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This Very Short Introduction explores different approaches to myth from several disciplines, including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. In this new edition, Robert Segal considers both the future study of myth as well as the impact of areas such as cognitive science and the latest approaches to narrative theory.
For two hundred years the subject of myth -- its origin, function, and significance -- has been addressed again and again, first by theologians and philosophers and then by anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists. From the outset the topic has sparked intense debate, with differing opinions expressed on everything from issues of epistemology and methodology to the meaning of "myth" itself. In this collection of essays, Robert A. Segal surveys the contours of this ongoing discussion, comparing and evaluating the leading theories of myth. Among the theorists discussed are Edward Tylor, William Robertson Smith, James Frazer, Jane Harrison, S. H. Hooke, Mircea Eliade, Rudolf Bultmann, Hans Jonas, Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, Claude Levi-Strauss, and Hans Blumenberg. Author and editor of numerous books and articles in the fields of theories of myth and theories of religion, Segal has developed a reputation as a preeminent proponent of a social-scientific approach to the study of both. The essays in this book represent some of the best of his writing on myth over the past ten years."
New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.
At least three major questions can be asked of myth: what is its subject matter? what is its origin? and what is its function? Theories of myth may differ on the answers they give to any of these questions, but more basically they may also differ on which of the questions they ask. C. G. Jung's theory is one of the few that purports to answer fully all three questions. This volume collects and organizes the key passages on myth by Jung himself and by some of the most prominent Jungian writers after him: Erich Neumann, Marie-Louise von Franz, and James Hillman. The book synthesizes the discovery of myth as a way of thinking, where it becomes a therapeutic tool providing an entrance to the unc...
30-Second Mythology offers the shortest path to a world of gods and monsters. So much modern culture traces its origins back to Greek and Roman mythology (witness 2010s Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson and the Olympians). The stories provide wonderful references to make your conversation more heroic and raise your imagination closer to the gods. Sail through these fifty 30-second legends to discover what Hercules did to deserve his twelve labors, why Odysseus took ten years to travel 500 miles, and how Narcissus found the love of his life. The perfect reference book for creative writers, it covers gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, story locations and the great storytellers. There are also condensed versions of the tragic tales alongside explanations of their modern legacies: from the Oedipus Complex to the Narcissus Syndrome.
This book provides a comprehensive selection of readings that relate to and explore the definition of religion. The texts come from a wide range of approaches, unified both by the questions they are addressing and their broadly social scientific perspective. The disciplines covered include anthropology, phenomenology, psychology and sociology. The editors have also included some key texts relating to the feminist approach to and critique of religion. The first section of the book includes some of the foundational texts, such as materials by Marx, Freud, and Durkheim. The remaining sections look at more recent discussions of the issues from the different disciplinary perspectives. Each reading is introduced by a biographical sketch of the author. The book also includes introductory discussions to each section that both raise the key issues developed in a particular discipline and address the disciplinary approaches from a more critical stance. Theories of Religion: A Reader is an invaluable critical resource, accessible to a broad audience as well as students of theology and religious studies.
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. Chapte...
Taking its cue from Robert A. Segal’s work, Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth: Contributions in Honor of Robert A. Segal offers a set of essays by renowned scholars addressing the persisting question of how to approach religion and myth as academic categories.
Segal's "precise reading of Campbell's texts and his careful analysis of the theoretical superstructure will be indispensable to future studies."-Religion.
Theories of myth differ based on perceptions of its origin and function. This volume collects and organizes key passages on myth by Jung and by some of the most prominent Jungian writers after him. The book synthesizes the discovery of myth as a therapeutic tool to explore the unconscious.