The lessons of nature in mythology

Abstract

THE LESSONS OF NATURE IN MYTHOLOGY. Rachel S. McCoppin. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015. 224 p. 978-1476662008. $35.00. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS ALSO LONG LOVED AND TAUGHT the power of (and its relevance to both modern myth--a.k.a. science fiction and fantasy media--and the evolution of science as a discipline), I came to my reading of this book with great interest and enthusiasm. While the latter slightly waned (in direct proportion to the emergence of a certain level of frustration) as the pages were turned, my interest in the overall content of this work did not. McCoppin, Professor of Literature and Humanities in the Department of Liberal Arts and Education at the University of Minnesota Crookston, is the recipient of several teaching awards at her home institution. Some of her previous scholarly works have focused on mythological threads and metaphors in such disparate corners of popular culture as the television series Spartacus, The Grapes of Wrath, and the works of Tim Burton. In the introduction to her book she explains that she has been a student of mythology for over two decades and a teacher of it for half that time. Her self-admitted mantra--and the driving argument behind the work--appears to be that will always be at the forefront of every myth (2). These facts situate McCoppin as someone who is obviously passionate about sharing the beauty, power, and relevance of with both scholarly and pedagogical audiences. The question to be asked is whether or not this work represents a successful attempt to do just that. Normally the cover of any book summarizes the contents in a captivating manner meant to get the potential reader to peer inside and peruse the contents. In this instance the back blurb is rather choppy, appearing to be nothing more than several obvious statements cobbled together. Ironically, this seemingly half-hearted endorsement is a rather honest description of some of the sections of the book itself. It is also noteworthy that the cover does not claim that this work is a fresh or visionary analysis of the subject at hand, using lower level words from Bloom's taxonomy such as identifies and discussed. Again, this is also true of certain segments of the text. In this case, judging a book by its cover does not lead the reader astray. The main body of the work is divided into six chapters, each of which is, in turn, divided into several sections. While the main chapters work as related themes, within each chapter some of the sections are more clearly related to the overall theme of the chapter, and constitute more clearly defined subunits, than some others. The first chapter, Emerging from the Earth, discusses creation myths beginning with Paleolithic evidence. As creation myths deal with not only the birth of the cosmos but of humans as a species, one might be tempted to try and draw connections between ancient and modern evolutionary theory. As this slippery slope can quickly (and unfortunately) descend into pseudoscience, it should be avoided at all cost. McCoppin ignores this warning, and as a result overreaches in her analysis of both creation myths and evolutionary biology. For example, when describing a Zuni wherein all derives from green algae on the surface of the ocean, she makes the assertion that the accuracy of this evolutionary explanation for the beginnings of is astounding (15). However, a simple perusal of the phylogenetic tree of life found in any biology textbook or scientifically correct educational website (e.g. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/ exhibits/darwin/treeoflife.html) clearly demonstrates this assertion to be false. Green algae is not the common ancestor of all extant (or even extinct) forms on our planet. As a whole, this chapter contains an excellent diversity of creation myths, and most of the examples follow a sequential order that enhances her argument that nature is at the root of mythology. …