joseph campbell's book the hero with a thousand faces

So what did it involve? As you may have guessed, it involved storytelling: myths, legends, and tales of heroes that started in caves around campfires.

He figured out a way to connect with the cosmic awesomeness of the universe that didn't involve locking yourself in a monastery and contemplating your bellybutton lint. Smarty pants philosophers like Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud have had their moments, but Joseph Campbell, who wrote the book, was interested in more than politics or religion or even human identity. It's a work of philosophy, but you can see its impact every time you turn on the TV or buy a ticket to a movie theater. (In which case, how did you get hold of an internet connection?)Īnd that means you've already been exposed to The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which was originally published in 1949 and now coming pretty close to swallowing pop culture whole. We're betting you said 'yes' to at least one of these…unless you're somehow reading this from the recesses of your hermit's cave, where you do nothing except cook over an open flame and meditate.

Have you seen any of the Star Wars movies? Picked up a comic book? Read Harry Potter or The Hunger Games? Participated in pop culture at all in the last few centuries? The Hero with a Thousand Faces Introduction

Joseph campbell's book the hero with a thousand faces