Superstition
Superstition
is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes another without
any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens,
witchcraft, prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science.
The word
superstition is sometimes used to refer to religious practices (e.g., Voodoo)
other than the one prevailing in a given society (e.g., Christianity in western
culture), although the prevailing religion may contain just as many
superstitious beliefs. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices
surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that
future events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events.
History of opposition to superstition
Throughout
history, opposition to superstition doesn't seem to have arisen in contexts
where the existence of gods and deities had never been questioned. The roots of
opposition to superstition are to be traced back to Ancient Greece, even though
it can't be excluded that some primitive people or tribes might have recognized
the deleterial effects of superstition, even before the invention of writing
(from 200000 BC until 3000 BC). Some philosophers of Ancient Greece, such as
Protagoras or the Epicureans, to some extent exhibited agnosticism or even
aversion to religion and myths. Generally speaking, the teachings of Plato and
Aristotle may also be considered in opposition to superstition (Plato's
Allegory of the Cave), especially when related to the search for the truth.
Good and bad superstition
Find a penny,
pick it up (good superstition):
All day long,
you'll have good luck. This little ditty may arise because finding money is
lucky in and of itself. But it might also be a spin-off of another old rhyme,
"See a pin, pick it up and all day long you'll have good luck See a pin,
let it lay and your luck will pass away."
Friday the 13th(Bad
superstition):
For a
superstition, the fear of Friday the 13th seems fairly new, dating back to the
late 1800s. Friday has long been considered an unlucky day (according to
Christian tradition, Jesus died on a Friday), and 13 has a long history as an
unlucky number.
