Mythological consciousness is a kind of worldview that is based mainly on the desire to believe. This is one of the oldest types of perception of the world, and it is noteworthy that many people still perceive reality mythologically. Usually, the more science is developed, the more skeptical is the attitude of society towards myths, but now the popularization of scientific knowledge leads to a distortion of reliable information, and so-called "scientific myths" arise.
Mythological consciousness: definition
In order to determine and understand the essence of consciousness with a mythological type, one must correctly represent the very phenomenon of myth. In the simplest sense, a myth is a story that explains the process or phenomenon of the world. So, we know many stories about love and death, natural phenomena, human behavior (devotion and betrayal, for example). Ancient myths have features of artistry and are sometimes transmitted in poetic form. Despite this, they contain elements of scientific knowledge, philosophy and religion. Such an explanation of the myth makes it little distinguishable from a fairy tale, however, there is a big difference between the perceptions of the listener: a person perceives the myth as a truth that is based on faith and empathy with the heroes. Thus, a mythological worldview is a set of ideas based on an emotional perception of reality and faith in facts that are stated, but not confirmed and based on guesses.
Mythological consciousness as the integrity of perception
Here we see that people who have a mythological worldview are able to explain all the surrounding phenomena. In this case, there are no "information gaps", because everything is explained through stories in which they believe. For example, an unusual set of circumstances is explained not by complicated concepts with the interweaving of theories about space and time, probability, but by an elementary appeal to “spirits” or “karma”. Phenomena incomprehensible to people require immediate explanation on their part, and since science cannot explain everything, they are trying to make up for this shortcoming with the help of myths. It is probably unfair to assert that these conjectures are not related to reality: they may turn out to be both true and false, therefore the use of such concepts as “karma” or “perfume” is entirely acceptable and does not mean at all that a person has mental deviations.
Mythological consciousness as a unity of reality and the supernatural
People with this type of worldview do not separate the supernatural from the norm, because in their understanding the world is one. Even God or deities exist in accordance with the laws of the universe and do not contradict them. Gods or spirits appear here as elements of our world, which come into interconnection with the elements of lower links - animals or humans.
Mythological consciousness as a symbolic perception of reality
Here in thinking symbolic perception prevails. If in the scientific world they operate with concepts, then in the mythological, images, symbols and signs prevail. In this case, a person seeks special meaning in the events that surround him, and considers them to be some kind of “sign”.
Mythological consciousness and belief in magical phenomena
This is probably the clearest expression of the mythological worldview. Here, a person believes in the magical forces of nature, it is permissible for him to use rituals and rituals to win over the higher forces, which, according to his belief, can ease the state of his affairs and support him in a difficult situation. The most common is the form of sympathetic magic, which manifests itself in the identification of a symbol and an object. A person believes that having an effect on a thing that indirectly or directly symbolizes, for example, another person, this will affect his condition. Typically, such rituals are accompanied by words whose meaning depends on the purpose of the impact.