Reply To: Temptations of Clarity,” with Mark C.E. Peterson, Ph.D.”
Welcome back Mark, great to talk with you again. Rickkar1 brings up an interesting aspect to what you were describing in that we all talk in metaphoric references to things because they connect what we experience and have meaning to communicate to people in a way that makes sense. We tell stories, we describe by references that use metaphors to connect the dots so to speak. Myths have to do with stories that have certain narratives. They contain content that hold groups of ideas that surround a certain point of view or that communicate something identifiable that has meaning or value. Not everything that is metaphoric is mythic or course; but we often substitute a metaphor as a quick way to establish what we are attempting to communicate without having to go to great lengths to explain it’s background of what the relationship of one thing to another is or to establish a bridge between ideas that is understandable; or at least helps to better express what we are trying to communicate.
Robert Walters explains this very well in this short clip from some years ago and it seems to fit your idea of a narrative that uses these kinds of metaphoric devices as we communicate in our day to day lives but at the same time try and make sense of our world and our existence. It may not be exactly on point with what you are describing but immediately came to mind and seemed get at Joseph’s idea about mythical relationships in how we navigate our world.