3 out of 4 stars
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Mythical Worlds and the One You Can Believe In by Harold Toliver is a book that takes on the topic of myths and why people believe them. It talks about how humans perpetuate myths to justify their actions. The book explores topics like the history of myths, group-think, and the influence of politics and religion in propagating myths.
I liked how the author clearly outlined the structure of his book in the table of contents. This made my reading experience easier, as I could read it in sections instead of all at once. The author presented some very valid justifications to support his argument. He gave instances in history where myth and propaganda were used to harm vast groups of people. The most prominent example used is that of Hitler. The author details how Hitler used myths to create group-think in a population and mobilize a war machine. The consequence was a war-torn Europe as well as the near extinction of the Jewish population in Europe.
The author focuses particularly on religion, which will probably receive mixed reactions from readers. According to the author, religion is directly connected to superstition and zeal. He goes on to state that it is consistently a cause of division. He named it as one of the main causes of turmoil in the 20th century as well as terrorism in the 21st. The author called religious beliefs “supreme fictions” that are unrecognized as such, which is a major cause of conflict. While his argument is convincing, I was uncomfortable with the over-generalization made about religion. I ended up feeling as if the book had devolved into a litany of complaints about it.
The cost of the human belief in myths was clearly highlighted and it was sobering to see. The author put the toll from conflicts in the 20th century at 160 million people. He asserted that these conflicts could be directly attributed to myths and propaganda. This was a decidedly stimulating read, which gave me a lot of food for thought. All things considered, this book is a heavy read and requires time to finish as well as digest the ideas presented.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because it is a logical dissection of a contentious subject. The author’s detailed research, as well as superb argumentation, made this an engaging read. I deducted one star because I thought it focused excessively on religion. I would have liked it if he had gone into more detail about the influence of social media and big companies in disseminating myths and propaganda. I felt he overlooked something major seeing as this book was published in 2017. This book would likely appeal to those interested in philosophy and objective thinking in general. I would advise those who are firm believers in any religion to stay clear of this book. They are likely to be offended by the arguments in this book, as it disparages religion as a whole.
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Mythic Worlds and the One You Can Believe In
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