Freud's totem theory as complement to Max Weber's theory of charisma.

Abstract

Charisma ascription, described sociologically by Max Weber, can be explained psychologically through the mechanism of projection triggered when the individual is forcibly separated from a loved object. Such separation produces an ambivalence of attitudes based on conflict between opposite feelings, i.e., love and hate. Conflict is resolved by projecting one of the pair of opposites into the external world—onto an individual or object—whence it is perceived as exerting uncanny power through such carriers as charismatic heroes, totems, and spirits. Freud's totem theory provides the basis for this explanation.