Myths as relational architectures
A myth is a symbolic system that structures potential across a community or culture. Just as a clause complex structures potential meanings in language, myths organise relations, roles, and pathways through the space of possibility. They guide how people construe the world, themselves, and their interactions, aligning perspectives across time and social scales.
Method in symbolic form
Relational ontology treats method as reflexive: cuts, perspectives, and system/instance dynamics are not just cognitive moves but practical operations in reality. Myths externalise these operations, embedding relational principles in symbolic form. In this sense, myths are living methods, rehearsed and transmitted through story, ritual, and cultural practice.
Scale and coordination
While an individual can make a perspectival cut in a single event, myths operate across generations and collectives. They sustain potentialities that might otherwise be overlooked, and they guide collective alignment, ensuring that some possibilities are enacted while others remain latent.
Implications
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Myths are not literal truth, but they are epistemically potent, shaping perception and behaviour.
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They link individual construals to collective formation, bridging scales of possibility.
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Understanding myths relationally allows us to see them as adaptive, evolving frameworks rather than fixed narratives.
By framing myth as a method of construal, we begin to see cultural symbols as active participants in the evolution of possibility. The next post will examine archetypes and alignment, exploring recurring symbolic forms as patterns of relational coordination that guide collective construals.
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