djcb comments on Rationality Quotes September 2011 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: dvasya 02 September 2011 07:38AM

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Comment author: [deleted] 03 September 2011 03:16:06PM *  1 point [-]

The similarities he sees between folk stories are often rather trivial

Probably valid. What's an example of a non-trivial similarity in folk stories?

My knowledge of Campbell's work is limited to my having watched Moyers' interviews with him:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

I wonder what he would think of the possibility of "editing" human nature via technology, and how those changes might negate the usefulness of mythology as a set of teaching memes.

Comment author: djcb 04 September 2011 11:12:16PM 1 point [-]

An example of a well-known non-trivial similarity would be the flood-myths that many cultures have -- it seems that least some of those myths are related somehow - but not in inherited psycho-analytical way (!) that Campbell suspects, but more likely simply due to copying the stories (e.g. Noah, Gilgamesh).