REFLECTIONS ON SCIENCE AND THE HUMANITIES
What does modern science contribute to the mythology of our modern culture?
First, what do I mean by mythology? A society has an underlying world view that includes a view of its origins, its current nature, and its future. In modern jargon, it is the back story of the society, and it consists of beliefs and behaviors that many of its members never question, or even notice, and that influences even the most rebellious and free-thinking of its members. Joseph Campbell believed that the mythologies of all societies, past and present, were variations of the same "great story". He pointed to common patterns that he said are present in the mythologies of all societies, old and new. He outlined four functions of a society's mythology.
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Joseph Campbell: Four Functions of Myth
This section is adapted from an article by Jonathan Young. Read it HERE. Be patient with this section; its style is quite different from most of the other writings at One Culture, and its language is not a model of clarity, in comparison to good scientific writing. Then again, the subject is more illusive and less rigorous than much of science, and thus the basic ideas might become somewhat clearer if they are stated in several different ways (well, you be the judge).
Campbell introduced one of his principal theoretical constructs in the Masks of God series. It was in Occidental Mythology (1964), that Campbell outlined the four functions of myth:
First is the metaphysical function. Myth awakens and supports a sense of awe before the mystery of being. It reconciles consciousness to the preconditions of its own existence. Myth induces a realization that behind the surface phenomenology of the world, there is a transcendent mystery source. Through this vitalizing mystical function, the universe becomes a holy picture.
The second is a cosmological dimension [that] deals with the image of the world that is the focus of science. This function shows the shape of the universe, but in such a way that the mystery still comes through. The cosmology should correspond to the actual experience, knowledge, and mentality of the culture. This interpretive function changes radically over time. It presents a map or picture of the order of the cosmos and our relationship to it.
Third is the sociological function. Myth supports and validates the specific moral order of the society out of which it arose. Particular life-customs of this social dimension, such as ethical laws and social roles, evolve dramatically. This function, and the rites by which it is rendered, establishes in members of the group concerned a system of sentiments that can be depended upon to link that person spontaneously to its ends.
The fourth function of myth is psychological. The myths show how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. It is this pedagogical function of mythology that carries the individual through the various stages and crises of life, from childhood dependency, to the responsibilities of maturity, to the reflection of old age, and finally, to death. It helps people grasp the unfolding of life with integrity. It initiates individuals into the order of realities in their own psyches, guiding them toward enrichment and realization.
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Science and the Functions of Mythology
Joseph Campbell described four functions that mythology serves in a society (described above, and listed in italics below, as described by David Morton in his OLLI course, Mythology and the theories of everything, winter 2012). One might think that science’s main contribution to the functions of myth in our modern society would be exclusively in the cosmological dimension (second, above; #4, below)—specifically, to help us understand the physical world around us. But seeking reliable knowledge about the material world is only one contribution that science makes to the mythology of society. Read on to learn how science contributes to all elements of our cultural mythology.
I name and briefly describe each function of myth. Then I describe the contribution that science makes to that function, in my view.
1) Mystical (Joseph Campbell has also called this function “metaphysical”.)
To awaken and support a sense of awe before the mystery of being.
The mystery of being (why is there something, rather than nothing) can only be experienced—it cannot be solved. For other areas of the unknown, it is harder to reach a conclusion. Science can help us to distinguish the two major areas of the unknown: ignorance and mystery. Through an understanding of how science works, and of the knowledge it builds, we are in a better position to recognize the difference between ignorance (what we personally do not happen to know or understand) and mystery (what no one knows or understands). Thus science can provide assurance that what we perceive as mystery is truly mysterious to everyone.
2) Sociological (Joseph Campbell calls this function “psychological”.)
To support and validate the moral order of a society.
Science is a communal effort to understand the physical world, an effort that anyone can observe, criticize, or even join. While the findings of science are ethically neutral, its practice certainly is not. The worldwide scientific community is exemplary for the human values it practices, promotes, and prizes—values without which science simply could not work. These values include honesty in interpreting and reporting results, co-operation with other scientists and the public, tolerance of the views of others, justice in the assessment of conflicting arguments, thoroughness and responsibility in carrying out scientific work, independence in thought and action, and originality in approach. Science brings these values with it when it moves into new areas or cultures. In this sense, the practice of science supports and validates the moral order. People who do not practice these values are not scientists. If they purport to be scientists, they are merely frauds.
3) Pedagogical
To show how to live a human life under any circumstances.
When someone decides to be a scientist, he or she makes a moral commitment: “I ought to live and work in such a way that truth can be discovered.” This means living by the values that are necessary for science to be effective. The working life of a scientist should therefore exemplify these aspects of how to live a life. Jacob Bronowski (1) called these Old-Testament values. He argued further (2) that the arts complement the sciences in promoting and exemplifying such New-Testament values as love, passion, kindness, and sympathy. Together, the arts and the sciences guide us towards fully human lives.
4) Cosmological
To reveal the shape of the universe without destroying mystery.
Some say that materialistic, scientific explanations of natural occurrences rob them of their wonder and beauty. On the contrary, nature is even more beautiful when we realize that the intricacy we see around us extends to all scales, inward to fundamental particles, outward to entire universes. At every scale, however, complexity inevitably leaves us in the presence of mystery. Although we can formulate laws and theories that are remarkably reliable and accurate guides to action, the simplest perceived rules of nature cannot be tested in every instance, and thus we must always remain open to the possibility that better ideas might overturn long-held, and still highly useful, laws and theories.
Being, complexity, and limitations of testability are not the only kinds of mystery that science reveals as it shows us the shape of our universe. Familiar experiences like consciousness, affection, and wonder might eventually be thoroughly explained in neural terms, but these explanations are not likely to satisfy the “I” that experiences them. Another mystery unlikely to yield to scientific analysis is why mathematics, which seems like a human invention, fits the world around us, sometimes with uncanny precision. Another: completely unknown types of matter compose more than 75% of the mass of the universe. Science’s realm is the physical, material world of things we can observe and agree on. Even that seemingly concrete realm is home to mystery.
In modern society, science makes important contributions to all areas of mythology.
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Footnotes
(1) Jacob Bronowski, Science and Human Values, 1956.
(2) Jacob Bronowski, The Identity of Man, 1965.
