Meaning in Life
Exploring the Potential of Mythological Narratives in Contemporary Life
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2059404 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nader Abazari (0000-0001-9570-9837, University of Eastern Finland), Suvi-Maria Saarelainen (0000-0002-5881-132X, University of Eastern Finland) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-08 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Culture Medicine and Psychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0165-005X • E-ISSN: 1573-076X |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11013-025-09933-4 |
| PMID | 40778956 |
| OpenAlex | W4413050047 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 31 |
In this article, we address the potential of mythological narratives to contribute to understanding meaning in life. Drawing on contemporary theories concerning meaning in life including the existential psychotherapeutic approach, discrepancy-based model and hierarchical meaning-making model, we highlight key principles of the meaning-making process that are reflected also in world mythological narratives. These common principles include encountering a profoundly impactful event, dissatisfaction with the current state, meaning-making attempts, and providing a vision of the desired state. Consequently, by integrating insights from psychology and anthropology, we propose that myths not only continue to hold enduring relevance in contemporary life but also possess considerable potential as frameworks for enriching knowledge on what makes life meaningful and pathways that help individuals experience meaning in their lives
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Existentialism · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Meaning-making · Mythology · Narrative · Political science · Psychotherapist · Relevance (law · Sociology · Art Therapy and Mental Health · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Law · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
A Handbook of Modernism Studies
Making Meaning in Life
The Science of Meaning in Life
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe)
Meaning in the Context of Stress and Coping
Meaning in life and physical health
The Origins of the World's Mythologies
The History of Anthropology
Covid-19 distress, sources of meaning, and crisis of meaning in the Finnish context
Myth and Meaning
Totem and Taboo
Making sense of the meaning literature
The Search for Meaning in Life Through Continuing and/or Transforming the Bond to a Deceased Spouse in Late Life
Jung's very twentieth‐century view of myth
Symbol, myth, and ritual
The meaning in life questionnaire
Knowledge accessibility, achievement goals, and memory strategy maintenance
The Structural Study of Myth
Social Anthropology
The Invention of Culture
History of Ethnological Theories
Symbolic Studies
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |