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Why do we mythologize? Some experts would say, we do it to satisfy our natural, healthy craving to live in a world which is understandable but entertaining. Yet, others would still argue that that is not enough. View the choices for why we mythologize below, then chose one of the reasons listed and give your opinion to why your choice satisfies the question… Why do we mythologize?
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**Myths grant continuity and stability to a culture.They foster a shared set of perspectives, values, history. Through these communal tales, we are connected to one another, to our ancestors, to the natural world surrounding us, and to society; and, through the myths which have universal (i.e., archetypal) themes, we are connected to other cultures.
++Myths present guidelines for living.When myths tell about the activities and attitudes of deities, the moral tone implies society’s expectations for our own behaviors and standards. In myths, we see archetypal situations and some of the options which can be selected in those situations; we also perceive the rewards and other consequences which resulted from those selections.
++ Myths justify a culture’s activities. Through their authoritativeness and the respected characters within them, myths establish a culture’s customs, rituals, religious tenets, laws, social structures, power hierarchies, territorial claims, arts and crafts, holidays and other recurring events, and technical tips for hunting, warfare, and other endeavors.
++Myths give meaning to life. We transcend our common life into a world in which deities interact with humans, and we can believe that our daily actions are part of the deities’ grand schemes. In our difficulties, the pain is more bearable because we believe that the trials have meaning; we are suffering for a bigger cause rather than being battered randomly. And when we read that a particular deity experienced something which we are now enduring — perhaps a struggle against “evil forces” — we can feel that our own struggle might have a similar cosmic or archetypal significance, though on a smaller scale.
++ Myths explain the unexplained. They reveal our fate after death, and the reasons for crises or miracles, and other puzzles — and yet they retain and even encourage an aura of mystery. Myths also satisfy our need to understand the natural world; for example, they might state that a drought is caused by an angry deity. This purpose of mythology was especially important before the advent of modern science, which offered the Big Bang theory to replace creation myths, and it gave us the theory of evolution to supplant myths regarding the genesis of humanity. And yet, science creates its own mythology.
++ Myths offer role models. In particular, children pattern themselves after heroes; comic books and Saturday-morning cartoons depict many archetypal characters, such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Adults, too, can find role models, in the stories of deities’ strength, persistence, and courage.
Citation: mythome.org
Why do we mythologize? I will satisfy this question with the reason “myths offer role models. In particular, children pattern themselves after heroes; comic books and Saturday-morning cartoons depict many archetypal characters, such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Adults, too, can find role models, in the stories of deities’ strength, persistence, and courage”. We create myths in our mind constantly, it is called our imagination. Our imagination is our idea of the perfect world or the perfect person that we all strive to be. These depictions in our minds provide the thing that pushes us to be the person we aim to be. Myths offer the same drive as a role model would, giving us the initiative to have that “never say never” mentality. What are your thoughts? Can you think of any examples from mythology that might push someone to do great things?
I believe that man creates myths in order to explain what cannot be explained conventionally (the fifth opinion). As with the ancient Greeks, for example, their whole understanding of the earth was based off of what their myths had to say. Mother Earth created Father Heaven, then monsters and cyclopes and Titans emerged, Titans created gods, etcetera. None of this agrees with modern science, but for them, in their day, their fantasy explained everything. If you have noticed, most of the worlds greatest early scientists (mostly Greek in origin mind you) have been acknowledged because of there boundless imagination. Their popular views have then been expounded on by the next generation of scientists, and then the next generation bases their views off of the previous, and the cycle of knowledge continues forever. Without the crude foundation of the early scientists (who used their mythological views as a corner stone for their studies), modern science would be as useful as mindlessly wallowing in the pit of stupidity. Myths are undoubtedly created to explain the vast expanse of non-knowledge because, without them, there would be no foundation to start modern science/history off of.
Question: If there was no basis of mythological “science,” what would modern science have evolved from?
For starters, I agree that myths give guidelines for living. With myths, people can look to their superiors and act as they act, making productivity and efficiency maximize as well as increasing the morale of the community as a whole. When the people see their gods working strenuously, it gives them the feeling of relation to their master and a sense of purpose in their lives. The gods provide the people with an all important goal as well; hard work and dedication to the gods brings prosperity. If the same society lived without mythology and direction, would it be as successful?
I agree, nalderson, that the organization of modern science can somewhat be attributed to the organization that was used to explanations for the unexplainable. I believe that without the organizational trailblazer set by mythology science would not be as sophisticated as it is today.
To answer your question briang1, if a culture is lacking some sort of folkloric background, they are more lost and hopeless than they would be if they had some sort of guiding power (a myth, for example) to explain to them the meaning of life because, without meaning, man is lost and does not find that there is any reason to continue doing well or what is right. Atheists, for example, obviously live by no moral code (except for avoiding Christ) so they live for the day and the next day’s goal depend on what that day has to offer. No future, no hope.
Some people do not enjoy the feeling of being confused. A curiosity they have when they do not understand something, like an event that occurred. Everyday people make up Myths to explain the unexplainable. In history, we see that cultures lived off of the senseless myths they created. The people even wondered why they had curiosities, thus making up the story of Pandora. As for the Big Band Theory, it is also something made up because scientists do not like the feeling of not understanding something. I believe a theory is a modern day version of a myth.
Question~ What are some other myths believed today in 2011?I think we mythologize because humans do not have the capacity to explain the unexplainable. We wish as humans to know exactly how things work. We have a whole subject dedicated to it, science. Even though we have the research and technology to make move theories proven, we still create myths. Myths give an entertaining way to understand how things that shouldn’t happen do. Science doesn’t explain everything. We as people like to control as well as know. Myths give us the ability to explain the unexplainable and be in total control of the reason why. Myths are used as references and are still created today. How else are myths related to school subjects?
All of the choices listed above make sense, but the one that I understand the most is that mythology explains the unexplainable. Most people are curious to know where we go after we die, and myths can fulfill are need of knowledge. Also, people use myths to explain the unexplainable phenomena’s in nature. The origin of our universe remains a mystery to us in modern times because there are no eye witnesses on earth today that can truthfully say that they were present when the earth was created. So that is why people rely on myths to satisfy their hunger for answers. Theory’s such as the big bang theory, and theistic evolution are like myths in that there goal is to explain the unknown mystery of the origin of life. As a Christian, I believe that God created the heavens and the earth. The reason I point this out is to say that I base my belief on faith. Just like people who believe in mythology must do as well. Is it possibly to believe that mythology is true without having faith in it?
I think, personally, that people mythologize because, for one, they want to explain the un-explainable. But, if they wanted to do that, and only that, myths would not be elaborate at all. people mythologize simply because, they are, or were, bored. They needed entertainment. Think about it; the Greeks could have just made the earth’s features personalized by a god; they didn’t have to make up stories like “How Apollo got the Lyre”, or the stories of which gods fell in love with who. The gods didn’t really even need personalities, as long as the Greeks would know how and why they got there. It’s the human mind that wants more out of things. Even the fact that there are many different theories on the most common Greek myths- different people have added their own twists. Even fairy tales, like Cinderella, are otherwise pointless except for the factor of entertainment. The people who made myths and fairy tales long ago didn’t have much entertainment. They couldn’t watch TV at home, they couldn’t go to the mall with friends, play video games when they got bored, or go to a movie theater. So, they sat down and made up stories.
As for the question:
Since we, today, as a society, are relying more and more on machines, do you think there will be a significant decrease in myths and fairy tales?Crazzykat,
There are many old myths that are still believed today, some as a joke, and some people really believe them.
There are, of course, Aliens, and there is Bigfoot. The myths make life a lot more interesting, even if you look at it as a prank or a stupid joke.RE:Emmammkay
Myths are also related to history. If people believe that the Greek myths are true and that the world was formed that way then they believe that is the history of how the earth began. They may believe that the history of man began with either Prometheus or the gods creating man. Likewise, they might believe the history of women began when Zeus created them in anger torwards Prometheus as a punishment towards man. Any phenomena’s throughout history people who believe in myths may use them to explain the unexplainable.RE: aprilmayjune
In response to your question on the possibility that myths may begin disappearing, I think that is highly unlikely. Although the scientific fields are growing and myths are being proven false every day, there is still so much that modern science is ignorant of, or at the very least, unsure of. Even with all the advanced modern technology, mankind will never know everything about everything. The human mind is inherently creative, and it will never cease to try and explain the unexplained until all the answers to life’s questions are found.I agree with you that the human mind is very creative! But at some points I feel that the stories we have come up with are a little too creative. I think that at some point, as the earth gets older, the myths will still be present but slightly altered. It’s kind of like the game telephone. Eventually the phrase in the end becomes different. Just imagine how much myths may change over a decade!
RE:aprilmayjune96
I do not think that there will be a significant decrease in myths. Myths have and probably always will exist. There are actually myths going around that involve technology. Even if people are relying on machines. For example, people now use the internet to spread their beliefs about aliens taking over the moon across the world. Or scare people into thinking about the Mayan myth that the world is going to end December 21, 2012.RE: emmammkay
I completely agree with your post, brilliant job and great insight. To answer your question, myths are also used in history as well as science. The history of the human race is full of myths. There are some things that we do not know for sure. Also, myths make stories sound glorious and entertaining, but these interesting pieces of art are not necessarily true. Can you think of any other subjects? What are your thoughts on how these myths may affect somebody’s life?Kcjunior posted:
I think people began to use mythology to explain the unexplainable. People who aren’t Christians obviously won’t use the reasons and facts of how things have come to pass in the Bible. Because of this, they had to create their own explanations. Honestly, I think that it helped the Greeks feel better about themselves by thinking that everything that happens to them is because of the gods upstairs. The myths maybe even help them feel like better people because since the gods were made by people, they are imperfect, which would make people feel better about who they are and the mistakes they make. I think people may still tell myths today as entertainment for grandkids and children. One thing that I don’t understand is how people can hinestly buy into some of the tales that we are reading about? I honestly feel like there is no logic to it at all.Way back when, people had begun to use mythology to explain the un-exsplainable. They had no idea who made, planned, or created the universe. They simply made up make believe stories for entertainment, sustainment, and fun. All the gods and goddesses have no explanation and suddenly are alive or oddly born. Nothing makes sense, but sometimes that is the interesting part! I think that it is outstanding that every character is described in great detail. Do you think that people would have believed in the gods if they had not been described the way that they did in all of the different stories?
Honestly, I believe that the reasons myths are told is to give a meaning to life. Most people hate the idea of going through a trial or hard time alone. When myths are told using imperfect gods, it make people feel that they are not alone in the situations they are facing because other people have gone through the same tribulations. One of the desires that is common amongst people is the search for the true meaning and purpose to life. There are people who devote their whole lives to finding a purpose in life, and many times they are searching hard and far for an answer that is right in front of them. However,the most popular trait about myths is that it gives people a hope that everything will turn out fine the way it does in mythology. What people do not realize is that stories are fiction and what is going on in their lives is reality. What are some key ways in which mythology and reality differ?
The topic that stood out most to me was “Myths justify a culture’s activities.” To me, it seems like all the myths gave a culture it’s identity. They became known for what they believed in and it gave them reasons for why they lived a certain way. For example, we all know that Greek mythology has 12 main gods and each of them represent a different area in life. The Greeks truly believed that these gods were in control of everything that went on in the world. And even though we Christians believe what we believe, we know all about the what the Greeks believe because it represents who they are and how they made an impact on the world. So we mythologize because whatever we come up with to believe in makes us stand out from others beliefs. It makes all the civilizations different from one another. Can you think of any other civilization or culture that stands out because of their mythology or beliefs?
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