Some General Remarks about Mythology from the Psychological Point of View Cover Image

Некоторые общие замечания о мифологии с точки зрения психолога
Some General Remarks about Mythology from the Psychological Point of View

Author(s): Alexander Piatigorsky
Subject(s): Psychology, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus
Keywords: mythology; psychology; constructs; mythems;

Summary/Abstract: The article describes and gives a general definition of mythology as a specific, branch of science. The author's main point is that myth is a purely psychological phenomenon consisting in neutralizing oppositions in behaviour and life. Those oppositions can be regarded neither as linguistic nor as pertaining to the volitive and voluntative sphere (the last case is considered by the author as destroying the alternatives significant lor a personality's motivations of values). The positive aspect of the problem is reflected in two axiomatic statements: 1. Myth is a tendency towards neutralization of oppositions in general; 2. Myth is a creation of new special synthetic constructions called "mythems".

  • Issue Year: 2/1965
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 38-48
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Russian