"Since most physical anthropologists agree that the human psychological constitution (as reflected in both the brain's size and organization and in the manifested products of its ruminations) does not appear to have changed substantially for at least the last 40,000 years, I suggest that in a real sense myths reflect upon that which is always true about the human condition and its place in the natural and social world. As numerous mythologists and anthropologists have argued, the same rules which govern the operation of myths at least partially govern our perception of reality. As much as we would like to believe in our ability to view the world objectively, our cultural background places constraints upon our thinking which we take for granted and from which we therefore cannot easily free ourselves. Gregory Bateson presents cogent arguments that this kind of conditioning also characterizes the scientific world-view. In his opinion and that of numerous other cultural anthropologists, the view we have of the world is a social construct which we project onto our observations, whether they be expressed in mythic or scientific terms."
Curtiss Hoffman
The Seven Story Tower: A Mythic Journey Through Space and Time
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Bridgewater State University
Past President of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society
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