Myth, Politics and Political Science
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3466911 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lee C Mcdonald (Pomona College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1969 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 141-150 |
| Publication date | 1969-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Western Political Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-4078 • E-ISSN: 2325-8675 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296902200111 |
| OpenAlex | W2325128968, W4230361037 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
IF ANY LANGUAGE should prove invulnerable to mythological infiltration it would seem to be that language which is direct, literal, and used more to do something than to mean something. Such language was called by J. L. Austin language, that is, language which performs an action rather than states anything, as our more common constative utterances. An example of performative is the verdictive judgment: We the jury do hereby find the defendant guilty. Another would be the exercitive action: I vote 'no!' Still another might be the commissive uttterance: I pledge you my support.' Are mythical elements alien to such speech-acts? To answer this question we must ask another and try to answer it, however sketchily: what is myth? In frequent usage today is treated as synonym for illusion, usually to be contrasted with reality. Consider these book titles: Scott Greer, The Emerging City: Myth and Reality; Raymond Vernon, The Myth and Reality of Our Urban Problems; Boyd Shafer, Nationalism: Myth and Reality; Delbert Snider, Economic Myths and Realities.2 Such usages are understandable, but they sadly shrink once virile term. The Greek mythos was a tale uttered by the mouth, generally associated with religious ceremony. It had narrative and dramatic quality and pointed toward the divine, that is, the unknown. It attempted to capture in terms conceivable to humans some of the indeterminate qualities of this divine unknown. The language of these stories was consequently figurative, metaphorical, and ambiguous. Myths are poetry, but special kind of poetry the poetry men live by. As the bearer of other meanings, larger meanings, meanings beyond, myths have the concreteness of images found in private poetry, but also certain universality. Hence, we have often been told that myth does not tell truths, but tell the truth; myth is something that never was, but always is
Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Mythology · Narrative · Performative utterance · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Classics · European Political History Analysis · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy, History, and Historiography · Political Science Research and Education · Religion and Society Interactions
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1972 - 2020 (49) |
| Highly cited | No |