Mythmaking and Human Development

Abstract

As the richly articulated cultural myths of the past have faded from social prominence and lost their viability in guiding individuals through predictable life crises, uniquely personal myths have assumed significance in helping individuals organize personal reality. After a brief survey of "personal mythology" as a concept within psychology, this article examines the mythic nature of thought and the historical shift in the foundations of consciousness from the myths of the collective to myths that increasingly bear the unique stamp of the individual. We will describe how the evolution of an individual's personal mythology takes the form of a dialectical pattern in which prevailing and emerging myths compete as new mythic structures evolve. This natural dialectic may be facilitated through a five-stage model we have developed and used in clinical, educational, and community settings. The model is presented as an approach that allows the individual to participate consciously in attitudinal and behavioral change. We close with a summary of eight principles that seem to govern the evolution of the individual's mythology and speculate about characteristics of the mythologies associated with higher levels of personality integration.