1067 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined 25 Jun \ on: Is cultural self-reflection a good thing? culture
I haven' even finished your post yet, because this is a topic that's started troubling me recently. I need to jump in first and then go back and finish what you have to say about it.
I think our cultural decay may be a direct result of this kind of cultural introspection and I have no idea what to do about that. I am absolutely in favor of subjecting everything to scrutiny, but I think part of how cultures function is by proliferating metaphorical truths.
Metaphorical truths, as opposed to literal truths, are ideas that are useful, but false. When people start poking holes in these metaphorical truths, which is not hard because they aren't actually true, the social benefits of holding them are lost.
I think part of how cultures function is by proliferating metaphorical truths.
Totally agree. For my work as a writer I take it upon myself to seriously analyze fairy tale stories and mythologies to see what those metaphorical truths are. I haven't written at length about it yet, but I actually think "magic" in these traditional fantasy stories is a metaphor for truth-telling.
In The Arabian Nights I've (potentially) identified that there is a morality of magic: those who use magic to change others into what they are not are evil - except for those who need to use the same sort of magic to "bind" those who unfairly transform others. I wonder if this may be a hidden morality of an antecedent of storytelling, gossip - telling the truth and lying (hidden! for these sorts of writers to uncover!)
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, characters at times self-transform to protect themselves; often, these are female characters who transform to protect themselves from unwanted male pursuit. I haven't had a thought about what this may represent except for some sort of hidden history of ourselves.
Another aspect of this I've noted is that if my first observation is true, there are fairy tales which promote certain forms of lying ("glamor magic"), such as Cinderella and particularly the Disney versions of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. However, all of these stories are wrapped up in the ultimate morality about these actions being for the purpose of true love...although it's also sort of funny to wonder if these stories inadvertently promote taking on extreme financial debt in the pursuit of some sort of ideal.
I'll try to write at more length about it at some point.
I've enjoyed our exchanges so far, so I look forward to your conclusions on this subject.
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I'm in to read more about metaphorical truths. They are the ones that created all these systems based on falsehood and fear?
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A lot of them, at least. I’m sure some are based on literal truth.
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There are metaphorical truths in stories that teach high virtues for the individual. My opinion (so far) is that in western fairy tales, the following stories/story types teach some of the highest virtues: Jack the Giant Killer, Simpleton (a story type, see The Golden Goose), and The Princess and the Pea. There are significantly related variations that iterate and build on the themes I like in these stories such as The Giant who had no Heart in his Body and The Goosegirl.
I can give you my interpretations but I’d rather give the story recommendations and see how you feel about them :)
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