God, Myth, and Society

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that ideas about moral values, religions, or myths, which have an absolute foundation in a "god" who is essentially "other" than ourselves, have been replaced in the minds of this generation by the treatise of relative morals and ethics. The author points out that there are the two common frameworks that classical mythologists used to understand the construction of myth: (1) Belief systems, which attempt to give the person a sense of control over that which is larger than him or herself, and (2) myths, which allow the person an understanding of themselves and the world around them. The paper stresses that, in the wake of man's self-enlightenment, the striving for knowledge has left behind an unexplained vacuum in the minds and hearts of men to still remain connected to myth-belief systems.

Table of Contents
Levi-Strauss's Conundrum Regarding Myth
Personal "Needs" for a God Identity Myth
Myth Definition
Myth Construction
Myth's Purpose
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"As consequence to the failure of religious leader to adapt an argument for God's existence in scientific terms, man's continued desire to connect with a "higher being" was reduced to the idea of myth. Thus construction of the myth has absorbed much of sociologist's activities for the last half century. How and why man creates belief systems for something that is not real poses a problem to the scientific mind. If God does not exist, then within mankind there must be internal desires which create the longing and psychological need for attachment to an ethical system, or moral compass. Another hypothesis is that within the social construct of a community, there exists a collective need for the group to find identity with a "higher order'.""

More papers on God, Myth, and Society:

• Research Paper # 102673 : "The Human Need to Believe in God"
• Research Paper # 52151 : "Man's Myths"
• Essay # 2330 : "Sophocles and "Antigone"

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