Myth Theorized - Robert A. Segal
Campbell’s Non-Jungian Approach to Myth
Myth Theorized - Robert A. Segal
Robert A. Segal [+]
University of Aberdeen
Description
In chapter six I argue that Campbell, despite the commonly applied characterization, is almost anything but a Jungian--and even in his Hero with a Thousand Faces, his most Jungian book. Where Jung attributes myth to the unconscious, Campbell sometimes does so but other times attributes it to consciousness. Where for Jung the goal is the development of consciousness beyond the unconscious, for Campbell, at least in Hero, the goal is the return to primordial unconsciousness. Where Jung opposes diffusionism, Campbell sometimes adopts it. Later, Campbell attributes myth to ethological mechanisms. Where for Jung myth is not indispensable for psychological success, for Campbell it is. Where for Jung myth is not sufficient for psychological health, for Campbell it is. Where Jung usually confines himself to psychology, Campbell, at least in Hero, interprets myth not only psychologically but also metaphysically. Jung interprets myths variedly from myth to myth. In most of all Hero Campbell interprets myths almost identically. Yet in above all The Masks of God he interprets myths differently, culture by culture.