I simboli come segnali di identità collettiva

A symbol constitutes the first step of knowledge and the first proof of the objectivity; the symbol offers a firm point in the continual mutation of the conscience content. When persons are co-present they tend to behave as if they participate to a social occasion which is an event of wider reach, bound to limits of space and time, made easier by an established equipment. The formality and the rituality are tools suitable for periodically recreate the social cohesion endangered by inevitable confrontations and conflicts between groups and individuals. They are powerful ideological tools which has the goal of presenting the individuals a determined picture of the society in which they live. Symbols lead us to believe that shared values are strong, so much that they call forth a mood that favors cohesion and acceptation: without the ritual there is no form of social organization.