I have been trying to figure out why people have such a hard time understanding the meaning of Mythology, and even have a more difficult time studying this topic objectively. I plan to discuss this question and some other topics on mythology in my upcoming blogs. I will define the subject, identify the main source of my information, and attempt to outline some of the issues. In my future columns, I plan to look at Mythology from different times and cultures in literature, art, philosophy, and religion.
In the last few months, I have been teaching a series of classes on Mythology for retired folks at two different Lifelong Learning Institutes in Richmond, Virginia. My teaching has been under the theoretical framework of Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), who one of the most renowned writers on the subject of comparative mythology in his lifetime; and his ideas are still relevant today. My classes have largely been drawn on his interviews with journalist Bill Moyers at the George Lucas Sky Ranch in California, near the end of his life. His ideas on this subject can be found in his video series and book called The Power of Myth, which was published in 1988. Prior to that work, he wrote about a dozen books, including his most recognized one: The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
From my experience, the biggest obstacle that some people have understanding comparative mythology is that they have an ethnocentric view of the world. That is, they evaluate different cultures and practices with the assumption that their way of thinking is the superior one against which others must be measured. Anthropologists and writers about people who are outside of their own country are supposedly trained to avoid this approach when studying indigenous cultures, but sometimes they can’t avoid falling into this trap. For example, the 19th Century view of African religions by Joseph Conrad in his book, The Heart of Darkness, portrays their tribal beliefs as primitive. Whereas, a more modern examination of those customs by Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, shows that the beliefs and practices of these same people are more sophisticated than we had originally understood.
Some people think that myths are defined as falsehoods. A psychologist in one of my classes was convinced that mythology is the distorted view of reality that neurotic or psychotic patients about their lives. Another student took a strong objection when I suggested that the study of the assumptions and stories of the Bible were universally conveyed in other cultures and religious orientations and that they were fair topics for the comparative study of mythology. Campbell points out that it is okay that some people interpret the teachings of their religion as literal. However, the study of comparative mythology makes no judgment about peoples’ beliefs, it only seeks to study and understand them. According to Campbell, “Mythology is a study of the stories and legends told by human beings throughout the ages that seek to explain the universe and their place in it.” He wrote that “the greatest challenge that each person faces is to find his or her place in life’s great drama.”
Mythology is a study of the stories and legends told by human beings throughout the ages that seek to explain the universe and their place in it…The greatest challenge that each person faces is to find his or her place in life’s great drama.
Campbell also argues that the study of mythology through history, literature, art, philosophy, and religion will help us to gain a better understanding of our place in the world. He considered mythology as the expression of the “song of the Universe.” Campbell noted that a Japanese Shinto Priest concluded that his tradition “does not have a philosophy or a theology. Instead, we just dance.”
Instead, We just dance!
Likewise, Campbell asserted that “we dance to the music of the Universe constantly, even when we are not familiar with the tune.” Humans share a common ultimate goal of wanting to “feel the rapture of being alive.” We are also constantly seeking to explore the unknown and mysterious. This subject has been the source of both great interest and confusion for the senior citizens I have been teaching. We like to question more and, perhaps, to be more skeptical than we were in our youth. I believe we also have a tendency to try and gain more of an understanding of the eternal values of life than we did when we were younger.
Campbell spent much of his youth and adult professional life traveling and studying other cultures, and thus developed great respect the way that so many ideas across time were consistent and universally portrayed. He advocated that we should study mythology non-historically, and without judging the veracity of any other beliefs. Myths involve studying prehistoric people, native civilizations, modern, and even future cultures. Each generation buys into some previous myths, rejects some, and creates their own mythologies—which are relevant to their own assumptions and needs.
Taking a modern example, Campbell had a strong alliance and friendship with George Lucas. Both men regarded the mythology and science fiction of Star Wars as an indication of how the present civilization is trying to understand the future and their place in the upcoming mysterious universe. Lucas readily agrees that he based his Star Wars epoch on Campbell’s theory of the Heroes Journey. For both Campbell and Lucas, it is not useful to evaluate those tales for veracity. Mythology can be perceived as true, even if it never really happened. What they both agreed on is that there is a strong cult of people who identify with the Star Wars mythology and use it to help them understand and find their place in the universe. There are many other notable literary mythologies such as King Arthur, Don Quixote, The Hobbit, and Harry Potter. I will discuss several of these in my upcoming blogs. I will also discuss several universal mythologies such as the Great Flood and The Creation and introduce the Cycle of the Heroes Journey, or as Campbell called it, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
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Featured Image from Pixels.com
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