Myths

Stories become formalized and repeated as myth, literature, religion and history. Myths are imaginative, explanatory stories that address the big issues such as the origin and purpose of the group, the source of moral authority and the fate of individuals when they die. All human groups, large and small, told stories and enacted rituals that connected individuals in the groups to each other and to world around them. Myths are among the most creative of human constructs and are accompanied by music, dance, painted images, figurines and other artifacts.

The mythologist, Joseph Campbell, stated: “Myths are products of the human imagination…certain themes and images (archetypes) are constant since the appearance of man. Histories are chronicles of social events, which according to place and time, greatly differ.” Campbell described how the innate themes in myths are buried in local stories that become the specific identifiers or masks of local groups – folk ideas, ethnic traditions and religions.”  Campbell studied, admired and understood myths, presenting them as mind-expanding explorations of innate human tendencies. The transcendent value of all stories is to convert a isolated individual who recites the stories into a fully-fledged member of a group.

Creation Myths

Every human group is interested in how the world was created. You could argue that there have been 100,000 versions of genesis. Some creation accounts are told by an omniscient narrator who acts as if he witnessed a sudden, dramatic creation. Other accounts tell a story of human interactions with creators who reveal themselves in progressive stages. Since stories are made of words, creation accounts often treat words as the initial creative force and conversation as an evolutionary process.

A creation story from an Upanishad originating in India about 3000 years BP begins: “In the beginning there was only the Great Self in the form of a person. Reflecting, it found nothing but itself. Its first word was: “This I am.” Whence arose the name “I.” Which is why, when one is addressed, one first says “I” and then tells whatever name one has. The one was afraid. Therefore, anyone who is alone is afraid. If there is nothing but myself, it thought, of what then am I afraid? Whereupon the fear departed. That person was not happy when alone. It desired a mate. It became as large as a woman and man in embrace; then caused that Self to fall into two pieces from which husband and wife arose. He united with her and human beings were born. She thought: “how can he unite with me after producing me from himself? Well, let me hide.” “She became a cow and he a bull and he united with her. From that union, cattle were born” And so on and on.

Archetypes

Urges, desires, designs, feelings cry out from within.  Carl Jung interpreted archetypes as an expression of a “collective unconscious” – his term for the repository of innate tendencies built into the human brain.  You could argue that the term, archetypes, should point to innate configurations that need not be learned. The distinction between form and content is useful. The form is the built-in part of innate configurations that receive content via feature detectors that recognize patterns in nature. Form is ancient and universal. Content is local and specific.

The natural world is an immense repository of repeating events, designs and sequences. The original archetypes are manifestations of our built-in receptivity to the patterns of nature. The term ”archetype” can also describe human expressions, manifest as common behaviors such as  drumming, dancing, singing, painting and tool-making. Archetype sometimes points to expressions that recur as common elements in religion, art and other story-telling, including literature and movies. Often common characters, themes and metaphors are described inappropriately as archetypes, but are often-copied, conventional characters and plots. There are themes that recur in myths and other stories worldwide. Campbell identified five universal themes in myths: fire-theft, deluge, land-of-the-dead, virgin birth, and resurrected hero.   These themes have been repeated with local inflections for thousands of years.

Hero’s Journey

Campbell identified the hero’s journey as a basic plot found in myths that involves standard characters and a sequence of episodes. For example, a hero is born into an ordinary world, where he receives an invitation to adventure; he first refuses the call, but is encouraged by a mentor to go forth and explore the unknown where he encounters tests, allies and enemies. If he survives the initial challenges, the hero crosses a second threshold and enters an inner sanctum or cave where he must survive another ordeal to take possession of his reward.

The hero’s journey requires a final effort to return to the ordinary world with a treasure that benefits all humans. The return is a resurrection that qualifies the hero as a transcendent being. The hero in other words, is not a lottery winner who indulges himself with his prize money, but a superior man who transcends his own nature to become an unselfish benefactor to all.

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Language and Thinking

The  Psychology & Philosophy series was developed by Persona Digital Publications. The books are copyright by Persona Digital and all rights to reproduction by any means are reserved. We encourage readers to quote and paraphrase topics from Language and Thinking  published online and expect proper citations to accompany all derivative writings. The author is Stephen Gislason and the publisher is Persona Digital Books.