Myths in their traditional form are of no use to us. They break the rules of communicative rationality and are not subject to verification through debate.
- Traditional myths confuse the manipulation of symbols with the manipulation of the objective world
- Therefore it is essential to break the power that traditional myths possess. We do this by recognising them as fictions and become content with this knowledge
- But does this ‘seeing-through’ of the spellbinding power of myths deliver a fatal blow to the relevance of mythology?
- No. What we have is a new possibility for a conscious reconstruction of a new idea of a myth. A myth that knows itself to be a fiction and is held self-consciously and reflexively.
- Once ancient myths are reflexively re-interpreted we can find powerful meaning in them. They particularly motivate us about the major issues of life.
For more try:
Reflexive Mythology