Myth : a very short introduction / Robert A. Segal.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Segal, Robert Alan.

Series:

Very short introductions ; 111.

Very short introductions ; 111

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Myth.

Mythology.

Physical Description:

163 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Summary:

This book is not about myths, but about approaches to myth, from all of the major disciplines, including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. The fate of the preternaturally beautiful Adonis is one of the main fables upon which Segal focuses, in an attempt to analyse the various different theories of myth. Where the theory does not work, he substitutes another myth, showing that, for all their claims to all-inclusiveness, certain theories, in fact, only apply to specific kinds of myths. A uniform set of questions is provided, to elucidate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the conjectures. A survey of the past 300 years of theorizing on myth, this book takes into account the work of such prominent thinkers as Albert Camus, Claude Levi-Strauss, Roland Barthes, C. G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud. Finally, Segal considers the future study of myth, and the possible function of myth in the world as the adult equivalent of play.

Contents:

Introduction: theories of myth

Myth and science

Myth and philosophy

Myth and religion

Myth and ritual

Myth and literature

Myth and psychology

Myth and structure

Myth and society

Conclusion: the future of the study of myth.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 143-158) and index.

ISBN:

0192803476

OCLC:

56585421