ABSTRACT

This original, provocative study, first published in 1973, presents a new method of interpretation of mythology, and reveals the wide-ranging implications of this universal phenomenon for many disciplines. The volume begins with a sympathetic but critical examination of Lévi-Strauss’s interpretation of mythology. Professor Munz points out the deficiencies in structuralist interpretations, and takes Lévi-Strauss’s neglect of the historicity of all myths as a starting-point for an alternative approach to mythology. Myths, he argues, come in typological series. If the whole series is read forward to the most specific version, the myths will reveal their inherent meaning typologically.

chapter 1|4 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|13 pages

A Critique of Structuralism

chapter 4|10 pages

The Phenomenon of Typology

chapter 5|6 pages

The Opportunism of Structuralism

chapter 6|12 pages

Typological Interpretation

chapter 7|5 pages

Myths and Metaphysics

chapter 8|17 pages

Metaphysics and Symbols

chapter 9|8 pages

Symbols and Signs

chapter 10|12 pages

Symbols and Psychology

chapter 11|10 pages

The Truth Value of Symbols

chapter 12|16 pages

The Equivalence of Symbols

chapter 13|5 pages

Metaphors and Societies