Myths to Live by

What is a properly functioning mythology and what are its functions? Can we use myths to help relieve our modern anxiety, or do they help foster it? In Myths to Live by, Joseph Campbell explores the enduring power of the universal myths that influence our lives daily and examines the myth-making process from the primitive past to the immediate present, retuning always to the source from which all mythology springs: the creative imagination.

Campbell stresses that the borders dividing the Earth have been shattered; that myths and religions have always followed the certain basic archetypes and are no longer exclusive to a single people, region, or religion. He shows how we must recognize their common denominators and allow this knowledge to be of use in fulfilling human potential everywhere.

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was a writer, an anthropologist, lecturer and teacher. His lifelong fascination with myth began at the age of six when he was enchanted by a performance of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. A teacher at Sarah Lawrence College for 38 years, he authored, co-authored and edited dozens of books on mythology in art and religion.

What is a properly functioning mythology and what are its functions? Can we use myths to help relieve out modern anxiety, or do they foster it? In Myths to Live By, Joseph Campbell explores the enduring power of the universal myths that influence our lives daily and examines the myth-making process from the primitive past to the immediate present, returning always to the source from which all mythology springs: the creative imagination. Campbell stresses that the borders dividing the earth have been shattered; that myths and religions have always followed the certain basic archetypes and are no longer exclusive to a single people, region, or religion. He shows how we must recognize their common denominators and allow this knowledge to be of use in fulfilling human potential everywhere.

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