Myth: A Very Short Introduction - Softcover

Segal, Robert A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192803476 ISBN 13: 9780192803474

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2004

Synopsis

A survey of the past 300 years of theorizing on myth, this book takes into account the work of such prominent thinkers as Albert Camus, Claude Lévi-Strauss, C. G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud. It focuses on different approaches to myth, from all of the major disciplines--including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. Robert Segal considers the future study of myth, and the possible function of myth in the world as the adult equivalent of play.
In order to analyze the different theories of myth, Segal focuses on the fable concerning the fate of the preternaturally beautiful Adonis. Where one theory does not work, he substitutes another myth, showing that, for all their claims to all-inclusiveness, certain theories, in fact, only apply to specific kinds of myths. A uniform set of questions is provided to elucidate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the conjectures.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Segal lectures in the Department of Religious Studies at Lancaster University. He is the author of The Poimandres as Myth, Religion and the Social Sciences, Explaining and Interpreting Religion, and Theorizing about Myth.

Review

"It isn't often that you find a book that gives you a brief, intelligible way into an entire field of study, but in Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Robert A. Segal does it in style. As a reader, especially a student reader, you walk away feeling enlightened from the power dosage of knowledge. The
book is designed to do this."--Journal of Folklore Research
"It isn't often that you find a book that gives you a brief, intelligible way into an entire field of study, but in Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Robert A. Segal does it in style. As a reader, especially a student reader, you walk away feeling enlightened from the power dosage of knowledge. The
book is designed to do this."--Journal of Folklore Research
"It isn't often that you find a book that gives you a brief, intelligible way into an entire field of study, but in Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Robert A. Segal does it in style. As a reader, especially a student reader, you walk away feeling enlightened from the power dosage of knowledge. The book is designed to do this."--Journal of Folklore Research
"It isn't often that you find a book that gives you a brief, intelligible way into an entire field of study, but in Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Robert A. Segal does it in style. As a reader, especially a student reader, you walk away feeling enlightened from the power dosage of knowledge. The book is designed to do this."--Journal of Folklore Research

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0192803476
• ISBN 13: 9780192803474
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176