Free Psychology Books: The Innateness of Myth by Ritske Rensma

The Innateness of Myth by Ritske Rensma

Scholars interested in mapping contemporary trends relating to the search for ‘spirituality’ or the ‘turn to the self’, then, would surely fi nd many relevant issues when studying Campbell’s ideas and infl uence. But there are other reasons apart from sociological ones that make studying Campbell’s ideas relevant. Campbell’s ideas are not only interesting from a sociological perspective, but have had a profound theoretical impact as well. Some of his ideas, for example, have hugely infl uenced scholars working in what has become known as transpersonal psychology, the most wellknown ones being Stanislav Grof (whom Campbell was friends with during the last decade or so of his life) and Ken Wilber. Although his infl uence outside the fi eld of transpersonal psychology seems to have been smaller, he has certainly had an impact on thinkers in other fi elds as well. Several well-respected scholars within Religious Studies have written extensively about his work (the most important ones being Robert Segal, David Miller and William Doty), The hero with a thousand faces remains a favourite with scholars in Literature and Film Studies departments, and his ideas have even infl uenced thinkers working in the fi eld of neurobiology (Andrew Newberg and Eugene D’Aquili12). Campbell’s work, then, has infl uenced many scholars of signifi cance, and for that reason alone research into his work is relevant. On top of all this, a large number of primary sources related to his life and ideas exist, which to date go largely unexplored. These sources have been collected together by the Opus Archive and Research Centre.13 They are known as the Joseph Campbell collection,14 and are stored on the two campuses of the Pacifi ca Graduate Institute15 in California. Among other things, the Joseph Campbell Collection includes all of the books Campbell owned, most of his personal documents, an overwhelming collection of audiotapes of lectures, as well as transcripts of almost every single interview with him (many of which are impossible to fi nd elsewhere).

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