Why Do Humans Create Myths? (morals, morals)

[Sunstone]

Why do humans create myths? Why do they often believe them to be literally true?

[morning-star]

myths were created to explain things that go on in the world that people don’t understand. Things like urban myths can be made to give hope to people or to make light of a cruel situation. Some myths also contain clear messages or morals, and they are used to educate people even warn them about that thing or event etc. did you have any particular myth in mind?

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by morning-star

did you have any particular myth in mind?

I was actually thinking about several different kinds of myth. I'm glad you mentioned Urban Myths or Urban Legends.

Looking at the sheer volume of myths that humans manufacture, I think it's almost as if we are somehow compelled to create myths. Homo sapiens -- the myth makinganimal.

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Why do humans create myths?

To communicate that for which there are no words.

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Why do they often believe them to be literally true?

Because we have to use words to communicate.

[Willamena]

I've been thinking about the other modern contexts of "myth," such as legends like Nessie or Saskquatch, or social myths --"things that people believe that are unfounded".

In the case of legends, I think they initially arise because of mistaken observations, and an "urban" story is attached to them to give a thrill. That people take them "literally" speaks to their level of confidence in the validity of the witness testamony.

In the case of social myths, there was a good example recently on television. The Bayer Company, who makes asprin, have an ad out at the moment with a lady being offered some asprin for her sore leg muscles, and she says, "But I don't have a headache." It goes on to explain that the pain relief goes all over the body. It speaks to certain other ads from prior decades that would promote the idea that the "pain relief went straight to the pain." That myth was created to sell pain relievers, and while it may have been unintentional lying, the audience puts a certain level of trust in the medical industry, entirely akin to the trust they might put in the validity of a witness.

[Mercy Not Sacrifice]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Why do humans create myths?

To attempt to explain the seemingly unexplainable in the lack of evidence.

Why do they often believe them to be literally true?

Unfortunately, we are hard-wired for superstition. We tend to quite generously accept irrational explanations for the apparently unexplainable.

[Jaiket]

Originally Posted by Willamena

To communicate that for which there are no words.

I've always wondered what people mean when they say this. Ironic I suppose.

Originally Posted by Willamena

Because we have to use words to communicate.

No we don't.

[Ori]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Why do humans create myths? Why do they often believe them to be literally true?

I believe it's just a cultures way of teaching future generations how to live, or what standards to live by.