Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
who worked in
comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
and
comparative religion
Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
. His work covers many aspects of the human experience. Campbell's best-known work is his book ''
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell, in which the author discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths ...
'' (1949), in which he discusses his theory of the journey of the
archetypal
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
shared by world
mythologies
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
, termed the
monomyth
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
.
Since the publication of ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'', Campbell's theories have been applied by a wide variety of modern writers and artists. His philosophy has been summarized by his own often repeated phrase: "Follow your bliss." He gained recognition in Hollywood when
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
credited Campbell's work as influencing his ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' saga.
Campbell's approach to
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
topics such as myth and his influence on popular culture has been the subject of criticism, including from
folklorists
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
.
Life
Background
Joseph Campbell was born in
White Plains, New York
(Always Faithful)
, image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png
, seal_link =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State
, su ...
, on March 26, 1904, the elder son of hosiery importer and wholesaler Charles William Campbell, from
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...
, and Josephine (née Lynch), from New York. Campbell was raised in an upper-middle-class
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...
family; he related that his paternal grandfather Charles had been "a peasant" who came to Boston from
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
in Ireland, and became the gardener and caretaker at the Lyman estate at Waltham, where his son Charles William Campbell grew up and became a successful salesman at a department store prior to establishing his hosiery business. During his childhood, he moved with his family to nearby
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...
. In 1919, a fire destroyed the family home in New Rochelle, killing his maternal grandmother and injuring his father, who tried to save her.
In 1921, Campbell graduated from the
Canterbury School in
New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...
. While at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
he studied biology and mathematics, but decided that he preferred the humanities. He transferred to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
in 1925 and a Master of Arts degree in
medieval literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
in 1927. At Dartmouth he had joined
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapters ...
. An accomplished athlete, he received awards in track and field events, and, for a time, was among the fastest half-mile runners in the world.
In 1924, Campbell traveled to Europe with his family. On the ship during his return trip he encountered the messiah elect of the
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
,
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
; they discussed
Indian philosophy
Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Veda ...
, sparking in Campbell an interest in
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Indian thought. In 1927, he received a
fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
from Columbia University to study in Europe. Campbell studied
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
,
Provençal, and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
and the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
. He learned to read and speak French and German.
On his return to Columbia University in 1929, Campbell expressed a desire to pursue the study of Sanskrit and
modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
in addition to medieval literature. Lacking faculty approval, Campbell withdrew from graduate studies. Later in life he jested that it is a sign of incompetence to have a PhD in the
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
, the discipline covering his work.
The Great Depression
With the arrival of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Campbell spent the next five years (1929–1934) living in a rented shack in
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...
. There, he contemplated the next course of his life while engaged in intensive and rigorous independent study. He later said that he "would divide the day into four three-hour periods, of which I would be reading in three of the three-hour periods, and free one of them ... I would get nine hours of sheer reading done a day. And this went on for five years straight."
Campbell traveled to California for a year (1931–1932), continuing his independent studies and becoming a close friend of the budding writer
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
and his wife Carol. Campbell had met Carol's sister, Idell, on a Honolulu cruise and she introduced him to the Steinbecks. Campbell had an affair with Carol. On the
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach.
History Monterey
Monterey was founded in 17 ...
, Campbell, like John Steinbeck, fell under the spell of the
marine biologist
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...
Ed Ricketts
Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (May 14, 1897 – May 11, 1948) was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. He is best known for ''Between Pacific Tides'' (1939), a pioneering study of intertidal ecology. He is also known as a men ...
(the model for "Doc" in Steinbeck's novel ''
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street bordering the city of Pacific Grove, but officially in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It was the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973 ...
'' as well as central characters in several other novels). Campbell lived for a while next door to Ricketts, participated in professional and social activities at his neighbor's, and accompanied him, along with
Xenia and Sasha Kashevaroff, on a 1932 journey to
Juneau
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
, Alaska on the ''Grampus''.
Campbell began writing a novel centered on Ricketts as a hero but, unlike Steinbeck, did not complete his book.
Bruce Robison writes that
Campbell continued his independent reading while teaching for a year in 1933 at the
Canterbury School in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, during which time he also attempted to publish works of fiction. While teaching at the Canterbury School, Campbell sold his first short story ''Strictly Platonic'' to ''Liberty'' magazine.
Sarah Lawrence College
In 1934, Campbell accepted a position as Professor of Literature at
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
in
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
. In 1938, he married one of his former students, the dancer-choreographer
Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman (February 20, 1916 – May 4, 2020) was an American dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director.
Biography Early years and background
Erdman was born in Honolulu. Erdman's father, John Piney ...
. For most of their 49 years of marriage they shared a two-room apartment in Greenwich Village in New York City. In the 1980s they also purchased an apartment in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
and divided their time between the two cities. They did not have any children.
Early in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Campbell attended a lecture by the
Indologist
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies.
The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...
Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of India ...
; the two men became good friends. After Zimmer's death, Campbell was given the task of editing and posthumously publishing Zimmer's papers, which he would do over the following decade.
In 1955–1956, as the last volume of Zimmer's posthumous (''The Art of Indian Asia, Its Mythology and Transformations'') was finally about to be published, Campbell took a sabbatical from Sarah Lawrence College and traveled, for the first time, to Asia. He spent six months in southern Asia (mostly India) and another six in East Asia (mostly Japan). This year had a profound influence on his thinking about Asian religion and myth, and also on the necessity for teaching
comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
to a larger, non-academic audience.
In 1972, Campbell retired from Sarah Lawrence College, after having taught there for 38 years.
Later life and death
Campbell attended a
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
concert in 1986, and marveled that "Everyone has just lost themselves in everybody else here!" With the Grateful Dead, Campbell put on a conference called "Ritual and Rapture from Dionysus to the Grateful Dead".
Campbell died at his home in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii, on October 30, 1987, from complications of
esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...
. Before his death he had completed filming the series of interviews with
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...
that aired the following spring as ''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
''. He is buried in O'ahu Cemetery, Honolulu.
Influences
Art, literature, philosophy
Campbell often referred to the work of modern writers
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
and
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
in his lectures and writings, as well as to the art of
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
. He was introduced to their work during his stay as a graduate student in Paris. Campbell eventually corresponded with Mann.
The works of
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...
and
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
had a profound effect on Campbell's thinking; he quoted their writing frequently.
The "follow your bliss" philosophy attributed to Campbell following the original broadcast of ''The Power of Myth'' (see below) derives from the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
; however, Campbell was possibly also influenced by the 1922
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...
novel ''
Babbitt
Babbitt may refer to:
Fiction
* ''Babbitt'' (novel), a 1922 novel by Sinclair Lewis
** ''Babbitt'' (1924 film), a 1924 silent film based on the novel
** ''Babbitt'' (1934 film), a 1934 film based on the novel
*Babbit, the family name of the titl ...
''. In ''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
,'' Campbell quotes from the novel:
Psychology and anthropology
The anthropologist
Leo Frobenius
Leo Viktor Frobenius (29 June 1873 – 9 August 1938) was a German self-taught ethnologist and archaeologist and a major figure in German ethnography.
Life
He was born in Berlin as the son of a Prussian officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago Ma ...
and his disciple
Adolf Ellegard Jensen
Adolf Ellegard Jensen (1 January 1899 – 20 May 1965) was one of the most important German ethnologists of the first half of the 20th century.
Jensen's main research interests were myth, ritual and cult. He furthered the theory of Cultural Morp ...
were important to Campbell's view of cultural history. Campbell was also influenced by the psychological work of
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow (; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, cul ...
and
Stanislav Grof.
Campbell's ideas regarding myth and its relation to the human psyche are dependent in part on the pioneering work of
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
, but in particular on the work of Jung, whose studies of human psychology greatly influenced Campbell. Campbell's conception of myth is closely related to the Jungian method of dream interpretation, which is heavily reliant on symbolic interpretation. Jung's insights into
archetype
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
s were heavily influenced by the ''
Bardo Thodol
The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation t ...
'' (also known as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead''). In his book ''The Mythic Image'', Campbell quotes Jung's statement about the ''Bardo Thodol'', that it
Comparative mythology and theories
Monomyth
Campbell's concept of ''monomyth'' (one myth) refers to the theory that sees all mythic narratives as variations of a single great story. The theory is based on the observation that a common pattern exists beneath the narrative elements of most great myths, regardless of their origin or time of creation. Campbell often referred to the ideas of
Adolf Bastian
Adolf Philipp Wilhelm Bastian (26 June 18262 February 1905) was a 19th-century polymath best remembered for his contributions to the development of ethnography and the development of anthropology as a discipline. Modern psychology owes him a great ...
and his distinction between what he called "folk" and "elementary" ideas, the latter referring to the prime matter of monomyth while the former to the multitude of local forms the myth takes in order to remain an up-to-date carrier of sacred meanings. The central pattern most studied by Campbell is often referred to as "
the hero's journey" and was first described in ''
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell, in which the author discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths ...
'' (1949). An enthusiast of novelist
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
,
Campbell borrowed the term "monomyth" from Joyce's ''
Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...
''. Campbell also made heavy use of
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
's theories on the structure of the human psyche, and he often used terms such as
anima, animus and
ego consciousness.
As a strong believer in the
psychic unity of mankind and its poetic expression through mythology, Campbell made use of the concept to express the idea that the whole of the human race can be seen as engaged in the effort of making the world ''"transparent to transcendence"'' by showing that underneath the world of phenomena lies an eternal source which is constantly pouring its energies into this world of time, suffering, and ultimately death. To achieve this task one needs to speak about things that existed before and beyond words, a seemingly impossible task, the solution to which lies in the metaphors found in myths. These metaphors are statements that point beyond themselves into the transcendent. The Hero's Journey was the story of the man or woman who, through great suffering, reached an experience of the eternal source and returned with gifts powerful enough to set their society free.
As this story spread through space and evolved through time, it was broken down into various local forms (masks), depending on the social structures and environmental pressures that existed for the culture that interpreted it. The basic structure, however, has remained relatively unchanged and can be classified using the various stages of a hero's adventure through the story, stages such as ''the Call to Adventure, Receiving Supernatural Aid, Meeting with the Goddess/Atonement with the Father'' and ''Return''. These stages, as well as the symbols one encounters throughout the story, provide the necessary
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
s to express the spiritual truths the story is trying to convey. Metaphors for Campbell, in contrast with ''
simile
A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors cr ...
s'' which make use of the word ''like'', pretend to a literal interpretation of what they are referring to, as in the sentence "Jesus is the Son of God" rather than "the relationship of man to God is ''like'' that of a son to a father".
In the 1987 documentary ''Joseph Campbell: A Hero's Journey'', he explains God in terms of a metaphor:
God is a metaphor for a mystery that absolutely transcends all human categories of thought, even the categories of being and non-being. Those are categories of thought. I mean it's as simple as that. So it depends on how much you want to think about it. Whether it's doing you any good. Whether it is putting you in touch with the mystery that's the ground of your own being. If it isn't, well, it's a lie. So half the people in the world are religious people who think that their metaphors are facts. Those are what we call theists. The other half are people who know that the metaphors are not facts. And so, they're lies. Those are the atheists.
Functions of myth
Campbell often described mythology as having a fourfold function within human society. These appear at the end of his work ''The Masks of God: Creative Mythology'', as well as various lectures.
[Campbell J. (1969]
Lectures II.1.1 The Function of Myth
(given at The Esalen Institute in August 1969)
; The Mystical/Metaphysical Function: ''Awakening and maintaining in the individual a sense of awe and gratitude before the 'mystery of being' and his or her participation in it''
: According to Campbell, the absolute mystery of life, what he called transcendent reality, cannot be captured directly in words or images. Symbols and mythic metaphors on the other hand point outside themselves and into that reality. They are what Campbell called "being statements"
and their enactment through ritual can give to the participant a sense of that ultimate mystery as an experience. "Mythological symbols touch and exhilarate centers of life beyond the reach of reason and coercion.... The first function of mythology is to reconcile waking consciousness to the ''mysterium tremendum et fascinans'' of this universe ''as it is''."
; The Cosmological Function: ''Explaining the shape of the universe''
: For pre-modern societies, myth also functioned as a ''proto-science'', offering explanations for the physical phenomena that surrounded and affected their lives, such as the change of seasons and the life cycles of animals and plants.
; The Sociological Function: ''Validate and support the existing social order''
: Ancient societies had to conform to an existing social order if they were to survive at all. This is because they evolved under "pressure" from necessities much more intense than the ones encountered in our modern world. Mythology confirmed that order and enforced it by reflecting it into the stories themselves, often describing how the order arrived from divine intervention. Campbell often referred to these "conformity" myths as the ''"Right Hand Path"'' to reflect the brain's left hemisphere's abilities for logic, order and linearity. Together with these myths however, he observed the existence of the ''"Left Hand Path"'', mythic patterns like the ''"Hero's Journey"'' which are revolutionary in character in that they demand from the individual a surpassing of social norms and sometimes even of morality.
; The Pedagogical/Psychological Function: ''Guide the individual through the stages of life''
: As a person goes through life, many psychological challenges will be encountered. Myth may serve as a guide for successful passage through the stages of one's life.
Evolution of myth
Campbell's view of mythology was by no means static and his books describe in detail how mythologies evolved through time, reflecting the realities in which each society had to adjust. Various stages of cultural development have different yet identifiable mythological systems. In brief these are:
; The Way of the Animal Powers: ''Hunting and gathering societies''
: At this stage of evolution religion was
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
, as all of nature was seen as being infused with a spirit or divine presence. At center stage was the main hunting animal of that culture, whether the
buffalo for Native Americans or the
eland for South African tribes, and a large part of religion focused on dealing with the psychological tension that came from the reality of the necessity to kill versus the divinity of the animal. This was done by presenting the animals as springing from an eternal archetypal source and coming to this world as ''willing victims'', with the understanding that their lives would be returned to the soil or to the Mother through a ritual of restoration. The act of slaughter then becomes a ritual where both parties, animal and mankind, are equal participants. In ''
Mythos
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
'' and ''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
'', Campbell recounts the story he calls "The Buffalo's Wife" as told by the Blackfoot tribe of North America. The story tells of a time when the buffalos stopped coming to the hunting plains, leaving the tribe to starve. The chief's daughter promises to marry the buffalo chief in return for their reappearance, but is eventually spared and taught the buffalo dance by the animals themselves, through which the spirits of their dead will return to their eternal life source. Indeed, Campbell taught that throughout history mankind has held a belief that all life comes from and returns to another dimension which transcends temporality, but which can be reached through ritual.
; The Way of the Seeded Earth: ''Early agrarian societies''
: Beginning in the fertile grasslands of the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
and the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia in the Bronze Age and moving to Europe, the practice of agriculture spread along with a new way of understanding mankind's relationship to the world. At this time the earth was seen as the Mother, and the myths focused around Her life-giving powers. The plant and cultivation cycle was mirrored in religious rituals which often included human sacrifice, symbolic or literal. The main figures of this system were a female Great Goddess, Mother Earth, and her ever-dying and ever-resurrected son/consort, a male God. At this time the focus was to participate in the repetitive rhythm the world moved in expressed as the four seasons, the birth and death of crops and the phases of the moon. At the center of this motion was the Mother Goddess from whom all life springs and to whom all life returns. This often gave Her a dual aspect as both mother and destroyer.
; The Way of the Celestial Lights: ''The first high civilizations''
: As the first agricultural societies evolved into the high civilisations of
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
and
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
, the observation of the stars inspired them with the idea that life on earth must also follow a similar mathematically predetermined pattern in which individual beings are but mere participants in an eternal cosmic play. The king was symbolised by the Sun with the golden crown as its main metaphor, while his court were the orbiting planets. The Mother Goddess remained, but her powers were now fixed within the rigid framework of a clockwork universe.
: However, two barbarian incursions changed that. As the Indo-European (Aryan) people descended from the north and the Semites swept up from the Arabian desert, they carried with them a male dominated mythology with a warrior god whose symbol was the thunder. As they conquered, mainly due to the superior technology of iron smithing, their mythology blended with and subjugated the previous system of the Earth Goddess. Many mythologies of the ancient world, such as those of Greece, India, and Persia, are a result of that fusion with gods retaining some of their original traits and character but now belonging to a single system. Figures such as
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
and
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
are thunder gods who now interact with
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
and
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
, whose ritual sacrifice and rebirth, bearing testament to his pre-Indo-European roots, were still enacted in classical Greece. But for the most part, the focus heavily shifted toward the masculine, with Zeus ascending the throne of the gods and Dionysus demoted to a mere demi-god.
: This demotion was very profound in the case of the biblical imagery where the female elements were marginalized to an extreme. Campbell believed that Eve and the snake that tempted her were once fertility gods worshipped in their own right, with the tree of knowledge being the
Tree of Life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
. He also found significance in the biblical story of Cain and Abel, with Cain being a farmer whose agrarian offering is not accepted by God, while herder Abel's animal sacrifice is. In the lecture series of
Mythos
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
, Campbell speaks of the
Mysteries of Eleusis
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are the ...
in Ancient Greece, where Demeter's journey in the underworld was enacted for young men and women of the time. There he observed that wheat was presented as the ultimate mystery with wine being a symbol of Dionysus, much like in the Christian mysteries where bread and wine are considered to incarnate the body and blood of Jesus. Both religions carry the same "seeded earth" cosmology in different forms while retaining an image of the ever-dying, ever-resurrected God.
; The Way of Man: ''Medieval mythology, romantic love, and the birth of the modern spirit''
: Campbell recognized that the poetic form of courtly love, carried through medieval Europe by the traveling troubadours, contained a complete mythology in its own right. In'' The Power of Myth'' as well as the "Occidental Mythology" volume of ''The Masks of God'', Campbell describes the emergence of a new kind of erotic experience as a "person to person" affair, in contrast with the purely physical definition given to Eros in the ancient world and the communal agape found in the Christian religion. An archetypal story of this kind is the legend of
Tristan and Isolde
Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...
which, apart from its mystical function, shows the transition from an arranged-marriage society as practiced in the Middle Ages and sanctified by the church, into the form of marriage by "falling in love" with another person that we recognize today. So what essentially started from a mythological theme has since become a social reality, mainly due to a change in perception brought about by a new mythologyand represents a central foundational manifestation of Campbell's overriding interpretive message, "Follow your bliss."
: Campbell believed that in the modern world the function served by formal, traditional mythological systems has been taken on by individual creators such as artists and philosophers. In the works of some of his favorites, such as
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
,
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
and
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
, he saw mythological themes that could serve the same life-giving purpose that mythology had once played. Accordingly, Campbell believed the religions of the world to be the various culturally influenced "masks" of the same fundamental, transcendent truths. All religions can bring one to an elevated awareness above and beyond a dualistic conception of reality, or idea of "pairs of opposites" such as being and non-being, or right and wrong. Indeed, he quotes from the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
in the preface to ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'': "Truth is one, the sages speak of it by many names."
Influence
Joseph Campbell Foundation
In 1991, Campbell's widow, choreographer
Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman (February 20, 1916 – May 4, 2020) was an American dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director.
Biography Early years and background
Erdman was born in Honolulu. Erdman's father, John Piney ...
, worked with Campbell's longtime friend and editor,
Robert Walter, to create the Joseph Campbell Foundation.
Initiatives undertaken by the JCF include: ''The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell'', a series of books and recordings that aims to pull together Campbell's myriad-minded work; the Erdman Campbell Award; the Mythological RoundTables, a network of local groups around the globe that explore the subjects of comparative mythology, psychology, religion and culture; and the collection of Campbell's library and papers housed at the OPUS Archives and Research Center.
Film and television
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
was the first Hollywood filmmaker to credit Campbell's influence. Lucas stated, following the release of the first
''Star Wars'' film in 1977, that its story was shaped, in part, by ideas described in ''
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell, in which the author discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths ...
'' and other works of Campbell's. The linkage between ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' and Campbell was further reinforced when later reprints of Campbell's book used the image of
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
on the cover. Lucas discusses this influence at great length in the authorized biography of Joseph Campbell, ''A Fire in the Mind'':
It was not until after the completion of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy in 1983, however, that Lucas met Campbell or heard any of his lectures. In 1984, Campbell gave a lecture at the
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
in San Francisco, with Lucas in the audience, who was introduced through their mutual friend
Barbara McClintock
Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927. There s ...
. A few years later, Lucas invited Campbell to watch the entire ''Star Wars'' trilogy at
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-century la ...
, which Campbell called "real art". This meeting led to the filming of the 1988 documentary ''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
'' at Skywalker Ranch. In his interviews with
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...
, Campbell discusses the way in which Lucas used ''The Hero's Journey'' in the ''Star Wars'' films (IV, V, and VI) to re-invent the mythology for the contemporary viewer. Moyers and Lucas filmed an interview 12 years later in 1999 called the ''Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas & Bill Moyers'' to further discuss the impact of Campbell's work on Lucas' films. In addition, the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
sponsored an exhibit during the late 1990s called ''Star Wars: The Magic of Myth'', which discussed the ways in which Campbell's work shaped the ''Star Wars'' films.
Many filmmakers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have acknowledged the influence of Campbell's work on their own craft.
Christopher Vogler
Christopher Vogler (born 1949) is a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood development executive, screenwriter, author and educator, best known for working with Disney and his screenwriting guide, ''The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Write ...
, a Hollywood screenwriter, created a seven-page company memo based on Campbell's work, ''A Practical Guide to The Hero With a Thousand Faces'', which led to the development of
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's 1994 film ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...
''. Among films that many viewers have recognized as closely following the pattern of the monomyth are ''
The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
'' series, the
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
series and the ''
Indiana Jones
''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
'' series.
Dan Harmon
Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast '' Harmontow ...
, the creator of the TV show ''
Community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
'' and co-creator of the TV show ''
Rick and Morty
{{Infobox television
, image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png
, alt =
, caption =
, genre = {{Plainlist,
* Animated sitcom
* Adult animation
* Science fiction
* Black comedy
* ...
'', often references Campbell as a major influence. According to him, he uses a "story circle" to formulate every story he writes, in a formulation of Campbell's work. A fictionalized version of Campbell himself appears in the seventh episode of the sixth season of ''Rick and Morty'', "Full Meta Jackrick".
Popular literature
After the explosion of popularity brought on by the ''Star Wars'' films and ''The Power of Myth'', creative artists in many media recognized the potential to use Campbell's theories to try to unlock human responses to narrative patterns. Novelists, songwriters, video game designers have studied Campbell's work in order to better understand mythology – in particular, the
monomyth
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
– and its impact.
The novelist
Richard Adams acknowledges a debt to Campbell's work and specifically to the concept of the monomyth. In his best known work, ''
Watership Down
''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...
'', Adams uses extracts from ''
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell, in which the author discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths ...
'' as chapter epigrams.
Dan Brown
Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''In ...
mentioned in a
''New York Times'' interview that Joseph Campbell's works, particularly ''The Power of Myth'' and ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'', inspired him to create the character of
Robert Langdon
Professor Robert Langdon is a fictional character created by author Dan Brown for his ''Robert Langdon'' book series: ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''Inferno'' (2013) and ''Origin'' (2017 ...
.
"Follow your bliss"
One of Campbell's most identifiable, most quoted and arguably most misunderstood sayings was his admonition to "follow your bliss". He derived this idea from the
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
:
He saw this not merely as a mantra, but as a helpful guide to the individual along the hero journey that each of us walks through life:
Campbell began sharing this idea with students during his lectures in the 1970s. By the time that ''The Power of Myth'' was aired in 1988, six months following Campbell's death, "Follow your bliss" was a philosophy that resonated deeply with the American publicboth religious and secular.
During his later years, when some students took him to be encouraging
hedonism
Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...
, Campbell is reported to have grumbled, "I should have said, 'Follow your ''blisters''.'"
Academic reception and criticism
Campbell's approach to myth, a genre of
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, has been the subject of criticism from
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
s, academics who specialize in
folklore studies
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
. American folklorist
Barre Toelken
John Barre Toelken (June 15, 1935 – November 9, 2018) was an award-winning American folklorist, noted for his study of Native American material and oral traditions.
Early life and education
Barre Toelken was born in Enfield, Massachusetts, to ...
says that few psychologists have taken the time to become familiar with the complexities of folklore, and that, historically, Jung-influenced psychologists and authors have tended to build complex theories around single versions of a tale that support a theory or a proposal. To illustrate his point, Toelken employs
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Clarissa Pinkola Estés (born January 27, 1945) is a first-generation American writer and Jungian psychoanalyst. She is the author of '' Women Who Run with the Wolves'' (1992), which remained on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list for 145 wee ...
's (1992) ''
Women Who Run with the Wolves'', citing its inaccurate representation of the folklore record, and Campbell's "monomyth" approach as another. Regarding Campbell, Toelken writes, "Campbell could construct a monomyth of the hero only by citing those stories that fit his preconceived mold, and leaving out equally valid stories… which did not fit the pattern". Toelken traces the influence of Campbell's monomyth theory into other then-contemporary popular works, such as
Robert Bly
Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ' ...
's ''
Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which he says suffers from similar source selection bias.
Similarly, American folklorist
Alan Dundes was highly critical of both Campbell's approach to folklore, designating him as a "non-expert" and gives various examples of what he considers source bias in Campbell's theories, as well as media representation of Campbell as an expert on the subject of myth in popular culture. Dundes writes, "Folklorists have had some success in publicising the results of our efforts in the past two centuries such that members of other disciplines have, after a minimum of reading, believe they are qualified to speak authoritatively of folkloristic matters. It seems that the world is full of self-proclaimed experts in folklore, and a few, such as Campbell, have been accepted as such by the general public (and public television, in the case of Campbell)". According to Dundes, "there is no single idea promulgated by amateurs that has done more harm to serious folklore study than the notion of archetype".
According to anthropologist Raymond Scupin, "Joseph Campbell's theories have not been well received in anthropology because of his overgeneralizations, as well as other problems."
Campbell's Sanskrit scholarship has been questioned.
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (born March 28, 1941 as Jeffrey Lloyd Masson) is an American author. Masson is best known for his conclusions about Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. In his ''The Assault on Truth'' (1984), Masson argues that Freud may ha ...
, a former Sanskrit professor at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, said that he once met Campbell, and that the two "hated each other at sight", commenting that, "When I met Campbell at a public gathering he was quoting Sanskrit verses. He had no clue as to what he was talking about; he had the most superficial knowledge of India but he could use it for his own aggrandizement. I remember thinking: this man is corrupt. I know that he was simply ''lying'' about his understanding". According to Richard Buchen, librarian of the Joseph Campbell Collection at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, Campbell could not translate Sanskrit well, but worked closely with three scholars who did.
Ellwood observes that ''The Masks of God'' series "impressed literate laity more than specialists"; he quotes Stephen P. Dunn as remarking that in ''Occidental Mythology'' Campbell "writes in a curiously archaic style – full of rhetorical questions, exclamations of wonder and delight, and expostulations directed at the reader, or perhaps at the author's other self – which is charming about a third of the time and rather annoying the rest." Ellwood says that "Campbell was not really a social scientist, and those in the latter camp could tell" and records a concern about Campbell's "oversimplification of historical matters and tendency to make myth mean whatever he wanted it to mean". The critic
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultur ...
, writing in ''
Sexual Personae
''Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson'' is a 1990 work about sexual decadence in Western literature and the visual arts by scholar Camille Paglia, in which she addresses major artists and writers such as Donatell ...
'' (1990), expressed disagreement with Campbell's "negative critique of fifth-century Athens" in ''Occidental Mythology'', arguing that Campbell missed the "visionary and exalted" androgyny in Greek statues of nude boys. Paglia has written that while Campbell is "a seminal figure for many American feminists", she loathes him for his "mawkishness and bad research." Paglia has called Campbell "mushy" and a "false teacher", and described his work as a "fanciful, showy mishmash".
Campbell has also been accused of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
by some authors. In a 1989 ''
New York Review of Books
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' article,
Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...
accused Campbell of both antisemitism and prejudice against blacks. Gill's article resulted in a series of letters to the editor, some supporting the charge of antisemitism and others defending him. However, according to
Robert S. Ellwood
Robert S. Ellwood (born 1933) is an American academic, author and expert on world religions.
He was educated at the University of Colorado, Berkeley Divinity School and was awarded a PhD in History of Religions from the University of Chicago in 1 ...
, Gill relied on "scraps of evidence, largely anecdotal" to support his charges. In 1991, Masson also accused Campbell of "hidden anti-Semitism" and "fascination with conservative, semifascistic views".
The religious studies scholar
Russell T. McCutcheon
Russell Tracey McCutcheon (born 1961) is a Canadian religion scholar with a PhD in religious studies from the University of Toronto in 1995.
Biography
He is a professor and was department chair from 2001 to 2009 at the University of Alabama. He ...
characterized the "following
fthe bliss of self-realization" in Campbell's work as "spiritual and psychological legitimation" for
Reaganomics
Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, refers to the neoliberal economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associat ...
.
Works
Early collaborations
The first published work that bore Campbell's name was ''Where the Two Came to Their Father'' (1943), an account of a
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
ceremony that was performed by singer (
medicine man
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...
)
Jeff King and recorded by artist and
ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
Maud Oakes
Maud Van Cortlandt Oakes (1903–1990) was an ethnologist, artist and writer who published her research into the cultures of indigenous tribes in the Americas, including the Navajo of the American Southwest and the Mam of Guatemala. She is best ...
, recounting the story of two young heroes who go to the
hogan
A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...
of their father, the Sun, and return with the power to destroy the monsters that are plaguing their people. Campbell provided a commentary. He would use this tale through the rest of his career to illustrate both the universal symbols and structures of human myths and the particulars ("folk ideas") of
Native American stories.
As noted above,
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
was an important influence on Campbell. Campbell's first important book (with
Henry Morton Robinson
Henry Morton Robinson (September 7, 1898 – January 13, 1961) was an American novelist, best known for '' A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'' written with Joseph Campbell and his 1950 novel ''The Cardinal'', which ''Time'' magazine reported w ...
), ''
A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake
''A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'' is a 1944 work of literary criticism by mythologist Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson. The work gives both a general critical overview of ''Finnegans Wake'' and a detailed exegetical outline of the t ...
'' (1944), is a critical analysis of Joyce's final text ''
Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...
''. In addition, Campbell's seminal work, ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (1949), discusses what Campbell called the ''monomyth'' – the cycle of the journey of the
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
– a term that he borrowed directly from Joyce's ''
Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...
''.
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces''
From his days in college through the 1940s, Joseph Campbell turned his hand to writing fiction. In many of his later stories (published in the posthumous collection ''Mythic Imagination'') he began to explore the mythological themes that he was discussing in his Sarah Lawrence classes. These ideas turned him eventually from fiction to non-fiction.
Originally titled ''How to Read a Myth'', and based on the introductory class on mythology that he had been teaching at
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
, ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' was published in 1949 as Campbell's first foray as a solo author; it established his name outside of scholarly circles and remains, arguably, his most influential work to this day. The book argues that
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
stories such as
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
,
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
,
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of ''L ...
, and Jesus all share a similar mythological basis. Not only did it introduce the concept of the hero's journey to popular thinking, but it also began to popularize the very idea of
comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
itselfthe study of the human impulse to create stories and images that, though they are clothed in the
motifs of a particular time and place, draw nonetheless on universal, eternal
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
s. Campbell asserted:
Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed. The living images become only remote facts of a distant time or sky. Furthermore, it is never difficult to demonstrate that as science and history, mythology is absurd. When a civilization begins to reinterpret its mythology in this way, the life goes out of it, temples become museums, and the link between the two perspectives becomes dissolved.
''The Masks of God''
Published between 1959 and 1968, Campbell's four-volume work ''The Masks of God'' covers mythology from around the world, from ancient to modern. Where ''
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell, in which the author discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths ...
'' focused on the commonality of mythology (the "elementary ideas"), the '' Masks of God'' books focus upon historical and cultural variations the monomyth takes on (the "folk ideas"). In other words, where ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' draws perhaps more from psychology, the '' Masks of God'' books draw more from anthropology and history. The four volumes of ''Masks of God'' are as follows: ''Primitive Mythology'', ''Oriental Mythology'', ''Occidental Mythology'', and ''
Creative Mythology''.
''Historical Atlas of World Mythology''
At the time of his death, Campbell was in the midst of working on a large-format, lavishly illustrated series titled ''Historical Atlas of World Mythology''. This series was to build on Campbell's idea, first presented in ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'', that myth evolves over time through four stages:
* ''The Way of the Animal Powers''the myths of
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
hunter-gatherers which focus on shamanism and animal totems.
* ''The Way of the Seeded Earth''the myths of
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, agrarian cultures which focus upon a mother goddess and associated fertility rites.
* ''The Way of the Celestial Lights''the myths of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
city-states with pantheons of gods ruling from the heavens, led by a masculine god-king.
* ''The Way of Man''religion and philosophy as it developed after the
Axial Age
Axial Age (also Axis Age, from german: Achsenzeit) is a term coined by German philosopher Karl Jaspers. It refers to broad changes in religious and philosophical thought that occurred in a variety of locations from about the 8th to the 3rd centu ...
(c. 6th century BCE), in which the mythic imagery of previous eras was made consciously metaphorical, reinterpreted as referring to psycho-spiritual, not literal-historical, matters. This transition is evident in the East in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
, and philosophical
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
; and in the West in the
Mystery cult
Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy ass ...
s,
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at le ...
, Christianity and
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
.
Only the first volume was completed at the time of Campbell's death. Campbell's editor Robert Walter completed the publication of the first three of five parts of the second volume after Campbell's death. The works are now out of print. , Joseph Campbell Foundation is currently undertaking to create a new, ebook edition.
''The Power of Myth''
Campbell's widest popular recognition followed his collaboration with
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...
on the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
series ''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
'', which was first broadcast in 1988, the year following Campbell's death. The series discusses mythological, religious, and psychological archetypes. A book, ''The Power of Myth'', containing expanded transcripts of their conversations, was released shortly after the original broadcast.
''Collected Works''
The ''Collected Works of Joseph Campbell'' series is a project initiated by the
Joseph Campbell Foundation
The Joseph Campbell Foundation is a US not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserve, protect and perpetuate the work of influential American mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987). It fosters academic and popular discussion in the fields o ...
to release new, authoritative editions of Campbell's published and unpublished writing, as well as audio and video recordings of his lectures. Working with
New World Library
New World Library is a San Francisco Bay Area-based American publisher of books for adults and children. The press focuses on publishing books concerning the mind, the body and the spirit.
The company was established in 1977 by authors Marc Al ...
and
Acorn Media UK, as well as publishing audio recordings and
ebook
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
s under its own banner, the project has produced over seventy-five titles. The series's executive editor is
Robert Walter, and the managing editor is
David Kudler.
Other books
*''Where the Two Came to Their Father: A Navaho War Ceremonial'' (1943). With
Jeff King and
Maud Oakes
Maud Van Cortlandt Oakes (1903–1990) was an ethnologist, artist and writer who published her research into the cultures of indigenous tribes in the Americas, including the Navajo of the American Southwest and the Mam of Guatemala. She is best ...
, Old Dominion Foundation
*''
The Flight of the Wild Gander
''The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension'' is a 1969 book by mythologist Joseph Campbell, in which he collects a number of his early essays and forwards. Essays include "Bios and Mythos" (on the psycho-biologica ...
: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension'' (1968). Viking Press
*''
Myths to Live By'' (1972). Viking Press
*''Erotic irony and mythic forms in the art of Thomas Mann'' (1973; monograph, later included in ''The Mythic Dimension'')
*''The Mythic Image'' (1974). Princeton University Press
*''
The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor As Myth and As Religion'' (1986). Alfred van der Marck Editions
*''Transformations of Myth Through Time'' (1990). Harper and Row
*''A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living'' (1991). Editor
Robert Walter, from material by Diane K. Osbon
*''Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: On the Art of James Joyce'' (1993). Editor Edmund L. Epstein
*''The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays (1959–1987)'' (1993). Editor Anthony Van Couvering
*''Baksheesh & Brahman: Indian Journals (1954–1955)'' (1995). Editors Robin/
Stephen Larsen & Anthony Van Couvering
*''
Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor'' (2001). Editor
Eugene Kennedy, New World Library . First volume in the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell
*''The Inner Reaches of Outer Space'' (2002)
*''Sake & Satori: Asian Journals – Japan'' (2002). Editor
David Kudler
*''Myths of Light: Eastern Metaphors of the Eternal'' (2003). Editor David Kudler
*''Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation'' (2004). Editor David Kudler
*''Mythic Imagination: Collected Short Fiction of Joseph Campbell'' (2012)
*''Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine'' (2013). Editor Safron Rossi
*''Romance of the Grail: The Magic and Mystery of Arthurian Myth'' (2015). Editor Evans Lansing Smith
*''The Ecstasy of Being: Mythology and Dance'' (2017). Editor Nancy Allison
* ''Correspondence 1927–1987'' (2019, 2020). Editors Dennis Patrick Slattery & Evans Lansing Smith
Interview books
*''
The Power of Myth
''The Power of Myth'' is a book based on the 1988 PBS documentary ''Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth''. The documentary was originally broadcast as six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) and journalist ...
'' (1988). with
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...
and editor
Betty Sue Flowers
Betty Sue Flowers is the former director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and an Emerita Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin.
Flowers is a native Texan and graduated from the University of Texas and the Uni ...
, Doubleday, hardcover:
*''An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in Conversation with Michael Toms'' (1989). Editors John Maher and Dennie Briggs, forward by Jean Erdman Campbell. Larson Publications, Harper Perennial 1990 paperback:
*''This business of the gods: Interview with Fraser Boa'' (Unlicensed – 1989)
*''
The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work'' (1990). Editor
Phil Cousineau
Philip Robert Cousineau (born 1952) is an American author, lecturer, independent scholar, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Early life and education
Phil Cousineau was born on 26 November 1952 in ...
. Harper & Row 1991 paperback: . Element Books 1999 hardcover: . New World Library centennial edition with introduction by Phil Cousineau, forward by executive editor Stuart L. Brown:
Audio recordings
*''Mythology and the Individual''
*''The Power of Myth'' (with Bill Moyers) (1987)
*''Transformation of Myth through Time'' Volume 1–3 (1989)
*''The Hero with a Thousand Faces: The Cosmogonic Cycle'' (read by Ralph Blum; 1990)
*''The Way of Art'' (1990–unlicensed)
*''The Lost Teachings of Joseph Campbell'' Volume 1–9 (with Michael Toms; 1993)
*''On the Wings of Art: Joseph Campbell; Joseph Campbell on the Art of James Joyce'' (1995)
*''The Wisdom of Joseph Campbell'' (with Michael Toms; 1997)
* ''Audio Lecture Series'':
** ''Series I – lectures up to 1970''
*** ''Volume 1: Mythology and the Individual''
*** ''Volume 2: Inward Journey: East and West''
*** ''Volume 3: The Eastern Way''
*** ''Volume 4: Man and Myth''
*** ''Volume 5: Myths and Masks of God''
*** ''Volume 6: The Western Quest''
** ''Series II – lectures from 1970 to 1978''
*** ''Volume 1: A Brief History of World Mythology''
*** ''Volume 2: Mythological Perspectives''
*** ''Volume 3: Christian Symbols and Ideas''
*** ''Volume 4: Psychology and Asia Philosophies''
*** ''Volume 5: Your Myth Today''
*** ''Volume 6: Mythic Ideas and Modern Culture''
** ''Series III – lectures from 1983 to 1986''
*** ''Volume 1: The Mythic Novels of James Joyce''
*''Myth and Metaphor in Society'' (with Jamake Highwater) (abridged; 2002)
Video recordings
*''
The Hero's Journey: A Biographical Portrait''This film, made shortly before his death in 1987, follows Campbell's personal questa pathless journey of questioning, discovery, and ultimately of joy in a life to which he said, "Yes."
*''Sukhavati: A Mythic Journey''This film is a personal, transcendent, and perhaps spiritual portrait of Campbell.
*
Mythos
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
This series comprises talks that Campbell himself believed summed up his views on "the one great story of mankind." It is essentially a repackaging of the lectures featured in ''Transformations of Myth Through Time''.
*'' Psyche & Symbol'' (12-part telecourse, Bay Area Open College, 1976)
*'' Transformations of Myth Through Time'' (1989)
*''
Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth'' (1988)
*''Myth and Metaphor in Society'' (with Jamake Highwater; 1993)
TV appearances
*''
Bill Moyers Journal
''Bill Moyers Journal'' was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill Mo ...
'': Joseph Campbell – Myths to Live By (Part One), April 17, 1981
*''Bill Moyers Journal'': Joseph Campbell – Myths to Live By (Part Two), April 24, 1981
[
]
Edited books
*
Gupta, Mahendranath. ''
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
''The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'' is an English translation of the Bengali religious text '' Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, record ...
'' (1942) (translation from
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
by
Swami Nikhilananda
Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his dea ...
; Joseph Campbell and
Margaret Woodrow Wilson
Margaret Woodrow Wilson (April 16, 1886 – February 12, 1944) was the eldest child of President Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Louise Axson. Her two siblings were Jessie and Eleanor. After her mother's death in 1914, Margaret served her father as the ...
, with translation assistants; foreword by
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
)
*''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization''.
Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of India ...
(1946)
*''The King and the Corpse: Tales of the Soul's Conquest of Evil''. Heinrich Zimmer (1948)
*''Philosophies of India''. Heinrich Zimmer (1951)
*''The Portable Arabian Nights'' (1951)
*''The Art of Indian Asia''. Heinrich Zimmer (1955)
*''Man and Time: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''Man and Transformation: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''The Mysteries: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''The Mystic Vision: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''Spirit and Nature: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''Spiritual Disciplines: Papers from the Eranos Yearbooks''. Various authors (1954–1969)
*''Myths, Dreams, Religion''. Various authors (1970)
*''The Portable Jung''.
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
(1971)
See also
*
Aarne–Thompson classification systems
* ''
The Golden Bough
''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
''
*
Polytheistic myth as psychology
*
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (russian: Владимир Яковлевич Пропп; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irredu ...
*
Religion and mythology
Religion and mythology differ in scope but have overlapping aspects. Both terms refer to systems of concepts that are of high importance to a certain community, making statements concerning the supernatural or sacred. Generally, mythology is consi ...
*
Script analysis
* ''
The Seven Basic Plots
''The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories'' is a 2004 book by Christopher Booker containing a Jung-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for thirty-four years.
Summary The meta-plot
The meta ...
''
Joseph Campbell Foundation (JCF)
Notes
References
Citations
Works cited
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External links
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Joseph Campbell FoundationThe Joseph Campbell Library at Pacifica Graduate Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Joseph
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