1st Edition

Uses of Comparative Mythology Essays on the Work of Joseph Campbell

Edited By Kenneth L. Golden Copyright 1992

    This collection, first published in 1992, offers critical-interpretive essays on various aspects of the work of Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), one of a very few international experts on myth. Joseph Campbell examines myths and mythologies from a comparative point of view, and he stresses those similarities among myths the world over as they suggest an existing, transcendent unity of all humankind. His interpretations foster an openness, even a generous appreciation of,?all myths; and he attempts to generate a broad, sympathetic understanding of the role of these 'stories' in human history, in our present-day lives, and in the possibilities of our future.

    Part 1. The Man?1.1. The Soul's High Adventure: Campbell's Comparative Mythology Phil Cousineau 1.2. Freud, Jung, and Campbell? Stephen Larsen ?1.3. Myth Versus Religion for Campbell? Robert A. Segal ?1.4. Interpreting Campbell: Hermeneutics and Comparative Mythology? Gregory Salyer ?1.5. The American Roots of Campbell's Mythic Vision? Ted R. Spivey ?Part 2. The Work?2.1. The Twin Heroes: Campbell's Solar/Lunar Vision of the Masculine? Howard Teich ?2.2. Campbell on Myth, Romantic Love, and Marriage? Joseph K. Davis ?2.3. Campbell and Schopenhauer: Synchronicity and the Tragic Vision? Sandra J. Smith ?2.4. Campbell, the Feminine Principle, and the Romantic Male Hero? Donna McGee Onebane ?2.5. The Chariot of the Hero: Myth and Metaphor in Campbell? Joan Weatherly? 2.6. The Rhetoric of Mythology and Science in Campbell's Works? Kenneth T. Rainey ?Part 3. The Farther Reaches?3.1. Campbell and the Vanilla-Frosted Temple: From Myth to Multiplex? Harold Schechter and Jonna Gormely Semeiks ?3.2. Campbell, Science Fiction, and Space Age Myths? Kenneth L. Golden ?3.3. Campbell and the Inklings - Tolkien, Lewis, and Williams? Vernon R. Hyles ?3.4. The Power of Wilderness: Campbell and the Ecological Imperative? Mary A. Doll ?3.5. Campbell, America, and the Individual as New Hero? Dabney Gray ?3.6. Campbell and the Perennial Philosophy: Social Sciences, Mysticism, and Myth? Mark Meadows

    Biography

    Kenneth L. Golden