspects of the complex relations between the ultraorthodox and the secular society extrapolated from the case. A comparative analysis of FC sessions and exorcistic rituals of dybbuk possession provides a background for proposing a dichotomous model of mystical pathways to the sacred, highlighting the role of deviants in revitalizing religious beliefs.