Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Philosophy
Reader 1
Martin Glazier
Reader 2
Suzanne Obdrzalek
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
What is someone really doing when she practices a ritual? Many have argued that rituals are just a way of communicating something. I argue that the ritual practitioner is, first and foremost, paying attention. Part of what she is paying attention to is the ritual object or experience, like the act of lighting a candle, but the other part of what she is paying attention to is time. She knows that the candle has been lit before and that it will be lit again. Through this attention to time, she can recognize both its passage and the present moment, thus apprehending features of temporal reality through ritual practice.
Recommended Citation
Cromer, Sylvie G., "Paying Attention, Time, and Apprehending the Real: An Argument for Ritual Practice" (2026). Scripps Senior Theses. 2802.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2802
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
