Living Myths

Living Myths PDF Author: J. F. Bierlein
Publisher: Wellspring/Ballantine
ISBN: 0345422074
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book

Book Description
Reveals how key myths of the world present timeless truths that enrich our understanding of the world and the role humans play today.

Living Myths

Living Myths PDF Author: J. F. Bierlein
Publisher: Wellspring/Ballantine
ISBN: 0345422074
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book

Book Description
Reveals how key myths of the world present timeless truths that enrich our understanding of the world and the role humans play today.

Living Myths

Living Myths PDF Author: J.F. Bierlein
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307434389
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
An intriguing exploration of the enduring significance of the world's great myths--from the dawn of time to the present day As ancient as speech, as essential as law, myths are the stories we tell to find our identity in the cosmos. It is through mythology that we attempt to unravel not only the meaning of our actions and impulses but the significance of human existence itself. Now in Living Myths, classical scholar J. F. Bierlein explores the enduring patterns and messages of myths from every culture. Myths, writes Bierlein, are "the eternal mirror in which we see ourselves." Living Myths delves behind the mirror and brings to light the imperishable and transcendent forces common to the myths of the world. Juxtaposing myths of fathers and sons--the Greek myth of Athamas and Phrixus, the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, the Algonquin tale of Grandfather, Father, and Son--Bierlein uncovers essential lessons about human nature and divine will. In the Indian story of Nala and Damayanti, the Greek legends of Aphrodite, and the haunting Irish tale of Etain, Bierlein examines the transforming mystery of romantic love. Here too are tales of the world's great heroes--the Greek Theseus, the Irish Cuchulainn, and the Mexican Quetzalcoatl--and their common desire to break through the masks of appearances. Steeped in wisdom, brimming with insights into human nature and behavior, Living Myths is a luminous exploration of the meaning of mythology through the ages and today in each of our lives.

The Myths We Live By

The Myths We Live By PDF Author: Mary Midgley
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136807535
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Get Book

Book Description
With a new Introduction by the author 'An elegant and sane little book. – The New Statesman Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the seventeenth century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness and the environment in her customary razor-sharp prose, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously. Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man and Science and Poetry. All are published in Routledge Classics.

Living with Myths

Living with Myths PDF Author: Paul Zanker
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199228698
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 442

Get Book

Book Description
"Provides a comprehensive introduction to this important genre, exploring such subjects as the role of the mythological images in everyday life of the time, the messages they convey about the Romans' view of themselves, and the reception of the sarcophagi in later European art and art history."--Publisher's website

Myths We Live by

Myths We Live by PDF Author: Colin Grant
Publisher: University of Ottawa Press
ISBN: 0776604449
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Get Book

Book Description
Colin Grant challenges the popular use of "myth" as a dismissive designation of the superstitions and falsehoods of "other" cultures. The author maintains that myths occupy a place in our present-day lives that is every bit as important to us as the divinities and heroes of classical antiquity were to the ancients. The myths themselves are in a constant state of flux and transformation. They ebb and flow, both within the context of wider culture and individual experience.

Parallel Myths

Parallel Myths PDF Author: J.F. Bierlein
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307754642
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Get Book

Book Description
“Unusually accessible and useful . . . An eye-opener to readers into the universality and importance of myth in human history and culture.”—William E. Paden, Chair, Department of Religion, University of Vermont For as long as human beings have had language, they have had myths. Mythology is our earliest form of literary expression and the foundation of all history and morality. Now, in Parallel Myths, classical scholar J. F. Bierlein gathers the key myths from all of the world's major traditions and reveals their common themes, images, and meanings. Parallel Myths introduces us to the star players in the world's great myths—not only the twelve Olympians of Greek mythology, but the stern Norse Pantheon, the mysterious gods of India, the Egyptian Ennead, and the powerful deities of Native Americans, the Chinese, and the various cultures of Africa and Oceania. Juxtaposing the most potent stories and symbols from each tradition, Bierlein explores the parallels in such key topics as creation myths, flood myths, tales of love, morality myths, underworld myths, and visions of the Apocalypse. Drawing on the work of Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade, Carl Jung, Karl Jaspers, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and others, Bierlein also contemplates what myths mean, how to identify and interpret the parallels in myths, and how mythology has influenced twentieth-century psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and literary studies. “A first-class introduction to mythology . . . Written with great clarity and sensitivity.”—John G. Selby, Associate Professor, Roanoke College

Happy Ever After

Happy Ever After PDF Author: Paul Dolan
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241284457
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
Be ambitious; find everlasting love; look after your health ... There are countless stories about how we ought to live our lives. These narratives can make our lives easier, and they might sometimes make us happier too. But they can also trap us and those around us. In Happy Ever After, bestselling happiness expert Professor Paul Dolan draws on a wealth of evidence to bust the common myths about our sources of happiness and shows that there can be many unexpected paths to lasting happiness. Some of these might involve not going into higher education, choosing not to marry, rewarding acts rooted in self-interest and caring a little less about living forever. By freeing ourselves from the myth of the perfect life, we might each find a life worth living.

Living with Myths in Singapore

Living with Myths in Singapore PDF Author: Kah Seng Loh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789811132810
Category : National characteristics, Singaporean
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book

Book Description


Myths America Lives By

Myths America Lives By PDF Author: Richard T. Hughes
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252050800
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
Six myths lie at the heart of the American experience. Taken as aspirational, four of those myths remind us of our noblest ideals, challenging us to realize our nation's promise while galvanizing the sense of hope and unity we need to reach our goals. Misused, these myths allow for illusions of innocence that fly in the face of white supremacy, the primal American myth that stands at the heart of all the others.

Exercised

Exercised PDF Author: Daniel Lieberman
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 1524746983
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Get Book

Book Description
The book tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise - to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, the author recounts how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion. Drawing on insights from biology and anthropology, the author suggests how we can make exercise more enjoyable, rather that shaming and blaming people for avoiding it