January 26, 2017
Notes on Myth, Archetype and Cassandra
Similarities between Myth and Archetype
-Both basic building blocks/foundations for life/the mind
-Both are timeless
-Both worldviews with a level of universality—some kinds of myths between
cultures and some archetypes throughout humanity
-Both are inescapable
-Both can look at the hero’s journey in some way
-In myth we emphasize the narrative component
-In archetype we emphasize the character component
-Both affect how we perceive and interpret the events and people in our lives
-Both are both always at work
-Both are controlling of our lives
-Both deal with stories and the characters that inhabit those stories and the
qualities of those characters
-Do not allow us to question instead only accept
-People can live without being aware of these
-Both are taken at face value
-Both are philosophical ideas that take an open mind to comprehend and study
-Both explain human nature or behavior
-Both include a degree of determinism
Differences between Myth and Archetype
-Archetype helps us connect to something more than the material, physical world
-Archetypes cannot be escaped, you are stuck with them
-Archetypes are engrained in us while you start identifying with myths from
experience
-Archetypes can explain things that are uncontrollable to humans, specifically
behavior
-Archetype believers can ask deeper questions then myth and remain in archetype
-When you realize you are living in myth you escape it, however when you realize
you are living in archetype you can still hold that view
-Myth=unknown unknowns
Archetype=known unknowns
-Archetype is hardwired into us whereas myth just exists
-Myth gives value to archetype, but archetype comes before it
-Archetype connects people as it is something that is shared
-Archetype is rooted in observation while myth is rooted in identification
-Archetypes are infused into our sytems from birth and we match experiences from
these archetypes, myths are universal and are used
-Archetypes can be personified while myths cannot
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