Enthusiasm (enthousiasmos) originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. Johnson's Dictionary, the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, defines enthusiasm as "a vain belief of private revelation; a vain confidence of divine favour or communication." In current English vernacular the word simply means intense enjoyment, interest, or approval.

Historical usage

Originally an enthusiast was a person possessed by a god. Applied by the Greeks to manifestations of divine possession, by Apollo, as in the case of the Pythia, or by Dionysus, as in the case of the Bacchantes and Maenads, the term enthusiasm was also used in a transferred or figurative sense. Thus Socrates speaks of the inspiration of poets as a form of enthusiasm.

Its uses were confined to a belief in religious inspiration, or to intense religious fervour or emotion. Thus a Syrian sect of the 4th century was known as the Enthusiasts. They believed that by perpetual prayer, ascetic practices and contemplation, man could become inspired by the Holy Spirit, in spite of the ruling evil spirit, which the fall had given to him. From their belief in the efficacy of prayer, they were also known as Euchites. Several Protestant sects of the 16th and 17th centuries were called enthusiastic. During the years immediately following the Glorious Revolution, "enthusiasm" was a British pejorative term for advocacy of any political or religious cause in public. Such "enthusiasm" was seen in the time around 1700 as the cause of the previous century's English Civil War and its attendant atrocities, and thus it was an absolute social sin to remind others of the war by engaging in enthusiasm. The Royal Society bylaws stipulated that any person discussing religion or politics at a Society meeting was to be summarily ejected for being an "enthusiast." During the 18th century, popular Methodists such as John Wesley or George Whitefield were accused of blind enthusiasm (i.e. fanaticism).

Modern usage

In contemporary usage, enthusiasm has lost its religious significance. It now signifies a whole-hearted devotion to an ideal, cause, study or pursuit, or merely being visibly excited about what one's doing. Sometimes, in a deprecatory sense, it implies partisan devotion blind to difficulties and objections.

Science-fiction writer Thomas M. Disch once suggested that the mystical experiences of writer Philip K. Dick might be described as a form of enthousiasmos.

The Enthusiast also refers to the "Type Seven" personality type (not to be confused with the "Type Three"/"Type A" personality) . People who fall into this modern definition of "Enthusiasts" are adventurous, constantly busy with many activities with all the energy and enthusiasm of the Puer Aeternus (Peter Pan Complex). At their best they embrace life for its varied joys and wonders and truly live in the moment but, at their worst, they dash frantically from one new experience to another, too scared of disappointment to actually enjoy themselves. Enthusiasts fear being unable to provide for themselves or to experience life in all of its richness.

References

Further reading

• Ronald Knox. Enthusiasm. Oxford: The Clarendon Press
• John Locke. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. vol. 2. New York: Dover Publications
• Susie Tucker. Enthusiasm: A Study in Semantic Change. London: Cambridge University Press

External links

• David Hume, Of Superstition and Enthusiasm
• The Ronald Knox Society of North America
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: enthusiasm
• John Wesley, The Nature of Enthusiasm