ABSTRACT
Since the Greeks invented a phonetic alphabet and started writing, there has been growth of a logical analytical mode of thought as opposed to the ancient mythic modes of thought in Western culture. There has been a growth of science and a decline of oral tradition and mythology. Throughout the world, scientific explanations have replaced myths. Thunder is no longer thought to be the rumbling of a god, but the sound made by the physical action of electrically charged particles in the clouds. Illness is no longer thought to be caused by demons or spirits, but by bacteria and viruses. In the past people could see the significance of their lives and nature in ancient mythic terms. Much myth has been forgotten, and modern people are left with existentialist meaninglessness and despair. Although people have a need for a mythic level to their lives, the oral traditions that fed that need have been replaced by scientific secular culture that denies mythic values. There seems to be no meaning to life, no purpose or grand plan for existence from the point of view of science.
