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%MYTH IMPOVERISHMENT 770815
Myths define the ways in which members of a culture
may find significance and give meaning to their lives.
Myths are not either true or false, they vary in potency.
A given myth may be potent in one
culture/era and not in another. While the potency of a
myth in part is an objective, it does not flow from
objective reality. Objective analysis can not predict
which myths will be potent in which circumstances. Myth
potency comes to pass, and those who analyze the history
of a historical myth tend not to feel its power, nor
participate in its passage.
The power of myths interact with creative individuals
and the power of a culture's objective world view. Each
domain defines boundaries within which the other may
have power. A change in one presages changes in the
other. The scientific revolution presaged changes in the
myths which could be potent in the scientific age. Many
myths lost their power because they were cast in pre-
scientific language. The domains of life to which they
pertained thus became impoverished as appropriate new
myths grew up to take the place of the old. Cultures
which adopted an exclusive scientific perspective upon
life thus become generally myth impoverished---because the
exclusivity tended to dismiss all myths as pre-scientific.
Myth impoverishment invites the development of new
myths which can survive the existent objective world view.
The scientific/technical revolution thus invited the
development of myths focused upon the central realities of
that revolution---objects, verbalizations, measurements,
laws, accomplishments, products, possessions, comforts,
predictions, controls, etc. Thus there developed the
myths of capitalism, communism, socialism, etc. The
exclusive aspect of the objective world view tended to
inhibit the development of new myths pertaining to
subjective experiences. Myth impoverishment has continued
with regards to friendships, intimate relationships,
sexuality, mystical perception, and trans-scientific
phenomena.
Associated with myth impoverishment is role-model
impoverishment. Role-models are legitimized by a mythical
context. In the absence of an appropriate mythical
context a person may appear insane---rather than as a
role-model. Thus, myth impoverishment generates role-
model impoverishment.
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
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