Mystery Revisted...First Function of Myth

What needs do mythology and religion serve in today's world and in ancient times? Here we discuss the relationship between mythology, religion and science from mythological, religious and philosophical viewpoints.

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jd101
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Mystery Revisted...First Function of Myth

Post by jd101 »

I here pose a question for the associates:

As you look outward (or inward!) in today’s world, what is the Mystery that you behold?

Here is a little background in which to frame my question…

I have been revisiting Campbell’s ‘four functions of mythology’, in particular the first function. When reading his various works, it is apparent that descriptions of this ‘first function’ especially have morphed over time and different aspects are variously emphasized.

First and importantly, recently while reading ‘The Importance of Rites’ from the book “Myths To Live By” I came upon an interesting discussion of this function which previously had escaped me and brought a new clarity and understanding. From this essay dated 1964 we read:
And so let us now ask what the proper source of awe might be for the race of mankind today. As pointed out by Frobenius, it was first the animal world, in its various species, that impressed mankind as a mystery, and that, in its character of admired immediate neighbor, evoked the impulse to imitative identification. Next it was the vegetable world and the miracle of the fruitful earth, wherein death is changed into life. And finally, with the rise in the ancient Near East of the earliest high civilizations, the focus of attention shifted to the mathematics of the seven moving cosmic lights…
What appeals to me in this discussion is the simplicity of the idea that there is a transformation of myth through time which is a result of the consciousness of a people and their perceived sense of mystery. This is easily understood and rings true. Campbell goes on to point out that for today’s cultures our most mysterious neighbors are no longer the animals, plants nor stars:
"Frobenious points out that we have demythologized those through our sciences, and that the center of mystery now is man himself: man as a Thou, one’s neighbor; not as “I” might wish him to be, or may imagine that I know and relate to him, but in himself, thus come, as a being of mystery and wonder."
When I read that “the center of mystery now is man himself”, I ask if that is the case for ‘now’, why would it not be applicable to ‘then’. Are human beings so different that ‘man as mystery’ did not arise in the consciousness of early humanity, or rather is it that the immediacy of the ‘animal masters’, plant kingdoms and celestial orbs was so engaging that the mystery of ‘life eating life’ was subjugated to more pressing concerns?

What follows are some excerpts which elaborate some of the different nuances of the first function. First we have a nice summary description from the 1970 essay "Schizophrenia—the Inward Journey” as it also appears in “Myths to Live By”:
"The first (function) is what I have called the mystical function; to waken and maintain in the individual a sense of awe and gratitude in relation to the mystery dimension of the universe, not so that he lives in fear of it, but so that he recognizes that he participates in it, since the mystery of being is the mystery of his own deep being as well".
From his “Man & Myth” series audio lecture “The Necessity of Rites” Campbell emphasizes the dawning realization that the nature of life is monstrous; namely that “life lives on life”…
"Traditionally the first function of mythology is to reconcile consciousness to the preconditions of its own existence. That is to say to the nature of life. And when you realize that life lives on life, you might summarize it by saying … ‘now I’ll eat you, now you eat me’, you will realize that this is something for consciousness to assimilate."
One of the first discussions of this appears in “The Masks of God—Creative Mythology” circa 1968. As Campbell puts it, a "living mythology" will
"waken and maintain in the individual an experience of awe, humility, and respect, in recognition of that ultimate mystery, transcending names and forms, 'from which,' as we read in the Upanishads, 'words turn back.'" (p. 609)

He writes of coming to a revelation of the unity between one's self and all things -- and of
"the profound rightness of the basic conviction in Vedanta: it is not possible that this unity of knowledge, feeling and choice which you call your own should have sprung into being from nothingness ... rather this knowledge, feeling and choice are essentially eternal and unchangeable and numerically one in all men, nay in all sensitive beings…Tat Tvam Asi "(That you are)


So once again I ask… When your eyes open (or close!) what is the Mystery for you?
john

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Post by Cindy B. »

The mystery for me, John, as often expressed by others--the more I come to know and understand, the more I come to recognize how little I really know. :wink:

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by jd101 »

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for your comment. I sometimes think that I too know less and less as time goes by.

I have been reflecting on this first function of myth quite a bit these days, as it seems to hold a key to where humanity is moving. I had a mini ‘aha’ moment when I read the Frobenius ‘mystery’ concept, and thought that a clue to our mythos today could be to reflect on what is a real mystery for people today.

One of the mysteries for me is something generated by science and physics, namely that if you look at the atomic and then quantum universe of particles and waves, on that level one beholds a universe it seems to me more of a unified field. Then if you scale out and consider a human being, it is very mysterious to me that we would develop the awareness of ourselves as separate entities. From swirling electrons to separate self. Yep, that is pretty mysterious to me!
john

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Post by Cindy B. »

I agree, jd, that theoretical quantum physics is pretty cool. Not that I'm claiming to understand it all, even much of it, by any means, but I do grasp enough of what's under consideration these days and the implications to appreciate the mystery of it all. I have to say, though, that for me personally, nothing intrigues me more than "mind" in all its many guises, and this is the essential mystery that's fascinated me since a child.

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by jonsjourney »

The mystery for me, John, as often expressed by others--the more I come to know and understand, the more I come to recognize how little I really know. -Cindy
I certainly agree and will add to this.

I realize not only how little I know, but how little how much I know matters, at least in terms of trying to point to some specific aspect as having "the meaning of life" within it.

I am a bit of a knowledge junkie. I love interesting facts and information. I like learning, probably more than anything else. Yes, more than anything else....except right at this moment I seem to really enjoy a Starbuck's Frappucino on a hot day! The point is that I have come realize that reading about, and understanding, the great writers and philosophers (among other things) is great conversation fodder and makes writing a paper easier, but all of these folks were chasing the same shadow as I am. So for me, life...the experience and meaning of life...is subjective existence in a world of forms.

Now, to address the question asked by John in terms of the mythological aspect, I agree with his take. Personally, I find the quantum world and the possibilities described in theory to be...well....mind bending. Greater still, I find the interconnected aspects of Eastern thought to be very often in very close quarters with the quantum world. It is possible that the great minds of the East used the contemplative traditions to actually find the meaning to our life and our suffering. At least at the most fundamental level. Beyond this fundamental interconnection lies the field of subjective existence that is conditioned by our genetics and environmental factors.

So the primary myth of today may well be the quantum combined with the cosmological as defined by the subjective existence of sentient beings living in the field of experiences.

Or maybe it is just "42". :wink:
"He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot." -Douglas Adams

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Post by jd101 »

Hi Cindy...I would be interested in hearing more from you about what you are meaning when you say the 'mind' is the big mystery for you....If you have commented on this b4 please point me to a thread or two..thanks.

JJ, I have seen the '42' mentioned in a thread b4, but its meaning escapes me...any threads around that I could read on that?

I'll have another comment or 2 this weekend....that's all for tonight.
john

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Post by Cindy B. »

jd101 wrote:Hi Cindy...I would be interested in hearing more from you about what you are meaning when you say the 'mind' is the big mystery for you.
Hey, jd.

What I'm saying, really, is that I happen to find the human mind to be the most curious thing on the planet. 8) I first became intrigued by psychology when I was a child, and subsequently I became a psychologist. The mystery for me comes about because no matter how much I might learn about the mind from various perspectives, or no matter how well I might come to know my own mind, what we tend to call "mind" still remains elusive so there always more to delve into. You, too, have some area of interest, I bet, that particularly captures your imagination. What might that be? That is, if you'd like to share it.

Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Neoplato »

So once again I ask… When your eyes open (or close!) what is the Mystery for you?-jd
The idea that brings the point home for me is the fact that everything "knows" what to do. Or in other words Life knows what to do and most of it doesn't require a brain.

Plants "know" how to reproduce and make their own food from the sun.
The body "knows" how to fight off infections.
Reproductive cells "know" how to grow a human.

Of course these notions are typically brushed off as "facts of life" or naturally "hardwired". The answer I came to find (or my "42", I'll let JJ explain) is that Life is sentient of itself (the unmoved mover).

And that's why, IMHO, all organisms from the tiniest cell, to the largest creature inherently "know" how to function. :D
Last edited by Neoplato on Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Clemsy »

JJ, I have seen the '42' mentioned in a thread b4, but its meaning escapes me...any threads around that I could read on that?
Hey JD! 42 is a reference to Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In the first novel and radio series, a group of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings demand to learn the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything from the supercomputer, Deep Thought, specially built for this purpose. It takes Deep Thought 7½ million years to compute and check the answer, which turns out to be 42. Unfortunately, The Ultimate Question itself is unknown.
JJ, this has really become part of the Forum vocab!
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Post by Andreas »

Hey,

This is a very interesting thread and was reading from the lectures forum the other day the four functions of mythology so if you dont mind i would like to ask a question here. Does a myth needs all four function in order to work properly and do these four function complement each other ? Also can you give some examples in myth like maybe just point out a myth and i can try see how does it work or something. Thanks

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Post by jd101 »

Thanks for the '42' knowledge, Clemsy…that is hilarious!
Life knows what to do and most of it doesn't require a brain.


Neo that is a wonderful mysterious fact to consider. Campbell speaks of that regarding human development of the organs etc. before birth. Here’s another slant on that; It has always fascinated me to consider different levels of magnitude. So for instance, if your simply look into a microscope at say, spermatozoa going after a nice plump ovum, on that level of magnitude those little guys seem to be separate entities and on that level of magnitude one might rightly consider them ‘individuals’. Moveover, they seem to exhibit at least some awareness of the task at hand, as well as intention.

Focus the dial of awareness on a different level of magnitude, and you see only ‘lifeless goo’. At this ‘human as individual’ level, our perception of the cellular level is quite different. I imagine countless world of wonder as our perception focuses in or out.

Scroll out and we have vast cosmic nebulae dancing amongst the stars. The gaia principle of the earth itself as a being is enthralling. Scroll in and we see quantum ‘entities’ morphing into and out of existence.

Where is the ‘self’ in all of this?

These different levels remind me of Mandelbrot’s fractal zooms and it seems the second function of mythology, that of the cosmological, is interestingly interweaved into the first function here.
john

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Post by jd101 »

hi Andreas,

As a partial answer to one of your questions, I recall that Campbell stated many times that all 4 functions needed to be working for the mythology to operate well.

As for do the functions complement each other?, i was thinking about my previous comment and example. I see that because of new advances in the sciences of our day, in this case quantum physics, our understanding of the cosmology of the universe has changed, resulting in new aspects of Awe and the Mystery emerging.

So I think that they all do influence, alter and complement each other.

If the 4 functions were linear and rational it would certainly make them easier to analyze and talk about, but they don't seem to be that way!
john

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Post by Clemsy »

I've been contemplating your question in between the raindrops, as it were, Andreas. One thought that comes to mind is that we don't have an effective myth at the moment. The ones that are in operation through religion are not quite in step across the board of the four functions... if they apply at all for the time we live in.

In order to get an idea of the four functions in effective action, I think one would have to examine a mythic system in accord with its time and environment. Here and now isn't the best of times in this regard.

Cheers,
Clemsy
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Post by Cindy B. »

Clemsy wrote:One thought that comes to mind is that we don't have an effective myth at the moment. The ones that are in operation through religion are not quite in step across the board of the four functions.
In general I agree with you, Clemsy, when it comes to most of the modern world. Exceptions do exist, though, and are sprinkled across the globe, e.g., particular groups that are still tribal in nature or various other insular groups rooted in religious fundamentalism of whichever sort.

***
Andreas wrote:Also can you give some examples in myth like maybe just point out a myth and i can try see how does it work or something.
Which mythology would you like to examine? And at the risk of offending some on the board, if you were raised in a Christian culture, Andreas, a historical look at Christianity might be easiest since it would be most familiar.


***

jd,

I'm likely stating the obvious to you, but science fails utterly when it comes to myth's sociological and pedagogical functions. If someday the physical sciences and the social sciences were ever to have a meeting of the minds, so to speak, then maybe...?


Cindy
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Clemsy »

Exceptions do exist, though, and are sprinkled across the globe, e.g., particular groups that are still tribal in nature
For sure, that indigenous, primary cultures, what's left here and there, would provide the perfect examples of how the four functions of myth operate at their best.
or various other insular groups rooted in religious fundamentalism of whichever sort.
This can be more problematic, although the case can be made, perhaps, for those tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan where the impact of contemporary technology and information is minimal. The same can be said for the Amish perhaps? Although their mythic structure is out of step with the world around them. LINK
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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