The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series, No. 17)
by Joseph Campbell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joseph CampbellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1972-03-01
ISBN: 0691017840
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Book Reviews of The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series, No. 17)
Book Review: A dated classic, and here's why...
Summary: 1 Stars
Both as a commentary on the stages of myth and as its own mono myth, there is no denying the genuine artistry that Joseph Campbell has brought to this effort. But the reason he has been awarded a mere star is the same reason that hopefully this review itself will be dated when you read it -- namely because evolutionary behavioral psychology has made huge strides since 1948.
As can be seen by reading Campbell's book, back in 1948 names like Jung and Freud were still seriously referenced as a basis for understanding and explaining human behavior.
Now, thanks to the efforts of cognitive researchers like Harvard's Dan Schacter, Dr. V.S. Ramashandran, Matt Ridley, and religious researchers like Pascal Boyer, we know a lot more about how the human mind cognates in general and why people believe in myths generally and religion specifically.
Whereas before ideas like "collective unconscious" could be bandied about seriously, now cognitive researchers are in agreement that cognition acts (and powerfully so at that) on an individual basis to make people ideat the way that they do.
In the seven million years since humans and chimpanzees split off from each other there's been a host of evolutionary influences affecting human cognition. In a mundane example research between chimpanzees and their cousin bonabos demonstrates that while chimpanzees exist in male dominated clans characterized by frequent violence and mistreatment of young not the progeny of the lead male, bonabos on the other hand have a more egalitarian society characterized by mutual rearing of young and a mutual sharing of resources.
The difference: chimpanzees and bonabos occupy different ecological niches. Bonabos sort of have the territory to themselves while chimpanzees have been forced to share limited resources with other primates. In this way, the chimpanzee/bonabo difference mimics what existed through the vast bulk of human evolution where homo sapiens sapiens had to compete right up until as recently as twelve thousand years ago with other human like species.
In this way, the evolutionary behavioral proclivities of humans were vastly effected by the manner in which they evolved.
And as they evolved they came to have innate abilities with respect to understanding their environment. In this regard, even babies have an understanding of basic pre Newtonian physics (objects fall, not rise, etc.). Even babies have a mental template for understanding that all animals needs to feed, that they reproduce, etc. Even babies understand that there are other humans and can distinguish early on their mother from all other humans (the beginning of a long road of what will become highly accute abilities to interact socially).
And even babies have the ability to pick up language. Indeed language itself helps us to understand the non Freudian basis of myth. As has been observed, all languages follow the same subject/predicate format. In other words, everyone is programed with an internal order for formulating thought.
Thanks to the work of Pascal Boyer, we now know that religious ideas are especially tempting because they play on basic human perceptions. As indicated within this review, all humans have templates representing typical animal and human behavior. What Boyer has shown is that if a novelty is added to the report of some animal's behavior our minds tend to uniquely categorize it.
For example, a cat than become invisible is more memorable than a mere cat. As also has been observed by Boyer, religion is when novelty combines with personal relevance: not only does the cat become invisible but when invisible it sees and rewards righteous behavior.
Now back to language and a sense of order...
Like Vladimir Propp with fairy tales, Joseph Campbell has given us (albeit a very eloquent one) a standard template or model of how a myth exists. Where his work, despite his best intentions, falls short, is in explaining "why" myths should follow the schema he has laid out (or fairy tales should follow a similar schema laid out by Propp).
In this way, evolutionary behavioral studies and pointedly not Freud or Jung help us compare the mythic structure to what is going on in human evolutionary history.
As explained by Campbell the myth starts when a "hero" is given a challenge; the "hero" then receives assistance or a talisman from an elder; and then the "hero" successfully faces the challenge. With all due respect, for hunter gatherer societies this structure would describe nothing less than the education of a new hunter on his first hunt. Like the hero, the young hunter is forced to join the hunt. Without exception every stage of human like evolution has been characterized by its own "tool kit" or set of implements to ensure success on the hunt. In each case, the "tool kit" would not be the hunter's own invention but his bequeath from his elders. Properly used, he would have success, overcoming the dangers of prehistoric hunting and return successful.
So humbly, the "anatomy" of mythic structure therefore does not derive from some Freudian or Jungian dream myth confusion but rather inherited evolutionary imperative.
The traditional mythic and fairy tale structures advanced by Campbell and Propp therefore rely heavily on the basic physics, causation, animal and social templates used by all humans and use them in universally organized and predictable fashions based on human evolution.
As indicated at the outset, hopefully this review will be dated just like Campbell's book now is. To be sure the author makes no claim that it bears a like eloquence as Campbell.
However, like Campbell, this author remains skeptical that humans have produced an unquestionable bible that can or should stifle further human inquiry into our origins.
Summary of The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series, No. 17)
Joseph Campbell's classic cross-cultural study of the hero's journey has inspired millions and opened up new areas of research and exploration. Originally published in 1949, the book hit the New York Times best-seller list in 1988 when it became the subject of The Power of Myth, a PBS television special.
The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence.
Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture's dreams onto a large screen; Campbell's book, like Star Wars, the film it helped inspire, is an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. It is a must-have resource for both experienced students of mythology and the explorer just beginning to approach myth as a source of knowledge.
Originally written by Campbell in the '40s-- in his pre-Bill Moyers days -- and famous as George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars," this book will likewise inspire any writer or reader in its well considered assertion that while all stories have already been told, this is *not* a bad thing, since the *retelling* is still necessary. And while our own life's journey must always be ended alone, the travel is undertaken in the company not only of immediate loved ones and primal passion, but of the heroes and heroines -- and myth-cycles -- that have preceded us.
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