A primer into the fundamentals of Joseph Campbell.
In this episode, I survey the work of Joseph Campbell and explore his definition of myth and its four functions.
Links to the pop culture references: www.alanwatts.com, and www.celticmythpodshow.com.
Contact info: Web: www.mythicthinking.org (for now at least)
e-mail: mythinginaction at gmail dot com.
The music is “Song #9″ by Avagadros Number. I found them in podsafemusic and they are totally awesome.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Great thoughts on Campbell!
I appreciate your focus on Western myths, both traditional and modern-day. Though Campbell himself spent a lot of time looking at Native American and Eastern mythology, I think he would no doubt appreciate your approach. In Pathways to Bliss, he made this comment:
While I agree that looking at our modern-day myths is extremely important, I am currently interested in looking at much older material. Looking at material from other times and cultures can help us see past our own assumptions to find what is more timeless and essential to our humanity. I recently finished the first two volumes of The Masks of God series, Primitive Mythology and Oriental Mythology, and I highly recommend them for people who want to get a grasp on some of the themes from cultures other than their own. I think your current approach and mine are both good ones.
I would recommend Pathways to Bliss as a starting point for someone new to Joseph Campbell. He covers quite a bit of different material on a level appropriate for a beginner. As a collection of lectures, it gently introduces the reader to many of the ideas found developed more fully in Campbell’s much denser written works.