The Divorce Myth

This article argues that counselors need to disengage themselves from the prevailing cultural attitude that divorce has inherent power to make people unhappy. Within this context, consideration is given to counseling couples with children.     

Matriarchy and Myth

Cynthia Eller, The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won’t Give Women a Future. Boston, Beacon Press, 2000, 304pp., $26.00 (hardback) ISBN 08070 6792 X; 276pp., $16.00 (paperback) ISBN 08070 6793 8.     

The Myth of the Omnipotent Servant

The creative room refers to the area that arises when the third areas (intermediate spaces) of analyst and analysand overlap. This involves a partial union of the intermediate spaces of self and object. This overlapping space, the creative room, accommodates reflective observance as well as devoted association. A prerequisite for the creative room is the created room, the analytical framework. Other requirements concern properties of the analyst's and the patient's intermediate areas and their interrelationship. These circumstances are examined in the light of clinical examples. The primary concern, however is the absence of the third, when the creative room does not arise or rather, various positions of self and object around the point where the third either fails to arise or is eliminated. In a concluding section, there is an example of the creative room being extended in time for the continued creativity of the two parties (Bion and Beckett) for the rest of their lives.     

The Alchemical Oedipus: Re-Visioning the Myth

The Oedipus myth is foundational to depth psychology due to Freud’s use of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex in the creation of psychoanalysis. But analytical psychology’s engagement with the myth has been limited despite the importance Jung also places upon it. The absence of a developed Jungian response to Oedipus means the myth’s psychologically constructive elements have been overlooked in favour of reductive Freudian interpretations. I examine whether analytical psychology can fruitfully re-engage with Oedipus by reinterpreting his story as a paternal rebirth. This is achieved by reincorporating those parts of the myth that occur before and after the period portrayed in Oedipus Rex. Such a move reintegrates Oedipus’ father, King Laius, into the story and unveils important parallels with the alchemical trope of the king’s renewal by his son. Using Jung’s method of amplification, Oedipus is recast as Laius’ redeemer and identified with the archetype of psychological wholeness, the Self. The contention is that such an understanding of Oedipus supports a clearer recognition of the potentially generative quality of human suffering, restoring to the myth the quality of moral instruction it possessed in antiquity.     

Schreber'sMemoirs: Myth or personal lamentation

Lucy Bregman's approach to Schreber'sMemoirs is scrutinized and found to be based on a number of fallacious and contradictory assumptions that call her interpretation of the book as personal religious myth into question. A social constructionist approach to mythology maintained by Berger and Luckmann is advanced, suggesting that at best Schreber's work qualifies as a quasi-mythical attempt to explain the source of his personal sociopsychic suffering. The family and interpersonal dynamics of Schreber's quasi-myth are investigated. Similarities to other cases of psychotic quasi-myths are noted and a general relationship between oppressive socialization and psychotic communications is advanced, as well as a specific alternative interpretation of Schreber's work to that proposed by Bregman.Nathan Church, M.S., is currently teaching at Douglass College of Rutgers University, where he is nearing completion of his Ph.D. in sociology.     

Death,Myth and Reality in C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis's life and writings were profoundly shaped by his childhood experience of his mother's death. It is significant that the young hero's dying mother is mentioned at the very beginning of the first book of the Narnia sequence (seeThe Magician's Nephew.)., which in more general terms offers a mythopoeic version of the Christian interpretation of death. Lewis had a keen awareness of the power of myth (he would not have denied that the Christian gospel is myth). However, it was in the experience of the death of his wife (recounted inA Grief Observed) that he felt confronted by reality in a way that shook his faith to its foundations. This article will explore the tension between myth and reality in Lewis's attempts to write, as a Christian, of the experience of death.     

Psychological Nominalism and the Plausibility of Sellars's Myth of Jones

Part of Sellars's general attack on the Myth of the Given is his endorsement of psychological nominalism, a view that implies that awareness of our own mental states is not given but must be earned. Sellars provides an account of how such awareness might have been earned with the Myth of Jones. Such an account is important for Sellars, for without it the Given can look necessary after all. But a problem with such accounts is that they can look extremely implausible. Sellars himself seems unconcerned to make his account plausible, and so others have stepped in here. But, I argue, they have done so in ways that fail to respect his psychological nominalism. This evinces, as well as reinforces, a lack of sensitivity to the scope of Sellars's attack on the Given, the aim of which is the dismantling of “the entire framework of givenness.” In this essay, I show how one can make Sellars's Myth of Jones plausible, while still respecting his psychological nominalism, by seeing how Jones's thought is governed by the norms of rationality as interpretability.     

Goethe's Faust and the Myth of Modern Man

The drama of Faust opens with an encounter of the Lord and Mephisto in negotiation about the soul of the human being; it is completed with the revelation of a transformed God-image, that is, with a hymn on the Eternal Feminine. In between a long process can be traced, full of opportunities and failures. The process is carried by the human being Faust—though, unfortunately, unconscious to him. He represents the human being whose wholeness of soul seeks realization. He is driven by a thirst for knowledge, a hunger for life, by desire for prestige in the outer world, and—last but not least—by an unappeased yearning for love. Enthralled by a creative urge, he does not see the demonic side of psychic forces with which he gets involved, and so he falls victim to them. He becomes entangled with the darkness and all possible guilt. It seems to be the task of our time to become conscious about the ambivalence of the spirit of nature—here represented by Mephisto—to realize the revealed symbols of reconciliation and to carry our necessary responsibilities. We would thereby contribute importantly to the renewal of our God-image.     

The Perennial Freud: Method versus Myth and the Mischief of Freud Bashers

Nowadays Freud bashing is not only à la mode, in certain circles it has become de rigueur. Once a name of respect, Freud has become a name of ridicule. But like any scientific method, body of knowledge, and therapeutic procedure, psychoanalysis should be subjected to critical scrutiny. The recent crop of hostile Freud critics may have filled a vacuum left for decades by a psychoanalytic establishment which, like the Church of yesteryear, shunned all forms of criticism intramural and extramural. A central guiding idea of this essay is the distinction between the psychoanalytic method and psychoanalytic doctrines, hypotheses, and theories. This distinction has been invariably confused by both Freud's adherents and Freud's attackers. Moreover, arguments ad rem have been conflated with arguments ad hominem. A socially responsible criticism must seek to be constructive and not merely destructive. It is the latter course that was taken by the various hostile critics that came to be labeled as Freud bashers. The time has come to take a stand against the more egregious attacks on Freud and the psychoanalytic method.     

Myth,magic and religion in secular literature: The Canadian case

Investigation of culturally significant English‐Canadian literature suggests a pervasive and persistent preoccupation with the themes of personal, collective and national identity. Detailed exploration of Canadian writers’ treatment of these topics reveals the presence, not only of familiar Judaeo‐Christian elements, but of a pantheon of exotic hidden gods and bizarre supernatural phenomena. It is evident that, to a remarkable degree, Canadian novelists, poets and critics are preoccupied with the sacred and supernatural. Discerning signals of transcendence in a wide variety of unconventional contexts, they encounter the ultimate in the mysterious depths of personal experience no less than in the cold indifference of nature. The self‐definition of Canadian literati in terms more commonly applied to religious virtuosi raises the familiar theme of aesthetes and intellectuals as the contemporary heirs of the priests and prophets of the past. This insight, in turn, suggests a potentially profitable research project linking the Sociology of Religion with the growing field of Cultural Studies.     

Re-Enchanting the Mind: Oracles,Reading, Myth,and Mantics

Divination and oracular speech reveal a language and a mirror that exist in the mysterious liminal realm between rational thought and the fertile chaos of the psyche, a realm that Jung called synchronicity or unus mundus. The widespread though culturally marginalized interest in this occulted language acts as a sort of strange attractor, drawing us into a place where the “Others” within have a chance to speak. It is capable, in Jung's words, of working “a profound transformation of our thought.”     

Myth and Therapy

In the context of psychology, myth takes on a therapeutic aspect that moves it beyond the negative connotations of common usage to a position of religious significance.     

The Reality and Myth of Rape: Implications for theCriminal Justice System

This article sets out to evaluate the researchevidence for rape myths and the extent to which theyare causally related to rape proclivity; negativeattitudes towards rape victims; and the reporting ofsexual assault incidents to the police. In reviewingthis literature, we provide an evaluation of theimpact of this research on the criminal justice systemand possible future developments. We argue that thisresearch, while failing to provide conclusive evidenceof a causal relationship, has nevertheless played animportant part in shaping more sympathetic approachestowards rape victims in the criminal justice system.However, we also argue that the current research fallsshort of the level of proof required for it to beadmitted as evidence in criminal trials. We considera number of alternative uses including AmicusCuriae briefs, and the training of juries and judgesprior to hearing rape cases.     

The Effect of Male Incarceration on Rape Myth Acceptance: Application of Propensity Score Matching Technique

The aim is to assess the effect of imprisonment on rape myth acceptance. The research used a sample of male prisoners incarcerated for non-sexual crimes (n = 98) and a sample of males drawn from the general population (n = 160). Simple linear regression did not indicate a significant effect of incarceration on rape myth acceptance. After controlling for background covariates using propensity score matching, analysis revealed a positive significant effect of incarceration on rape myth acceptance. Although further research is required, results indicate that being subject to incarceration has a significant positive effect on stereotypical thinking about rape.     

The Role of Rape Myth Acceptance and Psychopathy in Sexual Assault Perpetration

Perpetrators of sexual aggression consistently report higher scores on measures of psychopathy and acceptance of rape myths relative to nonperpetrators. However, less is known about psychopathy among nonincarcerated individuals and the relation between the two constructs has not been empirically examined among college perpetrators. To address this gap, both constructs were measured in a sample (N?=?308) of college men. Rape myth acceptance was positively correlated with psychopathy, and perpetrators scored higher on both constructs. Myths transferring responsibility to victims were related to Factor 1 psychopathy (i.e., callous and manipulative traits). The myth that “rape is trivial” was associated with Factor 1 and Factor 2 (i.e., impulsive and antisocial behavior), possibly suggesting that this myth is related to a larger tendency to excuse aggressive behavior. Although both constructs distinguished perpetrators when considered individually, rape myth acceptance did not explain unique variance in the presence of psychopathy.     

The Mediation Myth

The mediation myth is the false belief that mediation is actually estimated in the typical mediation analysis. This myth is based on a trifecta of shortcomings: (1) the typical mediation study relies on an inadequate design; (2) the researcher uses a flawed analysis strategy; and (3) there is scant attention to assumptions that are required when estimating mediation. These problems stem from overgeneralizing the classical product method for estimating mediation and overreliance on statistical significance testing as a decision criterion in mediation analysis. The goals of this article are to (1) raise awareness of these difficulties among researchers and (2) provide a roadmap about design and analysis options for a more rigorous and scientifically valid approach to mediation analysis.     

Rape Myth Acceptance: A Comparison of Military Service Academy and Civilian Fraternity and Sorority Students

Although both the military and fraternities have been theorized to be characterized by norms and attitudes that serve to legitimize violence against women, no previous work has examined the potential similarity and differences in rape-supportive beliefs of these 2 environments or the people drawn to them. Further, the belief systems of women within these organizations have received little attention. As such, the current study sought to serve as an initial exploration of the rape-supportive belief systems of people drawn to these groups. Participants were recruited from students entering 2 military service academies (U.S. Military Academy, n = 1,169, 1,003 men, 166 women; U.S. Naval Academy, n = 1,916, 1,551 men, 365 women) and fraternities and sororities at a Midwestern university (n = 393, 188 men, 205 women). All participants completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale–Short Form. Consistent with previous findings related to gender, men were more accepting of rape myths than women. Further, there was more variability in the levels of rape myth acceptance among military service academy and fraternity men than among military service academy and sorority women. Although across all groups the women expressed significantly lower levels of rape myth acceptance than the men, women and men from the United States Military Academy were more closely aligned in their beliefs than women and men from the other samples. Implications for sexual assault prevention education are discussed.     

The Myth of Reductive Extensionalism

Extensionalism, as I understand it here, is the view that physical reality consists exclusively of extensional entities. On this view, intensional entitities must either be eliminated in favor of an ontology of extensional entities, or be reduced to such an ontology, or otherwise be admitted as non-physical. In this paper I argue that extensionalism is a misguided philosophical doctrine. First, I argue that intensional phenomena are not confined to the realm of language and thought. Rather, the ontology of such phenomena is intimately entwined with the ontology of properties. After providing some evidence to the popularity of extensionalism in contemporary analytic philosophy, I investigate the motivating reasons behind it. Considering several explanations, I argue that the main motivating reason is rooted in the identification of matter with extension, an identification which is one of the hallmarks of the mechanistic conception of nature inherited from the founding fathers of our modern scientific outlook. I then argue that such a conception is not only at odds with a robust ontology of properties but is also at odds with our best contemporary physics. Rather than vindicating extensionalism contemporary science undermines the position, and the lesson to be drawn from this surprising fact is that extensionalism needs no longer be espoused as a regulative ideal of naturalistic philosophy. I conclude by showing that the ontological approach to intensional phenomena advocated throughout the paper also gains support from an examination of the historical context within which ‘intension’ was first introduced as a semantic notion.

Rape Myth Acceptance in Sexually Assaulted Adolescents' School Contexts: Associations with Depressed Mood and Alcohol Use

High school students exposed to sexual assault (SA) are at risk for negative outcomes like depressed mood and high‐risk drinking. Although evidence suggests that both social contexts and internalized stigma can affect recovery from SA, no research to date has directly examined the presence of stigma in social contexts such as high schools as a correlate of adjustment after SA. In this study, the self‐reported rape myth acceptance (RMA) of 3080 students from 97 grade cohorts in 25 high schools was used to calculate grade‐mean and school‐mean RMA, which was entered into multilevel models predicting depressed mood and alcohol use among N = 263 SA survivors within those schools. Two forms of RMA were assessed (i.e., rape denial and traditional gender expectations). Results indicate that higher grade‐mean rape denial was associated with higher risk for depressed mood among high school boys and girls exposed to SA, and higher grade‐mean traditional gender expectations were associated with higher risk for alcohol use among girls exposed to SA. Survivors' own RMA and school‐level RMA were not significantly associated with their depressed mood or alcohol use. Although causality cannot be concluded, these findings suggest that interventions that reduce stigma in social contexts should be explored further as a strategy to improve well‐being among high‐school‐aged survivors of SA.