Be careful of Campbell; he often oversimplifies to suit his prejudices.

Be careful of Campbell! OK. I am just finding what he knows very interesting and insightful, but you know me, I don't easily subscribe to any ideas because I always have so much doubt and I am not easily attached. See how handy this detachment skill is, in my search?

Tell me about Campbell's prejudices. I don't know much about him. I enjoyed listening to his "lectures" The Power of Myths and I got a set of DVD for it that I haven't watched. A few years ago when I declared that I wanted to start my own religion, a well-read friend suggested Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces but I haven't read it. I can guess what he tries to say in that book, but it would be interesting to learn some details. He seems to be quite learned.

The Greeks also have a very different story. Gods created Man and later Woman. The first Being, Chaos (The Void/Undifferentiated Being), is in thought female. Gods and people routinely coupled after the arrival of humans. While there are many more instances of male gods and female humans as couples, there are important examples of female gods and male humans. And it is the Greeks who are honest enough, apart from their myths, to state that man makes god in his own image. Men become "gods" when least likely, at the moment of their death.

Yes, I like the idea that Gods and people often have affairs with one another. There should really be no real difference between gods and people. All should be equal but different, because who is there to assign the hierarchy of creations? Especially when I think (and I know) that the world is cyclic rather than one dimensional. A cyclic universe is the most elegant and simple and full of wonders.

My scientific expertise is study of the formation of benzene. You know the story of discovery of benzene structure? Benzene is a hydrocarbon chemical of 6 carbon and 6 hydrogen atoms. Before the discovery, all hydrocarbon that scientists knew were linear in structure, but somehow the structure of benzene is impossible to understand. This guy, I don't remember his name, thought about the problem for a long time. One night he was sleeping and he dreamed of a snake biting his own tail, and he realized the structure of benzene could only be cyclic. The 6 carbon atoms are linked together to form a hexagon, the 6 hydrogen atoms are attached to each of the carbon atoms, and 6 electrons are shared by all carbon atoms equally. I don't know if this story is true, but I like it nonetheless. It illustrates the simplicity and elegance of nature. In science, the simplest and more elegant theory is the best. So scientists also believe in the beauty of theories. That's why physicists worship Newton and Einstein. Science, art, religion, are just different aspects of the same thing, and equally important. We all need to find our preference, but personally I want to grasp the whole picture, probably because I feel I can.

Campbell reintroduces a western appreciation of Eastern religiosity in western terms. He downplays the significance of western thought because he believed it (over)emphasized enough. What many moderns fall prey to is the causal relationship fallacy. If something is the same in two cultures, then one must have given it to the other (or an earlier one gave it to both). I think grossly underrated is the theory that two cultures can come up with very similar expressions independently. While I am not sure how much weight to give Jungian archetypes, I do believe there are similarities of human thought across cultures. We seek patterns and similarities.

Why do you say "the theory that two cultures can come up with very similar expressions independently" is underrated? I once read that one expression of intelligence is the ability to see similarities in things that are very different, and see the differences in things that are very similar, something like that. This sounds like Tao to me. There are always two sides of things. I say, seek tolerance in understanding, and balance in action.

-- email conversation with JA.