Myths and Mythological Fragments
Irving Hexham, Karla O. Poewe
February 12, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780429498695-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that "peak experiences" described by Abraham Maslow parallel "primal experiences" in non-Western traditions, and that traditional societies use mythology to help individuals accept and seemingly understand such psychic states. Contends that industrial society lacks a common mythology, and that social scientists overlook important aspects of reality by abandoning the term "myth," whose importance lies in its use rather than the story itself. |
Abstract
What Abraham Maslow, in the context of Western modernity, calls peak experiences, others, in the context of non-Western traditions, call primal experiences. Traditional societies mediate the effects of the vivid primal experiences through the use of rich mythologies that enable individuals to accept and seemingly understand their psychic condition. Industrial society has no body of shared beliefs, no common mythology. Its members hold onto a collection of disconnected beliefs and are vaguely familiar with fragments of many myths. Abandoning the use of the term "myth" to cranks is understandable. But such a retreat causes social scientists to overlook some important aspects of reality that are best understood as myth once the term is meaningfully defined. The importance of a myth lies not with the particular qualities of the story itself but with the use that is made of the story.