The Scholar as Mystic: The Poetic Mysticism of Joseph Campbell
Department
Theatre and Performance Studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2007
Abstract
The article discusses the mysticism of scholar Joseph Campbell. According to the author, Campbell's mysticism was evidenced is his theory of myth, which incorporated Eastern pantheistic and Western Gnostic philosophies. He states that Campbell's mysticism was the reason for his appeal as well as for rejection by his critics. Also discussed in the article is Campbell's aestheticism, his experience of the sublime, and his arguments against a literal, or historicist, interpretation of mythology.