Philosophy – Modern Myths

philososphy homework

below is requirement.
Topic 2: Modern Myths
Description: Thales was an ancient Greek philosopher who promoted rational investigation and rejected many of the myths of his day. What is a good definition of a myth? Give a definition, and also say what kind of definition(s) you have given (see the textbook for the different kinds of definitions). Consider your own culture. Are there any myths still believed in by most of the people in the culture? Do you believe in that myth? Do you think belief in that myth is, or can be, rationally justified? Do you think belief in a myth can ever be rationally justified? Justify your claims.

 

                                                       Answer

Modern Myths

A myth refers to a classical or traditional story that may or may not be accurate with
partial reference to something of collective significance, such as the universe's origin. A myth's
definition is subject to debate to date. Myths can be very old or relatively new, for instance,
urban myths. Theories and insights from the pre-Socratic era influenced emancipated thinking
which contributed to some philosophers such as Thales to not buy into this mythology narrative
(Edelson, 2015).
While growing up, myths were a crucial subject, especially around the elderly, as they
would find a way to blend everything into a popular myth. Myths have several theories trying to
explain them, but you find that these models do not offer much convincing power. Myths
themselves are complex and better yet interesting than their theories. In this instance, this
definition best fits both the etiological and psychological myths criteria. Psychological myths are
inclined towards explaining man's behavior and feelings (Edelson, 2015). The difference
between the psychological category from the etiological one is that the former does not describe
a phenomenon using something else. Various myths exist trying to debunk how the world
formed; these fall under the etiological category or definition.
There is a spooky myth that involves a wailing woman known as La Llorona, who got her
spirit stuck roaming the earth due to her misdeeds (Deloria, 2016). Legend has it that she
murdered her children and was doomed to remain on earth searching for their bodies, but she
might never find the bodies, so instead, she snatches other living kids to take her kid's place. This
myth was used to discipline naughty kids and had remained in the community for over 15 years
(Deloria, 2016). The La Llorona myth has even made to mainstream entertainment circles where
there is a movie adapted from it.

Currently, after a lot of research, I have come to believe that the myth was just a hoax or
rather from my end. As said earlier, in the myth's definition, it can be real or a fallacy. Growing
up Aztec's, I believed in La Llorona. Still, as time went by and the naughty kids in my
community progressively got worse without anything happening to them, the belief slowly
started fading.
I believe the La Llorona myth can, rationally. First, it might have come up as a result of
influence various permutations of a wandering and crying woman in different communities. Has
is evident from believes goddesses and archaic Greek myths. The story of an alluring ghostly
woman exists in various cultures around the world. Some have even tried to document
encounters with La Llorona, creating representations of her in songs, dances, films, novels, and
art. shows that the community believes in the correlation between life and death and how one's
actions in the world of the living can affect their afterlife.
Rationally justifying a myth is effort-intensive, ranging from lots of research and studies
which can all have dead ends. I do not believe debunking myths rationally can be justified,
especially from a scientific point of view. This effort to debunk myths have contributed to their
current popularity. Despite this lack of rationality in their justification, they have helped give our
world meaning.
 

References

Edelson, C. D. (2015). A “Coterie of Spiritualists and Free Thinkers”—Spectral Riverside.
Pacific Coast Philology, 50(2), 149-162.
Deloria Jr, V. (2016). Evolution, creationism, and other modern myths: A critical inquiry.
Fulcrum Publishing.