Growing up, I loved stories of heroic fantasy. Stories like the Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian, and the Dragon and the George. These magical worlds full of swords and sorcery sparked my imagination. Once upon a time stories of magic and myth used to give people a sense of meaning and purpose, nowadays, they merely serve as entertainment far from reflecting empirical truth.
But if you look closer, modern myths also surround us, though we don’t always recognise them as such. Take money, for example. The paper bills in my wallet only have value because we collectively pretend and agree they do. Without this illusion, the entire economic system would crumble. Many of our personal beliefs and social norms depend on shared mythologies to shape our realities.
So perhaps the question is not whether myths are “true” in the factual sense. Rather, we should ask what purpose they serve. Some myths are toxic; they distort reality and promote harmful misconceptions. But others uplift our spirit, remind us of our ideals, and promote ethical purpose. The myths we choose to embrace reflect who we aspire to be, both individually and collectively.
There’s a balance between scientific empiricism with mythic imagination. Too much reliance on illusions risks dangerous delusions. But a strictly materialist worldview drains the meaning from life. The thing is, we are story-making creatures who subconsciously weave magic and science to create meaning, purpose, and significance into the myths we live by.
