Dimitris Xygalatas

As far as we know, there is no culture, whether past or present, that has no rituals. In fact, when we look at our own cultures, we will see that the most important moments of our lives, like birthdays and weddings, all of these moments are shrouded in ritual.

As far as we know, there is no culture, whether past or present, that has no rituals. In fact, when we look at our own cultures, we will see that the most important moments of our lives, like birthdays and weddings, all of these moments are shrouded in ritual.

As far as we know, there is no culture, whether past or present, that has no rituals. In fact, when we look at our own cultures, we will see that the most important moments of our lives, like birthdays and weddings, all of these moments are shrouded in ritual.

Hi, it's a pleasure to be with you.

Hi, it's a pleasure to be with you.

Hi, it's a pleasure to be with you.

Rituals are regularly repeated sets of actions that feel special. They're not ordinary. And yet they have either no stated goal or even when they do have a goal, that goal is not causally related to the actions themselves. I like to give the example of brushing your teeth, which is not a ritual.

Rituals are regularly repeated sets of actions that feel special. They're not ordinary. And yet they have either no stated goal or even when they do have a goal, that goal is not causally related to the actions themselves. I like to give the example of brushing your teeth, which is not a ritual.

Rituals are regularly repeated sets of actions that feel special. They're not ordinary. And yet they have either no stated goal or even when they do have a goal, that goal is not causally related to the actions themselves. I like to give the example of brushing your teeth, which is not a ritual.

And the reason it's not a ritual is that it has a very specific purpose and the actions we undertake to achieve that purpose are causally related. So I move my brush up and down and that helps me remove food from my teeth, helping me

And the reason it's not a ritual is that it has a very specific purpose and the actions we undertake to achieve that purpose are causally related. So I move my brush up and down and that helps me remove food from my teeth, helping me

And the reason it's not a ritual is that it has a very specific purpose and the actions we undertake to achieve that purpose are causally related. So I move my brush up and down and that helps me remove food from my teeth, helping me

make them clean now if i woke up every morning and i and i waved my toothbrush in the air with the belief that this will help me clean my teeth or for that matter with without any belief at all now that would be an example of a ritual so it's really it's really something that does nothing and yet it has meaning anyway Exactly.

make them clean now if i woke up every morning and i and i waved my toothbrush in the air with the belief that this will help me clean my teeth or for that matter with without any belief at all now that would be an example of a ritual so it's really it's really something that does nothing and yet it has meaning anyway Exactly.

make them clean now if i woke up every morning and i and i waved my toothbrush in the air with the belief that this will help me clean my teeth or for that matter with without any belief at all now that would be an example of a ritual so it's really it's really something that does nothing and yet it has meaning anyway Exactly.

And that's why it's such a fascinating topic to study, because people consider their rituals deeply meaningful, and they put a lot of time, resources and effort into those rituals. Some of the rituals that I studied even involve very painful, even excruciating things like walking on fire, having your body pierced with needles and skewers.

And that's why it's such a fascinating topic to study, because people consider their rituals deeply meaningful, and they put a lot of time, resources and effort into those rituals. Some of the rituals that I studied even involve very painful, even excruciating things like walking on fire, having your body pierced with needles and skewers.

And that's why it's such a fascinating topic to study, because people consider their rituals deeply meaningful, and they put a lot of time, resources and effort into those rituals. Some of the rituals that I studied even involve very painful, even excruciating things like walking on fire, having your body pierced with needles and skewers.

And people consider these rituals very, very important in their lives. And yet, when I ask them why they perform these rituals, and I've asked hundreds, if not thousands of people that question, they have a very hard time explaining why they're important. Most of the time, they'll just look at me and they'll go, what do you mean? These are our traditions. That's what we do. That's who we are.

And people consider these rituals very, very important in their lives. And yet, when I ask them why they perform these rituals, and I've asked hundreds, if not thousands of people that question, they have a very hard time explaining why they're important. Most of the time, they'll just look at me and they'll go, what do you mean? These are our traditions. That's what we do. That's who we are.