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Never understood the point of mythology until reading Joseph Campbell's ideas on it
It powers ALL cultures and informs us of what we should care about and what we can even know
"Mythology brings us to the rim of what can be known and said"
It powers ALL cultures and informs us of what we should care about and what we can even know
"Mythology brings us to the rim of what can be known and said"
He said myths serve four functions:
- Teach you how to live
- Experience the mystery of the universe
- understanding what things are
- validate the culture of your community
without these functions you can't have a functioning or thriving society
- Teach you how to live
- Experience the mystery of the universe
- understanding what things are
- validate the culture of your community
without these functions you can't have a functioning or thriving society
He also suggested that different cultures evolved over time to have similar myths.
Whether Egyptians, Polynesians, or early North Americans...
Whether Egyptians, Polynesians, or early North Americans...
- origin myths about the creation of the universe that everything springs from
- rites of passage from boys into manhood that must be EARNED
- Stories of Gods that represented these value systems
- rites of passage from boys into manhood that must be EARNED
- Stories of Gods that represented these value systems
he found the same mythological images across different cultures too, like snakes and dragons
there must be something deeply foundational in human nature or biology for cultures that didn't talk to each other to use similar imagery to represent the same ideas
for example ..
there must be something deeply foundational in human nature or biology for cultures that didn't talk to each other to use similar imagery to represent the same ideas
for example ..
Snakes and eagles and dragons
snakes = our binding to the earth and the evil inherent in all
eagle = our struggle against the serpent, spiritual flight
put them together, and you get a dragon, a serpent with wings, that's familiar across the globe
snakes = our binding to the earth and the evil inherent in all
eagle = our struggle against the serpent, spiritual flight
put them together, and you get a dragon, a serpent with wings, that's familiar across the globe
without these unifying myths, you can't have a thriving community and there's nothing that binds you to your neighbors https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/07/archipelago-and-atomic-communitarianism/
