Campbell, author of The Masks of God and a respected mythologist,
conceived these essays originally as lectures for Cooper Union's
Forum series. They still resonate with echos of the hall as he
recapitulates the themes of his more scholarly works: namely, a
Jungian view of the nature and origins of myth, and a conviction
that myth is still (as it has been always and everywhere) the
prerequisite to social stability and genuine self-realization. An
anecdotal and comparative survey of the world's mythological lore
is given here chiefly, however, as a touchstone for finding
equivalent verities in our own time. This can lead to some
startling speculations - e.g., that contemporary western soldiers
suffer from want of a "war myth" which would "psychically induct"
them to their role - and questionable conclusions, e.g., his
celebration of the space race in that it reveals a powerful new
"affect image" of earth as "the one oasis in all space," a "kind of
sacred grove. . . set apart for the rituals of life." Ritual is the
key word (for Campbell, life seems meaningless without it): the
church, for instance, is in decline simply because it is not making
an "affective display" of its rites and symbols, and schizophrenia
(after Laing and Perry) is accepted as a benign parallel to
"shamanistic crisis" and archetypical voyaging. But ritual per se
is not enough to reconcile the curious east/west split in the
author's own conservative thought, which would have progress and
nirvana too. Best read as first heard, for the erudite incidentals
and enthralling podium style. (Kirkus Reviews)
Joseph Campbell was the world's greatest authority on myth, his
monumental four-volume The Masks of God is a definitive work on the
subject, and in Myths to Live By he explores how these enduring
myths still influence our daily lives and can provide personal
meaning in our lives. Myths are a way of explaining the cosmos, the
origin of life and Man's relationship with their environment; they
play a cohesive role in society. Joseph Campbell analyses myth in
psychoanalytic terms to reveal their essential qualities and to
demonstrate how they continue to reflect human needs, providing
reassurance even in today's world. Ranging from Zen koans and
Indian aesthetics to walking on the moon, Joseph Campbell explores
how myth and religion follow the same archetypes, which are not
exclusive to any single race, religion or region. Campbell believed
that all religion is a search for the same transcendent and
fundamental spiritual truths. He shows how we must recognise the
common denominators between differing myths and faiths and allow
this knowledge to fulfil human potential everywhere.
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