An Inquest into Common Humanity through Myths and Mythologies: Joseph Campbell’s Paradigm
Journal Title: Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Year 2014, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
Abstract: The disintegration of the social order which has resulted in shredding humanity into ethnic grouping, racial categories, religious schisms, class stratifications etc, also introduced competitions into the socio-political system. The end point of the panorama is that wars, persecutions, humiliations and subjugations of those considered inferior in the social scheme became a benchmark for human relationship. The quest for survival in this hostile world became ingrained in our psycho-social wits and became our organizing principle, thus the win/loss relationship that has characterized human interactions in the modern world. Therefore mankind considers himself an atom within the universe of other atoms. Consequently, humanity lost the sense of his common origin. It was the pre-scientific age, structured around religious and cultural traditions that gave humanity this sense of common origin. This argument is sustained by diverse myths and mythologies found in different world cultures. The myths and mythologies range from the creation, the incarnation of Gods, the salvific death of a messiah, the hope of new world and new life etc. With these myths, our ancestors convinced themselves of their common origin and worked towards the unification of mankind separated by geographical distance. However, the birth of modern science made such a unification quest a lost dream and as such humanity is heading heedlessly towards self obliteration. Joseph Campbell made serious attempt to give a rebirth to the primeval sciences in the form of social anthropology. He organized his new anthropology around myths and mythology. Campbell surveyed various cultures as he studied their social thoughts as embedded in myths and discovered that there is common denominator in myths of all cultures. By this, Campbell came to conclusion that the modern idea of man and society is based on a faulty design and as such to see man with Kierkegaard’s ideality lens as an individual is a mere illusion. This paper therefore is designed to reconsider the proto-science of Campbell couched in monomyths to find how his ideality of common humanity could be reinterpreted and applied to end crisis/ and humiliation of mankind in the modern world. . Keywords: Myths, mythologies, Common humanity, Joseph Campbell, Anthropology, social order.
Authors and Affiliations
Okoro Kingsley N
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