•Proving Myth•

Myth is just as legitimate, if not as provable, as science. We can try to prove myth with real life things that match up with mythological tales.

Chinese fisherman caught a huge prehistoric fish that they had previously considered only a myth. It had been a story passed through the generations (much like our myths) that this huge fish had lived in their lake, and then one day, they found it. However, that is a merely accidental proof of a myth. I think that the kind of proof that we strive for is something more like a scientific proof. We want myth to be just as definite as science is made out to be. We want definite evidence for our hypothesis. We want to use our hypothesis, that the myth is true, and gather evidence, and prove our hypothesis. We can say that we know the sun passes through the sky every day, and that there is a myth that can find how that happens and why. We can say that because of that evidence the myth is true, but how can we know for sure?

Science is what we are taught to believe from a very early age. Myth is counted as not legitimate. Science is presented as the ultimate truth, something not to be questioned. But take for example how years ago science thought that a high carb diet was better for you, but now it is thought of as just the opposite. Even thought science itself never proved either of those views, the general theory made itself known as the truth. Myth is made out to be worth less then science. But is it? How can we know? Is science less legitimate then myth, or more?

Proving Myth

Both science and mythology attempt to prove the things that we, as humans, do not know the answer to. People tend to believe science over mythology because it has more facts and statistics and other such things. However, I think that mythology is much more deeply rooted in us than science. If a person sees a ghost, their first reaction is that the ghost is the spirit of a dead person. Their first response is not, "Oh, my brain created an illusion of silvery matter in the shape of a human form." And, no matter how hard science tries to hammer scientific explanations into our brains, mythology was there first and remains there at the core of it all. We can't really prove science any more than we can mythology. We usually look to science to tell us the answers, and accept those answers as true, simply because science tells us they are. But myth is true for most people, as well as science. Nobody wants to hear that you love someone because of a chemical reaction in the brain, especially since nobody can prove it is true. You love somebody because a higher power fates you two to each other, or because it was meant to be that way. In this way, myth is already proven, and is held to a higher standard than science. Nobody knows what the Truth, with a capital T, is, but often peoples' truth, without a capital t, is defined by myth.

Proof of myth

Proof of myth can be found everywhere; traces of myth can be found in books like the Odyssey. Science is not necessarily proven, they support their facts with more facts which lead to more facts, and so on and so forth. Myths have facts which lead to something very logical, but the facts are not that real. People want something very solid to believe in, and science does that. Myths are solid but not to our imaginations. But to other people myths are their science and science is their myths. So in conclusion nothing is proven, and so everything is real in our mind or in life.

Proof of Mythology

Traces of mythology can be found everywhere: in pottery, poetry, and the stars. The Greeks created the gods in their own image. Thus, the stories of these gods mirrored their own stories. Myths not only explained occurrences later proved by Science, but also explained human nature. Myths provided us with an understanding of the world and how we interact with it. The Greeks lacked proofs for how emotions came into existence and often questioned why we acknowledge and experience these emotions. Myths provided those proofs and answers. Love. Soul. Bliss. Anger. Jealousy. That is proof of mythology.

Mythical vs. Scientific Proof

When we hear about the word "myth", we think about fictional, entertaining stories from the past. What we do not think about is how they could possibly be factual or have some aspect of the truth in them. Our truth and our fact usually consist of modern science, current information that is widely accepted. I think the reason our concept of fact keeps changing is that people want to have evidence that is extremely detailed and does not leave room to manoeuvre. An example of this would be the many reasons people have come up with to explain why the sun moves across the sky. The Greek mythological explanation is that the sun-god, Helios, is driving a fiery chariot. Our modern explanation is that the earth is rotating throughout the course of a day, exposing it to the sun at different angles. Neither one of those explanations, when looked at from a neutral perspective is more viable than the other. The evidence for both of them is that the sun moves across the sky each day and this is always true. I think that we have come to value our modern reason more than the mythological one is that people like everything to fit into an easily defined and predictable pattern. If we admit that it is really a human-like god controlling the sun, then that throws our world into disarray, we can no longer be sure of our predictions and that brings humans entirely out of their comfort-zone.

Proving Myth

Nothing is truly "provable." to prove something is to say it always is entirely true. Nothing is entirely true with no exceptions. Even gravity is a theory. Science that is supposedly proven is based on non proven theories. therefor myth like everything else cannot be proven. For some people though there is proof of myths being true. Myths are often used to explain things in our world that we don't understand. For someone the fact that lightning exists would be proof that Zeus exists and that he created lightning. For others it would be proof of positively charged and negatively charged atoms sending electricity to each other. Myth is what makes up our world. myths are everywhere and sometimes they are common belief. Who is to say that zeus doesn't create lightning and that we don't go to the realm of Hades when we die. The only way myth or anything else can be proved to someone is if they believe. Proof doesn't exist in the world so we must find it in ourselves to prove it for us to be irrevocably true. We create proof. Proof exists inside each and everyone of us.

Can we prove the unknown?

A myth is an idea, widely accepted by a group of people, to answer a certain question. But just because it's the collective opinion, doesn't suggest that it's true. So, is it possible to prove belief? What I may believe, is different from what you believe. Perhaps myths could be proven with enough information and data, but that's not to say that you can convince everyone that it's true. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for everyone to agree on everything. Myth is a matter of opinion and beliefs, nothing more.

Proving Myth

Myth is not something you can necessarily prove scientifically, but the person who made the myth or first told it could give you some proof. For example, the proof of a sun god is that the sun moves across the sky. This is not hard evidence that can prove the fact that there is a sun god, but it is enough for a person that wants to believe to believe. Myths are just one of those things on which you have to take a leap of faith.
Tommy Dearing

Proving Myths

I think that the proofs for Myths are the ancient writing from civilizations from long ago. For all we know they could be true and not just tales. We see the tales about the gods from the Greeks, yes science does prove that they are not possible. But, since we know that humans are capable of making mistakes and are not perfect, maybe the way we are viewing things which are true and which are false could be mistaken.

Maybe the Greeks were right about there being many gods that rule the world. There are writing in many other ancient cultures, like the Aztecs, Mayans, Hindus, etc... They all talk about how there are beings that do not have human traits. They have powers that humans do not have.

But not only in the writing, the art, the pottery, etc... they all show tales of beings that have great powers.

Question: How do we prove Myth?

Science is everywhere and tends to be our 'proof' for how the world works or why we do what we do. But Myth has its own proofs as well. What are they? Where should we look for evidence that proves Myth?

Belief

Humans believe in things outside of themselves because then people have an answer to how things happen, and why things are the way they are. From outside of a religion, people say religion is made up, a thing provide answers, but from inside each religion, the people say that that is the one true religion, passed directly from their mighty so and so.

I think the drive behind that belief is fear. People often dislike the unknown, or things they can't explain, So they find an explanation, something that can take the blame off of humans. Something that can make things make sense. If a huge forest fire devours all of a farmer's crops, he can say, "Well, that was the will of the gods. " In that way, it makes things into a laid-out plan, instead of anything else.

I was raised as an Orthodox Christian, but recently, I have been questioning this, and at this point, I really don't know much of what I believe. I do believe that there is a higher power, one that watches over us. I also believe that we are responsible for all of our actions, which in turn shape the rest of our lives. I think it is important to be open to every single person's beliefs, but not necessarily believe them yourself.

Questions of Life

Humanity believes in something greater in the hopes that life will become easier. We crave answers, finding comfort in concrete facts. In some cases, I believe religion is powered by fear. However, that fear provides a community to belong to, supplying people of similar beliefs. These people are often our close-to-home answers; those we talk to in times of need. Religion is called upon to lift responsibility off our shoulders, providing answers as to why.

Often, I think that people believe in one religion and not the other, simply because they are told to do so. When a child is born, it's parents decide it's religion. As the child grows, it chooses to, or not to be what it was "born as." Many people simply take what they get and for various reasons, again coming back to the idea of security: I am what I am, because it's what my family is. I am what I am, because it's what I know. I am what I am, because I'm afraid of what I'm not.

I was born Jewish. I have "Jewish" in my blood, but do I really believe I'm Jewish? Religions are the ideals with which people live by. I can't say that I believe in a big powerful dude sitting in the clouds somewhere looking out for all who roam under him and further more, I can't say that I believe in everything Jewish. However, I do believe in doing good for those less fortunate. I do believe in family and community. I do believe in looking out for the earth. I feel that good thoughts should be shared with the world. The first step to change is the belief that it's possible. I believe in who I am as a person. I believe in what's possible.

Belief

Belief systems and higher powers base themselves: a fear of death, of life, and of not knowing. People need comfort and explanations. Like a security blanket, they require the idea that one joins a higher power in a “better place” after passing away. This primordial fear traces itself back to the earliest civilizations. Early man, like today, needed answers. Out of their inquiries, came a belief in a higher being. They formed rituals for birth and death, and from these rituals organized religions developed. I do not believe in a higher power or a heaven after death.
I am not a terribly faithful person, but I am spiritual. I recognize the notion that if you do well, good will come back to you. I believe in energies and spirits, which are not necessarily a “God.” We are born, we evolve, we die, and that’s the end. There is no Devil to account for wrong doings. People must take the blame themselves. No God creates miracles. Rather, we possess the power to create these “divine” miracles.

Faith

In my opinion, humanity believes in things greater then themselves because it gives them a sense of purpose and of belonging to be able to have somebody higher than themselves to follow. Also, believing that those greater than yourself can control certain things takes a certain amount of responsibility off your shoulders. Having faith and having religion helps to give answers to the unanswerable questions. Because we crave answers, we also crave faith. Faith gives people hope in bad situations, because a being higher than ourselves can fix the problems we cannot.

My own beliefs are always changing; they are never set in stone. I don't know if I believe in God, but I do know that I don't believe in church. Despite some of my family's attempts to convert me (all of my mother's relatives are Catholic, some more devout than others), I do not identify with one particular religion. I believe in evolution. I believe in miracles, but I also believe in hard work. I believe in ghosts. I believe that when we die, we go to a better place. I don't believe in Hell. I believe that all people have worth. And I believe that, no matter what, you should always keep you mind open to the beliefs of others.

Faith?

I believe that humans believe in things greater than themselves because then they feel a sense of security. Humans like knowing that what they are doing is not always in their control and some other beings are control of their fate. It also gives them hope, knowing that someone is controlling their fate and not themselves. I believe this because of the events in the past and now. The Greeks and the Romans believed that Gods and Goddess were controlling their lives. Such as their livestock and fortune (money wise). Almost all religions now have one or more all mighty being(s). I think that humans first started believing that there was something greater out there when bad stuff started happening to them. Humans are more likely to think of actions that will help them in the short run rather than the long run. So when bad things started happening rather than good, people started thinking that maybe there is a greater being out there.

I do believe that there is something greater then humans, maybe not in a way that it controls our lives. Maybe there are greater beings out there that we can look for guidance. I believe that what happens to us, is not really caused by some other greater being, but rather our own actions. When bad stuff happens to us is because the course of action we chose was something that would only help us in the short run and not in the long run.

Faith?

I believe people have faith because it gives them a scene of saftey and responsibility. People have saftey in the fact that there is someone looking after you, and is answering all of your prayers. Responsibilty comes from haveing to follow a code or conduct. Some people will send offerings to their gods, or some will not eat chicken on friday. My family believes in all senses of faith.

Why does humanity believe in things greater than themselves? What is the drive behind that belief? Do you have your own set of beliefs?

I think humanity believs in things greater than themselves for many reasons. The first on that came to me is someone to blame. The idea of fate and someone else controling ones destiny takes away all blame for messing up your life. It is hard to look back, see what you did wrong and admit it was your fault. We blame a greater being for our life. Another reason would be to explain unexplainable events. If one doesn't understand something often they atribute it to a higher being. Such as how the greeks didn't understand lighting so they said that zeus created it. I think the last and biggest reason is for hope. When life is hard we need someone to pray to. Having someone to go to who can fix your problems is hopeful. It can give someone the drive to live when they have lost all else. A greater being is in a way the embodiment of hope. It is that miracle that one can hope or pray for.

I am a Jew. I although do not identify with all Jewish beliefs. I think community is very important. I also think there is some higher entity which watches over us. I do believe that we have complete control of our actions and therefor our destiny or fate. I think this higher entity can help us figure out the chalenge of life. We can look to it for guidence, but eventually everything has to come from us. We need to have faith in ourselves and not through our life away for nothing.

Question: What is faith? What drives people to believe?

Why does humanity believe in things greater than themselves? What is the drive behind that belief? Do you have your own set of beliefs?