From Göbekli Tepe to Silicon Valley: The persistence of spiritual thinking
Our psychological need for myths makes us spiritual beings, and relatively recent findings in Gobekli Tepe do provide more validity to that claim. The archeological site in contemporary Türkiye was left behind by nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes and is the oldest human settlement that we know of. The site itself is dated approximately 9500 BCE, making it more than 11000 years old. It predates metal work, pottery, even the invention of the wheel. But you can find one recognizable thing in it: a temple, a ritual, sacred space.
But the mystery behind Gobekli Tepe is not just the temple it was left behind, but that, as of yet, the first pinpoint of human civilization staying in one place was not agriculture – it was religion.
The Intersection of Science and Spirituality
For a skeptic mind the point behind the story about the temple is bottom-lined as with any contemporary spirituality: people are weak, they need comfort from the unexplainable, from the anxiety of existence, but in essence, any spirituality is just a part of human imagination, nothing more to it. Once we explain everything – there will not be any need for spiritual supplement.
Back in the 21st century, this expectation was proven wrong. And it was not proven wrong just because people are uneducated or irrational; on the contrary, a lot of new-age spirituality was enhanced by scientific disciplines like archeology, anthropology or quantum physics. New forms of spirituality emerged.
Why spirituality? What is the appeal of myths that we still cling to even today? What is the power of myth that people sought at the dawn of civilization just as we do now? We’ll explore the issue below.
The Three Core Functions of Modern Myths
“To those who are bored with this success, the mastering of reality may seem a dream that has been dreamed out, or was never worth dreaming”
(Hans Blumenberg’s opening sentence for “Work on myth”).
Our society has developed in so many ways that old gods, old myths seem irrelevant now. It’s almost impossible to imagine that at one point human beings could not even imagine that we will rule over nature. This included developments like taming the wildlife, protection from rain and thunder and not fearing the winter. Nature was the ultimate reality and appeasing the gods was the only method to control its influence.
Now we know there’s a lot more to reality than just “nature” – the universe and quantum are an unconquerable frontier still. And we do want to rule over this reality still.
We can see modern mythology emerging as findings in quantum physics become more approachable. An example of a mythology in everyday life is the spiritual doctrine of Deepak Chopra.
With his views on Quantum Healing and mind influencing reality Chopra is an example of how modern myths start to emerge. We will not explore this tradition in-depth, but instead, I want to highlight the Drukhaim statement that “God is society divinized”. This means that myths are co-responsive with a contemporary society, one 10000 years old or modern.
In other words, we will always need myths as a response to our lived experience.
But what are we responding to? The base function of myth, as Blumenberg explains, is to chase away fear.
1. Alleviating Fear: Myths as Psychological Armor
Myths chased away the fear by providing explanations for the unknown and unexpected. Seen this way, myths are the prime example of human capacity to reason. In prehistoric times, human beings, vulnerable and tiny against nature, were right to fear the natural occurrences. This fear was what protected them from unreasonable and just plain dumb decisions. Fear is a survival mechanism.
Yet, fear is also a psychological state. It does not fully correspond to reality – sometimes it doesn’t at all. If human beings would always succumb to fear no progress would be made. In other words, somehow, we need to overcome our fears, even if we do not know what exactly we are facing, let alone how to overcome them.
This was true for a caveman, just as it’s true for a digital man.
Myths are not just a response to the unknown – they are the response to the anxiety we feel towards it. We start to rationalize the unimaginable so we can act of our own free will towards it. Myths give power to us, the human beings living the real life, and take power from the unknown, unimaginable, chaotic.
Modern mythologies act upon this same principle. It’s literally impossible to visualize how big the universe is and how tiny we are compared to it. But we can rationalize and feel a part of it because of mythology.
This is also why it’s so important to expose yourself to mythology, from various places over the world. Mythology always speaks about the human experience even if it talks about gods. Mythology, modern or ancient, speaks to us. By understanding the mythology, we understand ourselves.
2. Naming the Unknown: Myths as Cognitive Tools
You know the scene from The Exorcist, where the priest demands the demon to tell its name? This is an example of how spirituality and psychology converge on some points.
History of myth is defined by encounters with the unknown. At first, all we know about the unknown is that it exists. Instead of taking possession of us, we keep our distance by naming it.
This is a psychological process as well. If something is meaningful in our psyche yet we turn a blind eye to it it often means we repress it or it’s an unconscious aspect of our individuality. Once we recognize something unknown as important the first step to understanding it is to name it. This is the process of mythology.
In that way, instead of the unknown appearing everywhere at any time, a known name starts to appear only in specific situations. We establish patterns. “Unknown” becomes known and we can determine our role in life in accordance with the new findings. Mythology, once we interpret it, gives us a way to participate in our (social) world.
Impact of mythology on 21st century culture is still visible in many ways. We are exposed and learn about plenty of perspectives, beliefs and cultures. Myths that are, due to the nature of human beings, similar all over the world become reinterpreted as pointing towards “One”, “The Source” or “The Universe”. And this is a feature of mythology that can get exploited.
In his book “The Myth of the State” Ernst Cassirer explored this issue in detail. Myths not only provide a way to position ourselves in the society, but through symbols and history they have a lot of emotional value. They resonate with people.
This is why, for example, myth about the hero-king is still present to this day in many forms. PR teams for the likes of Elon Musk, Putin, Trump are well aware of the mythological appeal. They promise to tame the future unknown with existing “knowns”.
Belief can come with a lot of bad sides as well, even if it’s something positive and inclusive. World religions and contemporary spirituality which tries to incorporate everything “divine” into one teaching often (not always!) lacks the depth of a single religion.
They can also become superficial and in a way, meaningless. These myths do serve the function of positioning yourself in the world but can fall in purpose of finding a sacred connection.
3. Fostering Sacred Connections: Myths as Spiritual Bridges
This yearning for a “sacred connection” is highlighted in contrast to the “naming the unknown” process above. Mythology is used as a PR tactic, and with technological abundance our everyday lives are more plain than ever. We don’t need a way to position ourselves.
We have someone else doing that for us.
All you need to do is to go to your Google profile and see your labels. Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), TikTok, Amazon also have you profiled and positioned in the world. There is no room for anything unmeasurable.
As Joseph Campbell says, more than ever, we lack a meaningful spiritual experience.
The famous “Power of Myth” series was broadcasted almost 40 years ago but these issues are all the more present in contemporary Western societies. When discussing Star Wars Campbell states that he can still see how myths shape our need for this meaningful connection.
In my opinion, a lot of cultural products that are built like a mythology compensate the lack of this connection. But mostly, they are failing to connect us with something beyond. This is not necessarily a bad thing – spiritual content and cultural products like movies, books, TV series, videogames or video essays can point us toward understanding myths more and more.
But Campbell states that we also need sacred spaces. That is a place removed from everyday life filled with images of eternity. He notices that these spaces, for example temples like a church, mosque or your own meditation space – get invaded by the profane, relatable, “engaging” activities. In doing so, sacred spaces become just one of many other things that are present in our lives. They do not fulfill the spiritual need.
This is all to say that myths, modern mythology still serve to point us towards our needs. Ancient wisdom in modern times can get re-interpreted, as it should be, to reflect our everyday needs. But we should not substitute watching something with doing something, we should not think that our likes are a reasonable deed that reflects our spirituality.
Embracing the Myths of Our Time
By visiting the landscape of modern mythology, it’s clear that our need for myths is far from ancient history. From the dawn of civilization at Göbekli Tepe to the digital realms of today, we continue to weave stories that help us make sense of our world and our place in it.
Myths serve us in many ways – they chase away our fears, give names to the unknown, and connect us to something greater than ourselves. In our secular, tech-driven society, these functions are just as important as they were for the people 10000 years ago. We may not gather around fires to share tales of gods and heroes, but we still seek out narratives that resonate with our deepest needs and aspirations.
However, as we’ve seen, modern mythology comes with its own set of challenges. The exploitation of mythic narratives by public figures and the sometimes superficial nature of new-age spirituality remind us to approach our myths with both openness and critical thinking.
The key takeaway? Myths aren’t relics of the past – they’re living, breathing parts of our cultural DNA, constantly evolving to meet our changing needs. By understanding the role of myths in our lives, we can harness their power more consciously and create meaningful narratives that truly serve us.
So, what’s your next step in exploring the myths that shape your world? Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Revisit a favorite story, movie, or game and look for the mythic elements within it.
- Create a personal ‘sacred space’ free from digital distractions, where you can reflect and connect with your inner self.
- Explore myths from cultures different from your own – you might be surprised at the universal themes you discover.
- Start a conversation with friends or family about the ‘modern myths’ that influence your lives.
- Keep a journal of the personal myths and narratives that guide your decisions and worldview.
Remember, engaging with mythology isn’t about blind belief – it’s about understanding the stories we tell ourselves and choosing ones that inspire, comfort, and challenge us to grow.