functions of myth module 2

Question 1

spirits create the possibility of

Answer 1

unseen but intuited mechanisms for humans to influence the supernatural & establish relationships with supernatural entities.

Question 2

rituals create processes to obtain

Answer 2

information & answers leading to opportunities for successful action.

Question 3

spirit beliefs provide what?

Answer 3

additional ways for resolving the problems we face

Question 4

magical procedures include

Answer 4

prohpecy, divination, soothsaying, mediumuisticchannelling, prayer

Question 5

what are some of the adaptive advatanges of spirits

Answer 5

• different from humans,
  superior deities - they are role models
• the unseen others can act on their own without limitations

Question 6

benefits of spirits

Answer 6

• provide mechanisms for consensus, maintaining cooperation and reducing conflict
• can shape incidvidual and collective actions
  help regulate how we relate to the universe

Question 7

what can spirits be idenitified as

Answer 7

products of the human need to explain unseen agents and their actions

Question 8

myths are products of

Answer 8

the human need to construct stories about experiences of the universe
and agents responsible

Question 9

what shapes myths?

Answer 9

a need for an explaination, assumptions about univserse

Question 10

what do myths generally describe

Answer 10

natural forces, social life, conflicts and organizations

Question 11

myths are?

Answer 11

frameworks that help us understand the universe

Question 12

what gives a myth importance

Answer 12

social performance of the myth, allows them to define morality, guide perception and social behaviour

Question 13

what is cosmology

Answer 13

the way a culture understands the universe & events within it.
 Cosmologies frequently stipulate the manner in which humans should act & interact with natural & supernatural entities.