Full Description
Comparing and evaluating modern theories of myth, this book offers an overview of explanations of myth from the social sciences and the humanities.
This ambitious collection of essays uses the viewpoints of a variety of disciplines - psychology, anthropology, sociology, politics, philosophy, religious studies, and literature. Each discipline advocates a generalization about the origin, the function, and the subject matter of myth. The subject is always not what makes any myth distinct but what makes all myths "myth". The book is divided into five sections, covering topics such as myth and psychoanalysis, hero myths, myth and science, myth and politics, and myth and the physical world. Chapters engage with an array of theorists--among them, Freud, Jung, Campbell, Rank, Winnicott, Tylor, Frazer, Malinowski, Levy-Bruhl, Levi-Strauss, Harrison, and Burkert. The book considers whether myth still plays a role in our lives is one of the issues considered, showing that myths arise anything but spontaneously. They are the result of a specific need, which varies from theory to theory.
This is a fascinating survey by a leading voice in the study of myth. As such, it will be of much interest to scholars of myth and how it interacts with Sociology, Anthropology, Politics and Economics.
Contents
Introduction: In Defense of Theorizing about Myth 1 The Leading Modern Theories of Myth 2 Psychologizing Myth: From Freud to Winnicott 3 Rank on Myth 4 Freud's and Jung's Very Twentieth-Century View of Myth 5 Greek Myth and Psychoanalysis 6 On Hero Myths 7 King Saul as Mythic Hero 8 Myth and Science: Their Varying Relationships 9 On Myth as Ideology: Lincoln's Theorizing Myth 10 On Myth and Politics 11 Do Hollywood Stars Bring Myth Back to the World? 12 Does the Gaia Hypotheses bring Myth Back to the World?
