Hermit

A hermit is a person living in voluntary seclusion, usually for religious motives. The practice of hermitism appears among early Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

Hermits often lived in caves, forests or deserts, but some of them preferred an isolated cell in a monastery. Male hermits predominate.

Table of contents

1 Hermits in Religion
2 Hermits in Philosophy
3 Hermits in Medicine

Hermits in Religion

From a religious point of view, a hermit chooses that form of life in order to come closer to his god, spending most of his time in meditation, contemplation and prayer (sometimes also preaching, like John the Baptist).

Hermits renounce all the pleasures of life, beginning with sex, following with luxury and cleanness, a good diet, etc., and ending in most cases with the contact between them and other people. They try to reach sanctity by means of this way of life, and Catholicism has canonised many of them. (The term saint also occurs in Hinduism and Buddhism.)

Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing, a 19th century psychiatrist, referred to the desire of reaching sanctity as an hysteric manifestation.

John Chrysostom examplifies a misogynous hermit; he said that it was preferable to remain single than to have to bear the burden of a woman (among other contemptuous concepts on women).

Anthony the Great exemplifies the psychotic hermit: he suffered hallucinations, characterised by visions of demons tempting him with beautiful women to commit sexual "sins".

Gautama Buddha could also exemplifty the misogynous hermit (he abandoned his wife and son, and when he re-encountered them never had sexual intercourse with her again) who also suffered hallucinations, blaming the demon Mara for showing him beautiful women with nice huge breasts and fragrant hips.

Compare Simeon Stylites.

Hermits in Philosophy

Diogenes the Cynic, an ancient Greek philosopher, led an ascetic life in a barrel. When Alexander the Great came to him one day and offered to grant him a wish, Diogenes asked Alexander to step out of his sunlight.

Hermits in Medicine

From a psychiatric point of view, hermits suffer religious mania, a mental alteration characterised by misogyny (misandry in case of women), hysteria, and often psychosis. The tendency to self-reclusion characterises schizophrenia, and occurs not only in schizophrenia itself but also in pre-schizophrenic persons.

Hermits commonly experience hallucinations, as well as hearing voices (psychotic characteristics).

See Eden Ahbez