The Four Functions
of Myth
by Joseph Campbell
Before we begin…let’s discourse about
what we think we might know about
myths…
Turn an talk with a peer and
answer the following
questions:
1. What is a myth?
2. What is the purpose of a
myth?
A myth is…
The
purpose
of a myth
is…
1 minute
30
seconds
Probable Findings…
• Something that isn’t true
• Make for good films
• “Percy Jackson”
• Myths aren’t true
• Myths are not real
• A false belief or idea.
What is a myth? What are myths?
• Myth: “something uttered” (a story)
• A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history
of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon,
and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
Who is Joseph
Campbell and why
we should listen to
him?
Joseph Campbell
• 1904 – 1988
• Mythologist, college professor, author
• Campbell’s big contribtion: definition
of a hero [from mythical to ordinary
human]
• In 1949 Joseph Campbell made a big
splash in the field of mythology with his
book The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
This book built on the pioneering work of
German anthropologist Adolph Bastian,
who first proposed the idea that myths
from all over the world seem to be built
from the same "elementary ideas."
• Path with specific stages, all of which
the potential hero must travel
The Four Functions
of Myth
by Joseph Campbell
Function #1: The Metaphysical Function
What is metaphysical? Break down the roots:
meta = beyond
phys = nature; the natural world
ical = of or pertaining to
metaphysical: of or pertaining to things beyond the
natural world
• Concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as
existence, causality, or truth.
• Concerned with first principles and ultimate
grounds, as being, time, or substance.
• Related to things that cannot be seen
Function #1: The Metaphysical Function
• ..the first function of mythology [is]
to evoke in the individual a sense of
grateful, affirmative awe before the
monstrous mystery that is existence
• awe: a feeling of reverential respect
mixed with fear or wonder.
• Serves to awaken the consciousness
of its consumers to a reality lying
just beyond the veil of normal
perception.
• This is a spiritual and religious
purpose meant to inspire a sense of
awe and reverence to the great
mystery of existence.
The Grand Canyon
Function #1: The Metaphysical Function
• Myth seeks to lead all to the fundamental
conviction that there is unity in the
universe.
• The universe is the one (uni-) statement
(verse) of all there is. There is no
separation, division, or segmentation.
• One thing is not a part of the whole. Each
thing is the whole of the holarchy. To
create and maintain an individual’s
immanent experience of a transcendent
reality, to inspire one to look into the
natural world and surrender to the
wonder of it all.
• to stand in complete awe of the absolute
mystery of the universe and the self… this
is the Metaphysical function of mythology
Muir Woods
Function #2: Cosmology (Cosmological)
What is cosmology? Break down the roots:
Cosmo(s) = universe
ology = the study of
cosmology: the study of the universe
•
•
The science of the origin and development of the universe.
The study of how things came to be (nature, the universe)
Function #2: Cosmology (Cosmological)
• The Cosmological function provides
the boundary conditions of the
universe, explaining the origins,
shape, size, location, and birth and
death dates of things such as time,
space, matter, energy, biological
organisms, and the universe as a
whole.
• Present an image of the cosmos, an
image of the universe that will
maintain and elicit this experience of
awe. [or] ...to present an image of the
cosmos that will maintain your sense
of mystical awe and explain
everything that you come into contact
with in the universe around you.
The World on Turtle’s Back
(Native American Creation Myth)
Pangu
(Chinese Creation Myth)
Function #3: Sociological
What is sociology? Break down the roots:
socio = society
ology = the study of
sociology: the study of society
•
The scientific study of social behavior or society, including its
origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions.
Function #3: Sociological
• The third function of a
mythological order is to validate
and maintain a certain
sociological system:
• a shared set of rights and wrongs,
proprieties or improprieties, on
which your particular social unit
depends for its existence.
Salvador Dalí
“Metamorphosis of
Narcissus” 1937
Function #3: Sociological
• Myth can provide a model of social
behavior
• Parables and fables guide
morality. Myth disseminate
geographically confined fixed law,
such as “thou shalt not kill” to set
limits for those unable to approach a
post-conventional level of morality.
• The Scoiological function creates
social order and reason and validates
it for those living within it, allowing for
consensual agreement on what is and
is not allowed.
Function #3: Sociological
• The third function of mythology is the Sociological, dealing
with validating the order and ideas of a culture.
• Myth can provide a model of social behavior that, when
adhered to, makes for a not-so-squeeky cog in the great
machine.
• Parables and fables guide morality. Myth disseminate
geographically confined fixed law, such as “thou shalt not kill”
to set limits for those unable to approach a post-conventional
level of morality. In the Vedic society of the Hindus society is
ordered in a very specific and efficient fashion (albeit with
extremely decreased social mobility) and justified by being
tied into the mythology of the land. Without this order
carried out ritually, the gods and the universe are not reified
and thus the cosmos itself crumbles. The Scoiological
function creates social order and reason and validates it for
those living within it, allowing for consensual agreement on
what is and is not allowed.
Function #4: Psychological & Pedagogical
What is psychology? Break down the roots:
psych= the mind
ology = the study of
psychology: the study of the mind
•
The study of mind and behavior.
What is pedagogy?
• The function or work of a teacher; teaching.
• The art or science of teaching; education; instructional methods.
Function #4: Psychological and Pedagogical
• Myth is a teacher
• That myth must carry the
individual through the stages of
his life, from birth through
maturity through senility to
death.
• The mythology must do so in
accords with the social order of
his group, the cosmos as
understood by his group, and
the monstrous mystery.
Function #4: Psychological and Pedagogical
• 4. The Pedagogical function of
mythology serves the psychological
sphere of human existence.
• By establishing rites of passage into
critical stages of life, from dependency
to maturity, old age, and finally death,
myth provides guideposts and
beacons to serve as a reminder that
there is a purpose. This is to allow a
sense of comfort in the entire process,
as the individual remembers that he is
not the first and certaintly not the last
to embark upon this Hero’s Journey,
regardless how far along he arrives.
Function #4: Psychological and Pedagogical
• This adventure of experience is tied
directly to the ground of all being, the
unity of the Metaphysical function. Not
only is it all okay, but there is a well worn
and well lit path to follow if attention is
paid and warnings heeded.
• This centers an individual and brings him
into harmony with the way things are and
have been. These external signs are
symbolic for what is within, and to find
commonalities with myth is to find a selfnarrative for one’s own life primed for the
injection of whatever meaning one can
brave.
• The Pedagogical function presents myth
as a teacher, an outline for life, and
reference manual for existence
Some other quotes…
• “Mythology is not a lie, mythology
is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has
been well said that mythology is
the penultimate truth--penultimate
because the ultimate cannot be put
into words. It is beyond words.
Beyond images, beyond that
bounding rim of the Buddhist
Wheel of Becoming. Mythology
pitches the mind beyond that rim,
to what can be known but not
told.”
And some other ideas…
• Myth is a constant among all human beings in all times.
The patterns, stories, even details contained in myth are
found everywhere and among everyone. This is because
myth is shared heritage of ancestral memories, related
consciously from generation to generation. Myth may
even be part of the structure of our unconscious mind,
possibly encoded in our genes.
• Myth is a telling of events that happened before written
history, and of a sense of what is to come. Myth is the
thread that holds past, present, and future together.
Mas…
• Myth is a unique use of language that
describes the realities beyond our five
senses. It fills the gap between the images of
the unconscious and the language of
conscious logic.
• Myth is the “glue” that holds societies
together; it is the basis of identity for
communities, tribes, and nations.
Mas y Mas…
• Myth is an essential ingredient in all codes of moral
conduct. The rules for living have always derived their
legitimacy from their origins in myth and religion.
• Myth is a pattern of beliefs that give meaning to life.
Myth enables individuals and societies to adapt to
their respective environments with dignity, value, and
security.
• Myth itself demonstrates a very unique use of
language. It uses objective words depicting concrete
things to describe concepts that transcend our five
senses, things even beyond our comprehension.