What Myths Reveal About How Humans Think: a Cognitive
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WHAT MYTHS REVEAL ABOUT HOW HUMANS THINK: A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO MYTH by KEITH MITCHELL HODGE Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTERS OF ARTS IN HUMANITIES THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON August 2006 Copyright © by Keith Mitchell Hodge 2006 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many whom I would like to thank for their support through this endeavor. First, I would like to thank Professor Robert McCauley of Emory University. In addition to commenting on various parts of this thesis, he also showed me “what I want to be when I grow up.” He opened my eyes to areas of academic research of which I was unaware and into which my project fits. Furthermore, with his behind-the- scenes assistance, he has made it possible for me to further my research at the doctoral level at Queen’s University Belfast. I thank him for helping to make this possible. I would also like to thank Professor Joseph Bastien. His encouragement in furthering my studies and research has been invaluable. He showed me that sometimes philosophers need to stop communing with the Forms and live, and argue, in the real world. His persistent urging to “think concretely” has been beneficial in developing this thesis. I wish to let him know how very much this has been appreciated. Another very special person whom I would like to thank is Billie Hughes, the secretary of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities. She has quietly listened to my occasional rants and has shared many heartaches and joys with me over the past few years. She is retiring at the end of this month, as I am writing this, and I would like for her to know how much she has meant to me. She has made this department much more than a great place to work—she has made it a home. I wish her all the best as she begins this new phase in life, and I hope she knows how much she will be missed. I iii thank you for the Jelly-Bellies, the chocolate, the hippos, the evil Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and warm friendship. I would also like to thank my family members who have endured my great obsession with this project. I have made them read and listen to many things about which they share no interest. I thank my father, Al, for the encouragement and support throughout this. I know that we do not see “eye to eye” on most things, but he has encouraged me to think about the world in which I live, and what I can do to make it a better place. I thank my mother, Dana, for all the time you have spent proof-reading and listening as I worked through various parts of this project; it has not gone unnoticed and is appreciated. You get the bragging rights. I thank my son, Jesse, for your patience, love and support throughout this. It has been a challenge for both of us. We made it. I give all three of them my love and thanks. Now to my committee members. First, I would like to thank Lewis Baker who has never let me forget that this is a humanities thesis. Although I have resisted at times, you have helped me to broaden the scope of my thoughts, and see the “thread that ties it all together.” Thank you. Next, I would like to thank Charlie Chiasson. You taught me Latin, Greek, mythology, the proper use of a laser pointer, and that serious academics can still laugh—even at themselves. You have endured bad papers and helped to make them better. You have helped and encouraged me to write good papers and to make them even better. Most importantly, I want to thank you for showing me how to make iv academic life, both in and out of the classroom, fun. Sometimes much can be learned through laughter. It has been horripilating. I would also like to thank Charles Nussbaum. You are truly one of the most brilliant people whom I have ever met. Learning from you and working with you has been a great honor. Your thoughtful comments and our even more thoughtful discussions have been invaluable to me and this project. You embody much of what I take a philosopher to be. Further, you have served as my role model as a teacher. I hope that I can be as effective a teacher as you have proven yourself to be. Finally, I wish to thank a great friend, teacher, boss, and committee chair, Denny Bradshaw. None of this would have happened if it were not for you—no really! You have pushed me harder than what I thought I could take, yet you never let me break. You have helped me accomplish something of which I am proud. You have molded me into a better student, writer, and teacher. You have listened to my confusions, my rants, and my successes. I am a better person for knowing you: much better, in fact, than I thought I could be. How do you express the enormous gratitude which is due for that? 14 July 2006 v ABSTRACT WHAT MYTHS REVEAL ABOUT HOW HUMANS THINK: A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO MYTH Publication No. ______ Keith Mitchell Hodge, M. A. The University of Texas at Arlington, 2006 Supervising Professor: Denny Bradshaw This thesis has two main goals: (1) to argue that myths are natural products of human cognition; and (2) that structuralism, as introduced by Claude Levi-Strauss, provides an over-arching theory of myth when supplemented and supported by current research in philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, and cognitive anthropology. With regard to (1), we argue that myths are naturally produced by the human mind through individuals’ interaction with their natural and social environments. This interaction is constrained by both the type of body the individual has and the environment in which the individual is situated. From this interaction, we argue, is produced the human-body metaphor which plays an essential role in forming analogical mental models which humans use to navigate, predict, and think about their vi environment(s). With regard to (2), we argue that these analogical mental models are the structures from which myths are created, just as structural anthropology suggests. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………. xi Chapter 1. MYTH: A COGNITIVE APPROACH ......................................................... 1 1.1 Prefatory Remarks…………………………………………………….... 1 1.2 The Thesis in Broad Strokes.................................................................... 4 1.3 Omissions………………………………………………………………. 7 1.4 Mental Models and the Sciences ............................................................. 9 1.5 A Look Ahead …………………………………………………………. 11 2. STRUCTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, MODELS, AND THE MIND: LEVI-STRAUSS AND SINCE..................................................................... 18 2.1 Claude Levi-Strauss, Structuralism, and the Mind.................................. 18 2.2 Structuralism and Models........................................................................ 29 2.3 Updates to Structural Theory................................................................... 44 2.4 Summary and Conclusion........................................................................ 51 3. MENTAL MODELS AND THE NATURE OF THOUGHT: CRAIK AND SINCE………………………………………………………. 53 3.1 Craik and the Nature of Thought............................................................. 53 viii 3.2 Mental Models Theory: The Essentials ................................................... 58 3.3 Mental Models as the Basis for Mental Content ..................................... 70 3.4 Summary and Conclusion........................................................................ 78 4. THE CONVERGENCE OF MENTAL MODELS, THE HUMAN- BODY METAPHOR, AND ANALOGY...................................................... 80 4.1 Myth Qua Mental Models ....................................................................... 80 4.2 The Human-Body Metaphor and its Origins ........................................... 83 4.3 The Human-Body Metaphor, Schemas, and Mental Models .................. 95 4.4 Analogical Models……………............................................................... 107 4.5 The Transmission of Analogical Models by Myth and Ritual ................ 112 4.6 Summary and Conclusion........................................................................ 121 5. IN DEFENSE OF STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS QUA MODELS, AND THE ORIGINS OF MYTHICAL CONTENT .............................................. 124 5.1 A Look Back and Forward ...................................................................... 124 5.2 Verificationist Objections to Structuralism ............................................. 125 5.3 Structural Theories and Science .............................................................. 135 5.4 Mythical Content…… ............................................................................. 140 5.5 The Solution to the Verificationist Objections to Structuralism ............. 150 5.6 Implications of the Hypothesis, and Conclusions.................................... 157 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 164 BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION......................................................................... 184 ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 2.1 Ideal Types.....................................................................................................