Myth, Method, and Madness [and Comments and Replies]

Morris Freilich · C. Scott Littleton · Amnon Orent · Sergeĭ Aleksandrovich Tokarev · John Tu Er-Wei

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Cultural and Mythological Studies Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies Study and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

The structural analysis of myth is a prime focus of anthropological interest, largely because of the efforts of Levi-Strauss. This paper uses some Levi-Straussian ideas to develop a strategy for myth analysis that I call the non-sense-in-myth strategy (NIMS). The strategy is given a trial run on a well-known and (I believe) much-misunderstood myth: Adam and Eve in Eden. The structure identified has an evolutionary character consistent with many modern understandings concerning the nature of human reality. NIMS, a mediator between Levi-Straussian intellectual leaps and a real methodology, indicates the value of cautious optimism concerning the question "Can structural analysis of myth become a scientific endeavor?"

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1985Bicultural oscillation as a long-term adaptation to cultural frontiers: Cases and questions 2000Winter Hunger, Winter Myths: Subsistence Risk and Mythology among the Klamath and Modoc 1979The ambivalent gardener: The animal and vegetable codes of Genesis 2:4 to 9:29 1981Myth and History: A General Model and Its Application to the Bible 2010The Nature of Myth 1976The Golden Bough Sprouts Again

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