Can someone tell me what this statement means?

Question

"Myth provides us with absolutes in the place of ephemeral values and with a comforting perception of the world that is necessary to make the insecurity and terror of existence bearable."

I particularly don't understand the first half about replacing ephemeral values with absolutes... please help!

Answer 1

There are 2 major definitions of Myth [with 2 sub definitions each], one is an epic story from which a culture derives its values, or the group of them, the other is half truth or lie. Some people say these things are the same, but this is not necessarily so, particularly if the particular Myth is taken as an allegory.

Life itself, as a human experience, is mythic, taken as a whole, and unless your a nihilist etc., life is not a lie per se. Therefore I will stick to the first definition primarily.

Temporary, transient, ephemeral are often used synonymously, while absolute, eternal, permanent are likewise for myth. However, ephemeral, and absolute, are more applicable in this context to variable, and invariable, respectively.

So myth is the study, as far as the individual myth is capable, of universal principle of the human condition, using certain allegorical, or literal events, while the "ephemeral values" are the study of the specific events in time in themselves, and their limits, material and anthropic.

In fact they are the macroscopic vs the microscopic life. Cosmology vs Quantum mechanics, religious practice vs scientific method, etc. They are just two extremes of the one universal understanding. Often to take one extreme or the other alone, neglecting to be perceptive of both, leads to blind superstition in the case of myth, and material rapaciousness, and vain fights against entropy in the case of the "ephemeral values". Generally these are seen in the conflicts between dogmatic religion, and atheistic science. Proper science admits it does not know, and thus is agnostic, which is why it engages in study to begin with, to find out, more and more, and honest religious practice must begin from an agnostic method too, even if it does not remain so...

Maybe consider reading "Hero with a thousand faces" by Joseph Campbell

God bless.

Answer 2

The statement is probably written by an atheist.

A lot of people feel that all gods, the moral values of all religions, the teachings of all religions are these absolutes that humans craved to give themselves security in a world of uncertainty and where evolution could provide no set rules of behavior except one -- survival of the fittest.

Thus these ephemeral values, these more or less non-existent rules, of these assumed primitive men, primitive society were replaced by fictitious stories, myths, that provided a foundation for creating artificial morals or laws -- absolutes -- by which society was guided.

This kind of argument originates from those that close their eyes to the fact that we are surrounded by intelligent design wherever we look, that the planet we live on is indeed a privileged planet.

Just because so much religion and so many gods are human inventions does not mean that a true God does not exist. Thus not all absolutes need to have come into existence as a result of myths; rather, some absolutes are a result of the Universal Lawmaker's desires.

Answer 3

I'll try, but philosophy is usually open for interpretation.

The part "myth provides us with absolutes" means that our minds can decide for themselves what is truth. When saying "in place of ephemeral values", it's saying that our faith in what we believe replaces the value that would only last a short time. I believe the first part of the statement is referring to our fascination with the un-known. For example, not knowing how or why the world was created led to numerous religions and scientific theories that people put their heart and soul into, as opposed to knowing the answer, and just like last nights math homework, has already been forgotten and as an end result is another useless fact we've acquired in our education. The rest of the statement can be taken to mean that because of that myth, we now have an idea of what is to become of us, and that gives us comfort knowing that our lives are more than nothing, and are in fact a part of something bigger.

All in all, I think the statement is saying that if we knew all the answers, there would no longer be any meaning to anything, and our existence would be pointless.

Answer 4

ephemeral
2 entries found.

ephemeral[1,adjective]ephemeral[2,noun]



Main Entry: 1ephem·er·al
Pronunciation: \i-ˈfem-rəl, -ˈfēm-; -ˈfe-mə-, -ˈfē-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek ephēmeros lasting a day, daily, from epi- + hēmera day
Date: 1576
1 : lasting one day only
2 : lasting a very short time
synonyms see transient
— ephem·er·al·ly \-rə-lē\ adverb

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ephemeral+&fr=ush-ans

I think an other way of interpreting that, is the substance and qualities in emphemeral values are the higher ideal or abstraction or notion we search for in things like beauty, love in the spirit, trust from the good or trust from the bad from the bad deed, forgiveness as a rule rather than the hapstance in the spirits condition in the moment. Of course difference in the believer is a different belief, and so not all that is desired for universalization shall become such, and it is myth therein suggested is for that purpose.

Answer 5

It means that we, as humans, cannot live in uncertainty, and make up stories about the uncertain things, like the creation of the world, so that we don't constantly worry about them. If they are concrete, we can move past them. We fear the unknown. Therefore, religion, which may never be scientifically proved, becomes the facts and laws that we rely on to live our everyday lives.

Answer 6

ephemeral means to last for only a brief amount of time
for example religion gives us values to live by our entire lives and helps us cope with the fact that life can be hard and frightening and we will all die one day but life is ultimately good and our souls will live on for eternity
or maybe that's just how i read it

Answer 7

Basically, I think that statement is saying that myth provides comforting delusions for people who can't cope with reality.

Answer 8

myths were created to explain that which could not be explained,
science had yet to evolve to the standards which we hold it to today, and ancient peoples were curious, as is human nature
they wanted a stout explanation for the world around them, ancient people sought creative ways to explore the world and get answers to their questions
when they finally had answers {ie the myths}, they were more able to be at ease thinking that they understood the randomness of the turmoil of the world around them

Answer 9

it's saying that myth takes general moral principles and give us specific examples to make them real, and easier to understand.
it's one thing to say that stealing is wrong; it's more effective to tell a story about someone who stole and the negative consequences of that action that happens to him.

Answer 10

It's about the fantasy of it all. The grind of the everyday relieved through escapism.