“Mowgli syndrome” is a term used by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty in her 1995 book Other Peoples’ Myths: The Cave of Echoes to describe mythological figures who succeed in bridging the animal and human worlds to become one with nature, a human animal, only to become trapped between the two worlds, not completely animal yet not entirely human.[1] Another literary account described this term as a birth defect that results from sexual relations between a human and a shapeshifter in animal form.[2]
It is also a rarely used descriptive term for the so-called feral children. These are individuals who are not properly socialized,[3] hence, incapable of normal social interaction. They could even have limited speech ability and mental impairment or underdeveloped mental faculties.[4] Other syndromes may include fear of humans and a lack of interest in human activities.[5] The term “Mowgli syndrome”, however, is not a recognized psychological or physiological malady. The term originates from the character Mowgli, a fictional feral child from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (1894).[6]
See also
References
- ^ Doniger O'Flaherty, Wendy (1995). Other Peoples' Myths: The Cave of Echoes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 75–96. ISBN 0226618579.
- ^ Benefiel, Candace R. (2011). Reading Laurell K. Hamilton. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 53. ISBN 9780313378355.
- ^ Neary, M. J. (2018-11-20). Underdog Manifesto. Crossroad Press.
- ^ Skesteris, Janis (2013). "Merab Mamardashvili's Cultural Understanding: Fascism or the Spinal Cord?". Journal of Siberian Federal University. 6: 110–117.
- ^ Karo, Roland; Friedenthal, Meelis (2008). "Kenosis, Anamnesis, and Our Place in History: A Neurophenomenological Account". Zygon. 43: 823–836. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00962.x.
- ^ James, Maloney, William (2014). The Medical Lives of History's Famous People. pp. 136–139. ISBN 9781608059362. OCLC 893675823.