Mountaineering, Myth and the Meaning of Life: psychoanalysing alpinism

Abstract

ABSTRACTI attempt to provide a new answer to the enduring question of why people take the acute risks of climbing mountains. In so doing, I aim to explain, but not necessarily justify, participation in such endeavours. My account proceeds by analysing mountaineering adventures in terms of myth – in particular, in terms of the myth of Sisyphus and Joseph Campbell’s work on comparative mythology and psychoanalysis – and in the light of recent research in psychology on the concept of willpower. My analyses intend to establish that mountaineering is at root the attempt to affirm, validate and acquire psychological compensation for the demands of mature and responsible human agency. Finally, I consider what this account might reveal about the meaning of game-playing, sport, and human endeavour in general.