C. S. Lewis and Myth 2020

 "Orual," the voice began. It came from the form of a man as might be seen painted on the side of a black and red pot, with a magisterial toga and a beard consisting of curly white locks, tapered to come to a point at the neck. It was one of many forms the owner of this voice had taken, but it seemed appropriate for one such as Orual, who expected something like this in a godly voice that commanded respect. "You have come here with the intention of dolling out justice of your own, but instead you shall receive it." "The actions of your sins are too numerous to list, among them being the threat of suicide as an attempt at manipulation, sowing purposeful division among those who share true love for one another, asserting yourself as a superior to your kindred, indeed, your own sister." "But the cause and inspiration of these lesser sins is your greatest: vanity. You have instilled in yourself a sense of superiority to those around you, and this is the r...

 Some recent grappling with doubt in my life has proven difficult, and it has led me to realize in hindsight where Lewis has written on the topic multiple times. I have already made reference to Elwin Ransom's struggle with doubt before his struggle against the Un-man, and during it, after he seems to have escaped and he is left to wonder why Maleldil has not yet intervened. Similarly, but in a different facet of the word, Aslan comments on doubt by encouraging Lucy not to doubt her own worth, and not to run from who she is. Furthermore, in Shadowlands , we can see that when Lewis experiences great sorrow from the death of Joy, only shortly after he had truly loved her, he too struggles with serious doubt in his life. It can be incredibly difficult to deal with doubt, and to turn it into anything beneficial. It is something that I struggled with for an extended time some years ago, and it definitely took time even after the particularly intense period had ended that I realized wher...

       In the first book of a Space Trilogy, “Out of a Silent Planet,” by C.S. Lewis, Dr. Ransom’s doubts from whether his experiences of Malacandra were real are disclosed in the last chapter of the book.   The pressures of Dr. Ransom’s normal life make him forget his beliefs and he questions whether or not his experiences were hallucinations.   Lewis, however, in reaching out to Dr. Ransom with a question allows him to return to his neglected beliefs.        This relates to Susan’s choice to no longer believe in Narnia in “The Last Battle,” as she gets caught up in different things such as partying and Aslan states she is “no longer a friend of Narnia” (Lewis, 1956).   It also relates to an excerpt from Lewis’ essay, “Miracles,” where Lewis described how seeing is not believing through a story of the only women he knew to see a ghost, who neither believed in the immortality of humans before or after seeing the ghost, as she disr...

In the last chapter of “The Silent Planet,” by C.S. Lewis, Ransom publishes his story as fiction, to avoid being called a lunatic, but also in hopes that it will plant a seed of certain ideas, so that when it is time to reveal the truth, it will be easier to expect.   In some ways, this use of myth to plant a seed reveal what is truth under the disguise of a fiction book relates to our class discussions on the role of myth in revealing that which is true.   As C.S. Lewis reveals in “Myth Became Fact,” “When we translate we get abstraction -- or rather, dozens of abstractions. What flows into you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is), and, therefore, every myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level.” (Lewis, 1970). References Lewis, C. S., & In Hooper, W. (1970). God in the dock: Essays on theology and ethics.

  Several excerpts from the Gospels have reminded me of our discussion in class of the hidden meaning that language can hold and the writings of Gadamer.   Gadamer stated, “Part of game [mirror of language] with speaking is that certain things are hidden, preconceptions, we can get to through the disruption of oneself through stories. Language itself hides these misconceptions, but we can uncover them through disruption, myth.”   This illustrates how language and the preconceptions formed around it can hide the meaning behind what one is saying.       In Luke 9:44-45, it is written, “’Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.’ But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.” In Luke 18:33-34, it is written “They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again.” 34But the disc...

  One thing I have considered more in depth from our class discussion and readings on art and language is the power of music.   I think it is intriguing and irrational when you consider it, how music can remain so powerful, reaching an individual’s spirit through the sound, even when language cannot be understood, is not present, or is not paid attention to.   I think it ties into our discussion of art and the power it holds beyond simple knowledge.   This ties into a quote I heard from C. S. Lewis “The incalculable winds of fantasy and music and poetry, the mere face of a girl, the song of a bird, or the sight of a horizon, are always blowing evil's whole structure away,” where art’s power over evil is suggested.  

 Being the third myth heavy class I have taken with Dr. Redick, I cannot say my ideas about myth have changed drastically. That happened mostly within RSTD 335 (Primal Religions). What has happened, however, is I began to ask questions myself about the nature of myth. C.S. Lewis and Myth was more akin to an exploratory independent study, which allowed me to ask my own questions through the major assignments. As I expressed in earlier posts, I mentioned that I asked questions about if myth was a type of phenomenology and where myth came from. Through my investigations, I concluded that myth is more a cousin of phenomenology and that myth originates from the act of consensus. I will say perhaps the primary change in my conclusions of myth might be about its teaching power. Previously I say myth as a sort of cosmic orientation. However, now I can see it as relevant to the modern-day with the lessons myths have to teach, especially with modern reinterpretations such as C.S Lewis's ...

 Building off the previous post, which asked whether songs could be considered part of the American mythos, I will propose a few more questions. Could television act as myth? Could radio act as myth? Could movies act as a vehicle of myth? I would say the standard for myth is a creative object becoming ingrained in the popular conscience. A measure of this would perhaps be to take a random sample of 100 people off any street in American. If the majority of them are capable of, say, answering basic questions, it has obtained mythic status. I say this as films of even international origin have obtained great recognition within American culture, such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you ask someone about the airspeed of an unladed swallow, I am willing to bet they will ask if you mean African or European. Television could still be said with shows like Doctor Who and Supernatural reaching cult status, especially with the advent of the internet. I would say this is much harder to m...

In Dr. Redick’s article, “Wilderness, Arcadia and Longing: Mythic Landscapes and the Experience of Reality,” one of the themes I noticed was that nature points us toward the divine, and this reminded me of one of my favorite verses from Scripture (7).  In the Book of Wisdom, one of the deuterocanonical books included in Catholic Bibles but considered apocryphal by Protestants and omitted from most other Bibles, one verse reads: “For from the greatness and the beauty of created things / their original author, by analogy, is seen” ( The New American Bible , Wis. 13:5).  Similarly, Redick’s article describes Lewis as seeing “nature as the created world that reflects the numinous and is therefore filled with symbolic potential” (7). The Book of Wisdom sees nature and all of creation’s goodness as reflecting God’s goodness, and this aligns with Lewis’s approach to nature since it holds nature as something that points to something bigger and deeper as well.  Redick explains t...

Traditionally when speaking of American Myth, the ideas that come to mind are those of superhero comics, they speak of gods and heroes from another plane of existence, era, or planet. From a person not from our time and place, it would certainly seem like we revere Superman and Batman as their followers fight to see who is strongest. I wonder though if the same could be said of certain songs. What would it take for a song to be considered part of the American mythos? Well as a relatively warfaring culture, perhaps a potential place of origin could be in martial songs. For example, the song Dixie had versions of it sung on both sides of the Civil War, one to disparage and another to praise the South. I would also offer folklore as another potential place. Songs such as Shady Grove, an Appalachian folk song, have been memorialized by artists repeatedly making new renderings of it, creating endless variations to the lyrics that speak of the same central message, a man desperate to be with...

  In Lewis’ essay “Religion and Science,” from his book “God on the Dock,” I have been able to find parallels to G. K. Chesterton’s chapter in Orthodoxy , “The Ethics of Elfland.”   Both discuss the limitations of the Laws of nature.   In Lewis’ Essay he questions the claims made by science by asking how you could find if anything beyond science existed by only studying science.   He states, "Because science studies Nature. And the question is whether anything besides Nature exists— anything 'outside.' How could you find that out by studying simply Nature?" (Lewis, 1970, pg. 37).   He further explains a significant restriction to the laws of nature, stating “The laws tell you what will happen if nothing interferes. They can't tell you whether something is going to interfere” (Lewis, 1970, pg. 37). In G.K. Chesterton’s writing he criticizes the laws of nature and claims them to be much less intellectual than those of fairy land.   He questions the inevitab...

  Upon reading “Disorientation and reorientation,” by Troy Watson I have been able to make a connection between the parables Jesus teached through in the Gospels and our discussion in class on how myth and stories reveal truth, as individuals are able to see themselves in the story.   Watson states, “Jesus was purposefully disorienting people to break them out of old patterns of thinking…. Jesus wasn't trying to teach people new ideas and beliefs as much as he was trying to shock people into seeing old ideas and beliefs in a new way” and he quotes Mark 4:12 where Jesus answered his disciples that the reason behind his confusing style of teaching was so “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand.”   I found it very interesting how closely this paralleled with our class readings and discussions.   According to C.S. Lewis in Myth Becomes Fact, “What flows into you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always a...

Earlier in the year, during the myth essay, I proposed the idea that perhaps myth is a type of phenomenology used to examine the world from a distance so that truth might reveal itself. I would like to call back to the parable the prophet Nathaniel told David to highlight his wrongdoings against Bethsheba and God. It revealed the character of his actions to avoid a potential outcome where he might have become defensive. Concerning morality, perhaps humanity must distance itself from ethical concerns with myth. When asked say about whether stealing is acceptable, there will be so many questions asked about the particulars of the experience. For example, one might ask whether the person's family is starving or not. People become bogged down in the details of daily life. By looking outside it for a moment, they can apprehend the concept of pain, such as not directly participating in it. However, an empathetic person could still experience pain from a distance. By using myth, then the ...

  Pantheon v. Oural Plaintiffs : Plaintiffs' Attorney : Pantheon Athena, Goddess of Wisdom Defendants : Defendant’s Attorney : Orual Johnicochranites, Unfitter of Gloves Court : Court of the Underworld Opinion by : Asgos, God of Extreme Obsessions Not Otherwise Specified Key laws involved : Zeus Decree 4035, §§ 1-3 Zeus Decree 23587, §§ 4-7 Summary : The defendant is accused of accosting the Pantheon by compelling Psyche to disobey a god with envious intent. This is a violation of Decree 4035 §§ 1-3. She also stands accused of cursing the gods without proper authority as stated by Decree 23587, §§ 4-7. Her half-sister and defendant, Orual, compelled her to violate the God of the Mountain’s order to violate the command of never seeing the god’s face as humans cannot process a god’s appearance.  The defendant argued that she did not have envious intent when compelling her sister to disobey the direct orders of a god. She made a point of referring to the case study of Prometheus,...

          In Till We Have Faces , as Psyche tells her sister the story of how she came to live with her husband, the god of the mountain, after she was sacrificed to him.  When Oural tells her to “forget that terrible time” and move along because “there’s no time,” Psyche doesn’t accept this (Lewis 107-8).  Instead, she tells her that “you won’t understand the wonder and glory of my adventure unless you listen to the bad part” (Lewis 108).   Psyche’s insistence that the “bad part”of her story in which was afraid and alone is reminiscent of Lewis’s sentiment on the relationship between joy and suffering that he learned from Joy in Shadowlands .  It is clear in Till We Have Faces (to the reader if not to Oural), that Psyche is tremendously happy as the god’s wife, living her amber castle, but her insistence on telling her story with the inclusion of the period before she met her husband and she was scared of what would happen to he...

 Following up on the post about dispositionalism, I would like to briefly discuss Divine Command Theory and its more concerning implications as discussed by Charis Steffel. Steffel's position is that there are no limits upon God, so by the very nature of his existence, anything he commands would be necessarily good. This would include actions such as genocide. This, however, is necessarily concerning, though Steffel offers reassurance that God is not arbitrary and we already know everything about Him to know that He would not command such things. I would like to play an opposite side, however, and ask what about the Old Testament. As the Israelites enter the promised land, they are told to kill the Canaanites. While any theologian might offer the opinion that they needed to cleanse the land, I ask, does it justify killing all of them? Yes, there were indeed very troublesome people with child sacrifices being engaged in. Moving forward several hundred years, I ask again was it neces...

  One thing valuable I have taken from this class is our discussion on bracketing (separating and removing preconceptions about a certain thing from the thing itself) and returning to the things themselves, from the quote, “To turn back to the things themselves is to return to that world prior to knowledge of which knowledge speaks” (Merleau-Ponty, 1956, p. 60).   This is significant in light of the ideas we have about things and how we may begin to like the ideas we have about something rather than the thing itself.   I think this can particularly occur when one begins to idolize another and view them as perfect; the individual may begin to like another for this idea of perfection that they have placed on them, instead of seeing them for who they truly are.   I think this can be seen in the Till We Have Faces book, when the people seem motivated to worship Psyche like a goddess.   For example, when a woman asks Psyche to kiss her baby to make it beautiful an...

 As I was writing my term paper, which originally sought to inquire about the source of myth, I took an unexpected direction into the realm of deontology, divine command theory, and dispositionalism. I would like to take this post to highlight the latter of these three. Dispositionalism is a method by which God creates the world. Interestingly, this theory ties itself up heavily within the Euthyphro as it has a strong relation, whether negative or positive, to theistic meta-ethics. Ben Page defines dispositionalism as the act by which God creates objects with dispositions, forming natural laws. It is a sort of two for one deal. He uses the example of objects with a negative charge. God creates an object with a negative charge with the ability to repel other negatively charged objects. As a result, this creates a law by which negative charges repel other negative charges. This, too, can exist within morality. God has the ability to create which page calls definitional essences, whic...

   Orual struggles with jealousy all throughout this book. It begins with a lack of self love within herself. This lack of self love and self worth fuels her desire to compare herself with others, especially her sister Psyche. She becomes so fixated on her lack of love for herself and the feelings of jealousy associated with it that she is unable to see the love that many others have for her. It is within this jealousy that she makes several mistakes leading to hurting other people. Reading this, I began to wonder what would be different if she did not view herself was unattractive. Would these feelings of jealousy still be an issue? I believe that jealousy is a result of fear. In the case of Orual, it could potentially be the fear of not being good enough or the inability to measure up to the life of her sister. These fears got in the way of her ability to love. She loved through a means of being overbearing and manipulative. I believe that this stems from the inability to lo...

  Something I found particularly valuable in this class was our discussion on the value of art, specifically in a world where science is highly valued.   We discussed Tolkien’s idea of sub creation where we, being made in the image of God, are to create from what has already been created and Tolkien’s perilous realm, a place outside reality in which fairy tales can transport the reader.   These concepts among others made me ponder the power that art holds in reaching the soul, something which objective science and mathematic cannot do.   This semester I have been able to see this power through the Narnia stories that our class wrote and a friends paintings on the personal and relational love of God.    

Following the Enlightenment, I have noticed philosophy seems to have forgotten its religious roots. The earliest philosophers, including Socrates, participated in a mytho-religious system. While on trial for charges of blaspheming the gods and corrupting Athens' youth, Socrates acknowledges the charges against him are false as with acknowledging daimons and demigods, he too acknowledges the gods as a whole. This is all to say that religion and myth are not relics of a bygone era where people attempt to explain natural phenomena through stories or teach their children lessons. This harkens back to Dr. Redick's story about telling his daughter Caroline a troll beneath a bridge on the Noland Trail. The troll was indeed a stand-in for another figure, but all the same, trolls can be nasty and dangerous creatures, much like death can be for those who witness it. There is truth in myth. So too, regardless of one's claims about the nature of divinity, something useful can be found ...

Our discussion in class on language, hermeneutics, and Hellen Keller made me question the significance language plays in an individual’s life.   In class we discussed Helen Keller’s story in which she was able to be lifted out of darkness once she was able to make the connection between the sign for water and the water flowing in her hand.   We also discussed the preconceptions language can hold, according to Gadamer’s writings, and how some experiences are outside the hold of language and cannot immediately, if ever be explained.   It is interesting to consider the power language can hold in revealing truth in stories and myth and allowing individuals to feel connected with one another, as in Hellen Keller’s case and Lewis’ quote “we read to know we are not alone,” but also how it does not hold the ultimate power over experiences.   In one of my other classes, we also discussed language and how it is seen as a defining characteristic of humans.   We watched a...

Concerning morality, David Misselbrook does not see the world as necessarily holding any objective reality. Rather the human experience offers a "marketplace of ideas" through which people may explore the more hidden aspects of reality, such as morality together. The theist and the atheist in his eyes have equal claims to dictate how they see the world, especially when lessons such as Jesus's golden rule appears across so many religions. This is where I would like to bring the idea of consensus into play. We agreed earlier in the class that what flows from myth is reality and joins the two halves of the human experience. So what can be said then is that myth is a type of reality, no? With that and a world offering a variety of ideas all at once, I would like to propose then that myth derives itself from consensus. Perhaps its power comes from a place of otherness, but it finds in origin in agreements among people. Mythic systems do come from collective beliefs of the figu...

  Oural is obsessed with her half sister and her beauty in a way that could become self-destructive. No one in their right mind would want to beget or fall in love with their half-sister; however, that is the point. Oural is experiencing the wrong kind of love with her sister. She should be expressing affection and friendship with Psyche not this possessive “eros” that has clouded her mind. She appears to be envious of such figures and, according to Fox, envy is incompatible with divinity. 

  In Gramsci’s Communism and Art letter, he recalls when the publication of Walt Whitman’s “To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire” was censored by the Turin press review office to members of the Italian Communist Party’s chagrin even though Whitman was not a propagandist or an agitator (I personally question the veracity of this). Gramsci calls this “an offense against pure creation of artistic fantasy.” He goes on to argue against the misconception that socialism was against artistic beauty claiming that it is the capitalists who only see art in monetary terms instead of the work itself. This view is similar to that of Weston and Devine while flying to Malacandra where they neglect the beauty of space compared to Ransom who embraces it. 

  In the first of Antonio Gramsci’s letters on politics and culture, he claims that socialism has “an integral vision of life:.. a mystique, a philosophy, [and] a morality.” These three traits can be compared to Christian myth even though Gramsci was opposed to the Catholic Church and Jesuit pedagogies. Let’s start with a mystique. The mystique of socialism which Gramsci is referring to is likely class solidarity and the collective power that it brings compared to the awe of God and spiritual solidarity. The philosophy is probably the most complicated of the three. It would take much longer than a journal entry to properly explain the entire philosophy of Christianity, not to mention different interpretations of biblical texts. To keep it short, socialism is materialistic in its view of the world while mainstream Christianity accepts both the physical and the metaphysical. The morality of Christianity is more complicated than that of socialism. The morality of socialism is essentia...

  In part six of Christianity and Patriotism, Tolstoy argues that love between nations is false since it cannot experience such a thing. Alliances are framed as measures to ensure peace but that is a lie. It is a lie in a sense that the purpose is to establish an equilibrium of power and this is impossible as any sort of “reaction is met with an equal and opposite reaction.” This cannot lead to peace. Tolstoy goes on to mention how “the devil is a murderer and the father of lies.” Which is used to express the evils of war. Citizens claim that God is on their side with “God save the tsar” being printed across Russia. Tolstoy uses this to highlight the irony of all of these emperors embraced by God are warring with each other. The pious order the least pious act. He laments that the “love will wane.. and the Christianizing of mankind which begun will be retarded again” while merchant celebrate their increase in profits. 

  Tolstoy calls upon the work of Adin Ballou, an abolitionist, influential Christian socialist, and pacifist, to describe conflicts between Christian character and obeying the United States government. Ballou states that Christ commands him to do unto others what they would unto him and that he would not want to keep others bound in servitude. Yet Christ also commands one to turn the other cheek and the government commands you to blow a hole through the cheek of a person who violates its laws. This means that one must work to end slavery in a peaceful manner within the system. He uses the term “non-resistance” from Matthew 5:39 where Christ commands to not resist evil. Resist in this context likely means retributive violence considering the rest of the verse. Ballou uses the myth of Christ to advocate for social justice as it is so powerful.

  The beginning of chapter five starts with Lewis mentioning Weston’s “solemn scientific idealism” and expressing his lack of care towards the inhabitants of Malacandra. This is contrasted with the wonder that Ransom feels view the “celestial jewels.” Lewis goes on to explain how space travel is a spiritual experience for him while Devine and Weston are indifferent. Space is a magical place to someone like Ransom with his “exculting” heart compared to the scientific view that space is devoid of vivacity. He begins to recall myths involving the heavens since what Ransom’s is enthralled with what “cannot be caught in a net of words” and goes to quote Milton. Lewis uses this to comment on how spirituality and emotion enrich one’s outlook instead of the dispassion from his captors. 

  In the beginning of the book, Weston and Ransom are discussing Malacandra. They are in disagreement as to what Malacondra is. Ransom believes it is a star while Weston calls it a planet. This conversation seems like meaningless exposition at first glance but contains parallels to other issues in philosophy.  When I first read this, it gave me the impression that Lewis was referring to what we call “God.” My interpretation may seem outlandish, which it probably is, but it is genuine as my thinking tends to be outlandish as well. Weston and Ransom are arguing about what Malacandra actually is, which both philosophers and laypeople do alike. Mirroring arguments about transcendence, which some claim is necessary for a god to have, which the star is, according to Ransom, outside of the solar system while Weston claims it is within the solar system. One could claim that the chosen people assigned the name, but that might be too far. Of course this is far from a perfect parallel....

  Digory goes into a garden with the following rules: “come in by the golden gates” and “take my fruit for others or forbear.” The consequences are hearts being filled with desire and despair. Within the garden he finds the Witch eating the fruit and offering him forbidden knowledge. The Witch tempts him into betraying Aslan which he declines.  This is an obvious parallel to the Garden of Eden where Eve was tempted to eat from the tree she was expressly prohibited from feasting. The Witch is a stand-in for the snake offering “forbidden knowledge.” Digory follows the commands of Aslan and is not led astray. Lewis is using this story to foster obedience to God in the reader just like G.K. Chesterton liked about myths.

   While seemingly inconspicuous, a conversation between Polly and Digory perfectly encapsulates the work of C.S. Lewis and some of the other Inklings (mostly Tolkein). In The Woods Between the Worlds, Digory is represented as an adventurous individual who appears to embrace the fantastical world around him, wanting to explore it while Polly is far more cautious. Polly is anxious about finding her way home with Digory wishes to venture further. He is guided by his imagination with Polly being somewhat grounded. Polly’s reservations are delaying the adventure and are potentially risking them getting caught by Uncle Andrew who is portrayed as a scientistic force that wants to “take away the rings before [they] have had any fun.” Science is seen as something that takes away or discards myth. What I mostly get out of it is that life is experienced rather than reasoned. Lewis wants us to embrace myth just as Digory is embracing the adventure before him. This may seem like a stretch...

  Myth is important to many people and societies. G.K. Chesterton was no exception. In the Ethics of Elfland, he expressed admiration for myth as it can carry values and messages that can be passed from generation to generation without dramatic changes to what the society believes. While Chesterton poses this as a positive, let’s talk about the dark side of this that may occur for the sake of discussion. We talked a little bit about “bad myth” and arrived at a consensus that it is myth that perpetuates harmful mistruths. What if some of the myths we have been brought up are harmful? An example of this could be myths about racial inferiority that allowed for oppression across the globe. Good myth could be used to subvert this by expressing the need for equality or other values to cause change for the better. 

  This entry will either be slightly profound or equivalent to discovering “the Blue” with the latter being more likely than the former. J.R.R. Tolkein describes the role of artists as “subcreators” meaning that they create works inside of a world already created. Subcreators give life to the unreal with imagination inventing fantastical creatures as systems; however, few subcreations focus on the creation aspect as Minecraft does. In a normal work, we are not given the chance to directly interact with the sub-world and are forced to rely on imagination. Examples of this include imagining that you are in Hogwarts or Narnia. Video games allow for direct interaction with this world in manners such as stealing cars in GTA V or destroying pottery in Zelda titles; however, no game focuses more on creation than Minecraft. Minecraft is a game where you build stuff like houses, castle, weapons. There is some lore but it is arcane and unimportant to general gameplay, not acting to convey va...

  Muller claimed that myth is the “disease of language.” While this may make sense to some extent, some such as Owen Barfield have argued that the opposite is true: “language is the disease of myth.” In Poetic Diction, Barfield explores the etymology of words such as north, hero and a few others. Looking into this using the Online Etymology Dictionary, we find that the word “hero” traces back to “demigod.” However, neither Muller or Barfield are completely correct. This is because myth and language are diseases of each other with vocabulary begotten from each other. An example of this is the name “Zeus.” It is believed that the name for the king of the Greco-Roman pantheon has its origins in PIE (Proto-Indo European) word “Dyeu” which means “to shine.” Whether or not this word results from myth is a whole other question that is likely impossible to answer; however, some tie it to gods or secular vocabulary (Online Etymology Dictionary). Who knows, it could be both! PIE is actually ...

  In PHIL 384, which Dr. Redick graciously allowed me to override, we discussed the differences between lying and deception. A lie is defined as “an intentionally false statement” (Oxford Language Dictionary). This definition is consistent with general usage of the word. Deception is simply “a thing that deceives.” These meanings seem identical to uninitiated but are distinct. In Medical Ethics, we discussed who a doctor might inject a saline solution to see if a patient is inventing pain to prevent the maldistribution of resources and curb drug abuse. The physician never, ethically, tells the patient “this is saline” but they use it to test the patient’s reaction. If the placebo cures it, then the patient is lying about pain and of course if the pain remains, the patient actually may need painkillers. This positive deception is used to subvert our concepts to reach “the real.” Nathan deceived King David, but did not lie to him. Myth can be a deceiver which can be used to discover ...

  While on a walk with J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis supposedly repeatedly referred to myths as “lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver.” Tolkein eventually corrected him by claiming “No, they are not lies.” This exchange summarizes the class as it forces us to engage with myth not as fantasy, but a medium to deliver truth. The first of this was the story of Nathan in the Old Testament where he tells a story to King David which mirrors the errors of David, but in a manner that allows him to access the “thing itself.” Nathan did not lie to David as he merely made the truth more transparent instead of obfuscation. 

Oural, Queen of Glome, your book has reached us, the gods in Greece.  Since in your stubbornness you have refused to have it any way but yours, we have refused to pass judgement upon you until your writing reached us here where you willed it be sent despite knowing your claim all along.    I, Aphrodite, the goddess you feared as Ungit, have heard you all this time.  I heard when you called upon us many years past, without sacrifice and in your own space, expecting us to bow to you in your place when you refused to come to us in my temple, and I heard when you first closed your writing of your complaint, and I heard when your head fell upon the page as you wrote again.  Oural, you have never learned, never listened.  I have seen you, and my son has seen you.  We know that at the end of your life, you knew how you had treated all of those you had claimed to love.  We also know that you would not have changed.  All your life, we have seen you ...

  Orual steps timidly before a panel of gods set before her. Their faces are unable to be seen as they are only visible through their shadowy outlines. Suddenly, a bright yellow light illuminates the god seated at the very center of the panel. A voice booms over her. It echoes throughout the chamber, rattling the walls.  “Greetings Orual, Queen of Glome. You have come here to present your dissatisfactions with our works. I, Pistis, the God of Trust and Protection, is here to present you with a trial contrary to your original intentions. I have observed your actions in Glome over your lifetime. It has become clear to be for a great time now that you have not been acting in a manner according to the standards the gods have set before you. Through witnessing your progress in life, I have come to conclude that trust has not been at the center of your actions.” “You did not trust the words of your sister Psyche. You let your eyes be the judge of existence. You did not trust the exp...

While researching for my term paper, I had an article sent to me by Dr. Elizabeth Jelinek that concerned teaching the Euthyphro dialogically instead of the more common method of as an illustration of questioning authority, whether divine or human. He proposes a method that views it as a discourse between the philosopher and "the expert." 'The expert," in this case, asserts his authority, much like Euthyphro on a subject they know nothing or very little about. On the other hand, the philosopher recognizes his place in the world and begins to question everything around him, leaving no stone unturned in his investigation or taking any belief for granted. This approach perhaps should be taught more in philosophy classrooms rather than the more common one outlined above. This, too, would play well into interacting with myth. In this class, one of the first things I have had to do is explain to people that we are operating under a different definition of myth than the popu...