Understanding Myth and Myth as Understanding: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Mytho-Logic Narration

Author

Sandra Bartlett Atwood, Utah State University

Date of Award:

5-2015

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

English

Department name when degree awarded

American Studies (Folklore)

Committee Chair(s)

Lynne S. McNeill

Committee

Lynne S. McNeill

Committee

Gary McGonagill

Committee

Michael Sowder

Abstract

I wanted to see if there were points of overlap between the various accounts of creation found in folklore, philosophy and physics. In order to justify such a project, I initially considered literature from each of these disciplines regarding the necessity of interdisciplinary dialogue generally and specifically the need for both intuition and logic when considering how anything actually exists. Through my research and casual observation, I hypothesized that opposition seemed to be a universal characteristic of nature. I then looked at how each discipline has described fundamentally opposing pairs and created a list of primary features that those accounts had in common. Finally, I demonstrated (in my study The Symmetry of God) the utility of an interdisciplinary approach to myth by showing how science and philosophy can improve our understanding of myth and conversely how folklore (myth in particular) may suggest meaningful and potentially revolutionary relationships not yet considered by science.

Checksum

c327bbec08801892374fab981bd2b28a

Recommended Citation

Atwood, Sandra Bartlett, "Understanding Myth and Myth as Understanding: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Mytho-Logic Narration" (2015). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 4248.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4248