Social mythology

In the study of the phenomenon of social myth, the main thing is to identify its essence through its relationship with the classical myth . The social myth is artificially constructed by the interested social groups , which distinguishes it from the traditional myth, which was formed spontaneously. In addition, social myths are focused on social realities and are disseminated through the media of mass communication and information , which is another hallmark of archaic myths. The creation and dissemination of social myths is impossible without rooting them in collective perception , which is the main reason for the constant presence of myths in modern culture . Social mythology, functioning in society at the expense of mass consciousness , is directly transmitted through everyday beliefs, stereotypes, social illusions, symbols and signs that are contained in cultural texts of various orientations (advertising, artistic, propaganda, etc.).

Humanitarian scholars of the 20th century believed that myths and modern culture are inseparable ( semantic models of myths can be found in many everyday practices). Scientific knowledge currently distinguishes between traditional (classical) mythology as a type of culture “based on archaic forms of mentality” ^[3] and modern social mythology “as a phenomenon that is an interspersing of myth in a non-mythological in nature cultural tradition as a result of conscious reflective goal-setting , a variant of political and ideological practice ” ^[4] . Modern mythology is social in nature and has a pronounced practical orientation.

Despite the difference between social and classical myths, a number of researchers highlight some common features among them. For example, A. L. Toporkov believes that:

• social and classical myths not only explain the existing reality, but also create a certain image of the future;
• both in the past and today, myths are an effective force that organizes and regulates the behavior of one individual and the masses;
• in myths of any historical period, the mythologization of the past occurs, which makes it relevant for the present;
• the myth does not need verification both for the bearer of tradition and for modern man. ^[five]

In various fields of humanitarian studies, there are a number of definitions of social myth. During the XX century, the study of social myth was conducted by Western researchers ( J. Sorel , E. Cassirer , R. Barth , F. Nietzsche , Z. Freud , G. Lebon . K. Levy-Strauss , E. Durkheim , etc.), Russian scientists ( E. M. Meletinsky , A. F. Losev , V. Ya. Propp , M. M. Bakhtin , P. S. Gurevich et al.) and attention was mainly focused on the analysis of classical mythology, the processes of myth-making , as well as studying the specifics of myth-consciousness as a special form of cognition and the creation of sociocultural reality. For example, A. F. Losev defines myth as a special form of expression of feelings, focusing on the fact that myth is the reality surrounding us: “The myth is ... the highest in its concreteness, the most intense and extremely intense reality. This is not a fiction, but the most vivid and genuine reality. This is an absolutely necessary category of thought and life, far from any chance and arbitrariness ” ^[6] .

The work of P. S. Gurevich, “Social mythology” (1983), was written in the framework of Marxist scientific philosophy, where modern social mythology is considered by the author as a specific phenomenon of the ideological practice of capitalist society ; a special type of spiritual activity to create, spread and maintain political illusions deliberately developed by the ruling elite to influence the masses ^[7] . Despite this, it is worth paying attention to a number of important features of social myth, as a cultural phenomenon highlighted in Gurevich’s work: focus on social realities, influence on other forms of worldview, a combination of different worldview layers.

Roland Bart defines a myth as a special form with social content that has a focus on a specific recipient. R. Bart believed that myth is a secondary semiological system and is created on the basis of the primary language system, which has a three-element structure: signifier , signified, and sign . In myth, message distortion occurs due to a shift in the formal structure of primary values ​​by one level. “It is not reality itself that comes to the first place, but the idea of ​​it; turning from meaning to form, the image loses the knowledge contained in it ” ^[8] . Thus, the intention of myth in Bart contains a certain duality. When the consumer of the myth perceives the myth naively and unsophisticated, not noting its ideological burden, the existence of the myth loses its meaning. On the contrary, if the ideological subtext is clearly manifested in the myth, then the myth loses its essence and becomes an ideological appeal.

The French sociologist Georges Sorel considered ideology as a way of social integration of people. A social group was united on the basis of a certain idea (the idea of ​​freedom, equality, etc.) - Sorel understood this idea of ​​the future as a social myth, believing that the power of an idea can mobilize people and inspire them to certain actions to rebuild the world. For example, the statements of a religious prophet or the theory of socialism , as some representations of the future that meet people's hopes, are the idea that called the masses to action. “It is completely unimportant to know which of the little things that make up the mythological concept is destined to be realized in the course of historical events ... These myths must be looked at as a means of influencing the present ... the whole totality of the mythological concept is important for us, its individual parts are only important insofar as they they allow one to stand out more clearly in the idea contained in it ” ^[9] .

The sociologist of culture G. Ionin , studying the social aspects of mythology, identifies the most significant energy function of myths: “The myth connects and channels social energy ... The myth concentrates energy and directs it to constituent objects” ^[10] . Another function of myths is the creation of various collectives (from a football team to a whole nation), as well as the function of forming and reproducing a collective identity , which is realized through values and norms . In addition, the myth plays a role in the formation and structuring of space, which is especially pronounced in geopolitical judgments.

Culturologist A. V. Ulyanovsky defines a social myth as an ideological, purely rational education to achieve a specific goal ^[11] . In the first half of the XX century. political ideology acted as a social myth, but from the second half of the 20th century. to this day, the capitalist model exists in the form of branding . A. V. Ulyanovsky proposed a typology of social myths as the basis for creating brands. The author identifies unmanifest, overt and manifest myths. Common to the social myth is that its manifestation at each moment of time is relative, localized and possible: at every moment of time there are simultaneously living in a myth for which it is not manifested, manifests itself and is explicit ^[12] . Undeveloped myths are not subjected to critical rethinking and are perceived by people living in social space as an unambiguous reality. Manifested social myths consist of generally accepted stereotypes, fragments of beliefs and domestic prejudices. Explicit myths are perceived in the context of artistic truth, in a figurative sense. And even later - they are considered by most people to be fictional, stupid, ridiculous, naive, archaic, children's tales, of course, false. The author believes that “there is no impenetrable border between unmanifest, manifest, explicit social myths - it is mobile in synchronous and diachronic aspects, contextual, depends on a person’s worldview and represents a tendency to identify the truth” ^[12] .