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No one would dispute that our century has been rich in examples of fanaticism. But what particular events deserve this label? What is the mentality of the fanatic? Or rather, what are the mentalities, since the participants in fanaticism must be divided into two groups, the leaders and the led. What conditions—historical, economic, sociological, political, and/or psychological—allow for the phenomenon to occur? Such are the questions that André Haynal (psychoanalyst), Miklos Molnar (social historian), and Gérard de Puymège (anthropological historian) pose in this book, without necessarily answering them.
In his introduction, Molnar gives an etymological history of the term "fanatic," originating in antiquity, and the term "fanaticism," which dates back only to the eighteenth century. He points out that if, to a great extent, fanaticism makes history, it still cannot be historically defined without the help of other disciplines. Even then, determining the various conditions that have fostered fanaticism in different cultures would be an impossibly complex task. Complex, too, is the question of what behavior constitutes fanaticism. Fanatics need not be fiery zealots. Lenin, for example, was a coldly calculating and well-organized individual. Indeed, this has been true of Communist leaders in general.
In the second section of the book, André Haynal examines fanaticism and civilization from a psychoanalytic perspective: how psychoanalysis defines civilization and how it can help to explain why, how, and where civilization may be undermined by fanaticism. In the third section, de Puymège presents some "cases" of fanaticism, the most interesting of which are taken from French history—the careers of Boulanger and Ravaillac.
The subject is clearly a challenging one, and relatively unexplored. Few studies, in any disciplines, have dealt with fanaticism. A multidisciplinary approach such as this has the advantage of considering the issues from many viewpoints. It