{"id":88356,"date":"2022-12-31T17:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-31T21:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=88356"},"modified":"2023-01-04T10:59:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T14:59:36","slug":"what-is-the-purpose-of-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-the-purpose-of-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Purpose of Myth? Jordan Peterson’s Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the purpose of myth? How can we use it as a model for life? What’s so dangerous about ideologies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the age of science, we\u2019ve turned our backs on the myths our ancestors believed. In doing so, we\u2019ve lost a crucial part of the human experience. Myth gives us the moral foundations<\/a> of society and the tools for adapting to life\u2019s challenges\u2014and it teaches us to recognize our capacity for good and evil<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn how, beneath its fanciful trappings, myth gives us meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Myth\u2019s Model for Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is the purpose of myth? If the Creation Story<\/a> outlines the structure and reason for society, and the Hero\u2019s Journey<\/a> gives a model for coping with a dangerous world, how then do we apply these stories to our lives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peterson argues that personal growth<\/a> is a multistage process in which we can use the roadmap provided by myth to fully realize our potential. We begin as children in a safe family unit, then leave that family to be part of our larger society. However, once we realize that society doesn\u2019t provide all the answers, we have to strike out and find our own path. If we don\u2019t, if we deny the possibility of growth, we fall prey to the darker aspects of human nature. Only by voluntarily challenging our beliefs can we develop into the best version of ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Changing personal beliefs is difficult. Psychological research has repeatedly shown that facts aren\u2019t enough to change people\u2019s minds<\/a>. A recent study even suggests that when people do change their beliefs, they\u2019re often not aware that they\u2019ve done so<\/a>. Nevertheless, experts on mental well-being insist that challenging your own beliefs<\/a> is essential to personal growth. In Thinking In Bets<\/em><\/a>, Annie Duke highlights the value of uncertainty<\/a> as a tool to examine your own belief structure. In Awaken the Giant Within<\/em><\/a>, Tony Robbins insists that you can identify your own unhelpful beliefs<\/a> in order to take control of your life<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In childhood, everything is new and mysterious. Our sheltering family is the Mother of myth: all-powerful and nurturing, yet inscrutable and frightening. By imitating our parents, we make our first stories, our first mental diagrams of the narrow world that is home. However, as we get older, the wider world beckons, but we\u2019re not yet equipped to face it alone. Society steps in and helps us transition from being a member of a family to being a part of a group.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We go off to school, we get baptized at church, and we learn the secret handshake to join the Cool Kids Club. The rite of passage<\/em> is common worldwide, symbolizing death and rebirth of identity through which we\u2019re indoctrinated into the myths of our culture. We leave the arms of the Mother to come under the rule of the mythical Father. Peterson insists that this stage is vital\u2014being part of a group identity teaches us to value society\u2019s needs while giving us skills essential for life that we\u2019d never figure out on our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Despite the perils of groupthink<\/a> and mob mentality, being part of a tribe has always been crucial to long-term human survival. In The Art of Thinking Clearly<\/em><\/a>, Rolf Dobelli explains that the human mind is biologically preconditioned to seek out group membership<\/a> and conform to its culture. In Reinventing Organizations<\/em><\/a>, Frederic Laloux says that isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing because the way that human groups organize themselves has evolved in step with advances in human consciousness<\/a> to become more fluid and open to new ideas.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not the end of the story. It\u2019s inevitable that sooner or later we\u2019re confronted by something outside our realm of experience or that of the group we\u2019re a part of. Perhaps new immigrants have moved into town, or a group of activists is protesting an issue that\u2019s core to our cultural values. Perhaps the threat is personal\u2014a scientific discovery challenges a deeply held belief, you\u2019re laid off by a trusted employer to whom you\u2019d given your all, or maybe you fall in love with a person whom society says you shouldn\u2019t be with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peterson says that, at this point, you\u2019re given a choice\u2014deny the challenge to your worldview<\/a> and double down on seeking safety in your old identity, or discover what the challenge to your world has to teach you and forge a unique identity of your own.<\/strong> The latter path is that of the Hero; the former is that of the Rival. It\u2019s in this moment of choosing right from wrong and giving meaning to that which is outside your experience that myth has its greatest power. Myth, not science, gives us the ability to create meaning<\/a> out of struggle, not by providing a set of commandments, but by showing the way to grow and persevere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Institutional vs. Personal Belief<\/strong>

Because we tend to view religions as institutions, which would fall into Peterson\u2019s \u201cgroup stage\u201d of life, it may seem that a logical conclusion of his argument is that leaving religion behind is a necessary, heroic act. However, that doesn\u2019t have to be the case.

In his 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience<\/em><\/a>, American philosopher William James differentiates between institutional religion<\/em> and personal religion<\/em><\/a>, while stating that personal faith, which encompasses our individual experience of the divine, is the source of the true religious experience. James suggests that a personal religion<\/a> doesn\u2019t even necessitate belief in a literal god\u2014only an acknowledgment of the unseen forces and ideas that rule our lives<\/a>.

James argues that a healthy individual is one whose personal religion lets them see the duality of the world<\/a>\u2014light and dark, good and evil\u2014and who makes the conscious decision to overcome the negative aspects of the world, much like the struggle of Peterson\u2019s Hero.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Problem of Evil<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Hero\u2019s Journey is a hard path to follow, and many people don\u2019t take it. However, Peterson argues that hiding within the strict confines of culture is the root of the greatest evils perpetrated by the human race. Evil begins by rejecting the value of looking beyond culture\u2019s limiting borders. It then tempts us with the pseudo-myths of ideology and relieves any moral disquiet we feel by allowing us to ally with the dark side of society, the mythical Tyrant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active rejection of the Hero\u2019s journey is core to the concept of evil, great or small. That rejection is the \u201cbig lie\u201d that everything of value has already been learned, that the old, traditional ways are always best and that any new ideas that disrupt the status quo<\/em> are themselves the work of evil and should be stamped out. In particular, Peterson accuses the major world religions of undermining the true value of myth by calcifying their mythological stories into anti-science<\/a> dogma, leading many people to reject religion outright, along with the moral value it brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Many people today disagree with the premise that morality derives from religious belief. In Good Without God<\/em><\/a>, Greg M. Epstein traces the history of moral doubt back to Socrates, who asked whether God defines what is good or if God is subject to a higher morality. Epstein replaces the moral value of religion with humanism<\/em>\u2014the desire for each individual to become their best self and to help others do so as well<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big lie of evil (the path of the Rival) leads people to find comfort in simplistic ideologies. Peterson says ideologies are pseudo-myths that deny a fundamental truth\u2014that every person, action, object, or institution has both positive and negative aspects.<\/strong> At its core, an ideology states that \u201cone way is right, all others are wrong.\u201d The most insidious ideologies of all tell people all their problems are someone else\u2019s fault, a belief that\u2019s led to the worst atrocities ever committed. When large groups of people, out of fear or desperation, refuse to look beyond the safety of their culture while viewing others as an existential threat<\/a>, then people who would never consider themselves evil are able to take part in acts of tyranny and genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: The drive toward good or evil is more than a philosophical question. In The Righteous Mind<\/em><\/a>, Jonathan Haidt explores the evolutionary imperative toward group behavior<\/a> and the physiological mechanisms that cause us to act with empathy for our own group but not for outsiders<\/a>. Haidt argues that evil ideologies such as fascism appeal directly to our \u201cin-group\u201d biochemistry<\/a>. While mythology taps into this same biological process, it does so to build community, enable generosity, and encourage selfless behavior<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Moral of the Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The secret, then, to living a moral life<\/a> isn\u2019t in following a strict set of rules. The strength of seeing the world through a mythic lens is that it helps you recognize when those rules aren\u2019t enough. <\/em>Peterson states that, by understanding the true lessons of mythology, you can inoculate yourself against ideology\u2019s temptations while mentally preparing yourself to face the unexpected and the unfamiliar with curiosity instead of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As opposed to narrow-minded views of the world, mythology teaches that all things are both creative and destructive, including ourselves.<\/strong> Nature is beautiful, majestic, and verdant, but it\u2019s also savage, cruel, and heartless. Society protects us by creating order and enabling people to work for the common good, but it also lets the few oppress the many and can often stifle innovation. Individuals can be generous and kind, but they can also be selfish and sadistic. The oldest, deepest myths don\u2019t view the world in black and white, but as a cyclical balance between the two. Myth teaches that, within us, we can find both the Hero and the Rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, when you emulate the Hero\u2019s Journey, you cultivate a sense of curiosity and wonder<\/strong> about the many things in life beyond the walls of your personal world. Peterson proposes that this particular spark\u2014the willingness to set aside safety and comfort to explore the mysteries of life\u2014is the essence of the divine<\/em> that exists in each of us. By fanning the flames of curiosity, you become like the Hero, enriching yourself and the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Most definitions of \u201cdivinity\u201d explicitly relate it to qualities of godly origin<\/a>, though yoga practitioners attribute divine qualities to the mental and spiritual essence of the individual<\/a>, much as Peterson does. In The Untethered Soul<\/em><\/a>, Michael A. Singer argues that a personal connection<\/a> to the divine can only be found through your inner experience<\/a>. In Homo Deus<\/em><\/a>, Yuval Noah Harari defines divinity as the ultimate goal of the human race<\/a>, which will not be achieved through supernatural means but by reaching our highest potential as a species.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Power of Love<\/strong>

Peterson presents the Heroic Journey as mythology\u2019s model for living a good life<\/a>. However, Joseph Campbell offers an alternate path in his essay \u201cThe Mythology of Love<\/a>,\u201d appearing in his book Myths to Live By<\/em><\/a>. Campbell argues that mythological depictions and concepts of love represent a transcending of individual experience to bridge the gap between people and cultures, or even between the mortal and the divine. The divide is crossed not by conquest and assimilation of ideas, as in the Hero\u2019s Journey, but by the marriage of hearts and minds.

In conversation with Bill Moyer in the television program The Power of Myth<\/a>, Campbell points out that the emergence of the value of romantic love was originally a threatening concept to both Eastern and Western institutions. However, Campbell elucidates that myths about the expression of love, from ancient times to the age of chivalry, drive home the importance of living an authentic life<\/a>, including love for oneself, one\u2019s enemies, and all humanity<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the purpose of myth? How can we use it as a model for life? What’s so dangerous about ideologies? In the age of science, we\u2019ve turned our backs on the myths our ancestors believed. In doing so, we\u2019ve lost a crucial part of the human experience. Myth gives us the moral foundations of society and the tools for adapting to life\u2019s challenges\u2014and it teaches us to recognize our capacity for good and evil. Continue reading to learn how, beneath its fanciful trappings, myth gives us meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":88361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,9,24],"tags":[848],"class_list":["post-88356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-psychology","category-society","tag-maps-of-meaning","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is the Purpose of Myth? Jordan Peterson's Answer - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the purpose of mythology? Jordan Peterson explains how, beneath their fanciful trappings, myths give us meaning. 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