Theorizing About Myth

by Robert A. Segal

Overview

For two hundred years the subject of myth -- its origin, function, and significance -- has been addressed again and again, first by theologians and philosophers and then by anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists. From the outset the topic has sparked intense debate, with differing opinions expressed on everything from issues of epistemology and methodology to the meaning of "myth" itself. In this collection of essays, Robert A. Segal surveys the contours of this ongoing discussion, comparing and evaluating the leading theories of myth. Among the theorists discussed are Edward Tylor, William Robertson Smith, James Frazer, Jane Harrison, S. H. Hooke, Mircea Eliade, Rudolf Bultmann, Hans Jonas, Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Hans Blumenberg. Author and editor of numerous books and articles in the fields of theories of myth and theories of religion, Segal has developed a reputation as a preeminent proponent of a social-scientific approach to the study of both. The essays in this book represent some of the best of his writing on myth over the past ten years.

University of Massachusetts Press

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558491946
Publisher:	University of Massachusetts Press
Publication date:	08/23/1999
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Robert A. Segal is Reader in Theory of Religion at the University of Lancaster, England. His most recent books include Jung on Mythology and The Myth and Ritual Theory.

University of Massachusetts Press

What People are Saying About This

Alan Dundes

Segal is the world's leading scholar in the history of myth scholarship. . . . Anyone with a serious interest in myth and especially how the study of myth has evolved during the past two centuries will want to read this book.

Editorial Reviews

"Does myth have a future?" is the provocative title of the second chapter in a book that compares leading rival theorists of myth, as represented by ten essays appearing from 1987-1998 in sources such as the , , and . In the final chapter, Blumberg argues against both Tylor's rationalist view of myth as primitive science and Campbell's neo-Jungian romantic conception of myth as perennial wisdom about human nature and ultimate reality. Also considers Eliade, Frazer, Freud, Levi-Strauss, and Rank, among others. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

The analytic scholarship in this book is sharp and current, and deals with significant writers. This is a useful collection of critical essays, especially suitable for adoption in undergraduate courses in literature, anthropology, folklore, psychology, and religious studies.

Ivan Strenski

The study of theories of myth is important for all the 'human sciences,' ranging from classics to anthropology to history to psychoanalysis, and Robert Segal is at the top of this field. He is very good at what he does. There is no other analysis of theories of myth like this.

Robert Ackerman