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Having explained Lewis’s notion of myth (albeit a concise explanation), we next explore its relation to historical fact. Understanding this relation is important because the familiar use of the word “myth” implies something imaginary, made-up, or fictitious – and therefore not real. However, Lewis argues that a myth is in some sense more real than historical fact.

To understand this a little further we’ve got to go back to Plato. Yes, him. (In one way or another, everything philosophical goes back to him it seems.) I’ll keep it real brief, one-sentence brief. Plato taught that there are two planes of existence; in the one exists the abstract ideas of which the other holds concrete instances.

Lewis, in this way, sees myth as a “transposition” of an idea in the one plane to an instance in another. In other words, a myth is a concrete expression of an idea (in the Platonic sense). It is more real because the idea flows to the one experiencing the myth as reality without the need for an historical occurrence. In this way truth is communicated not as an abstract idea, but as concrete reality (in the experience of a myth).

So, that a myth is true is not dependent upon any historical occurrence; and at the same time it does not exclude the possibility of historical occurrence. Lewis is attempting to disconnect myth from historical fact, while at the same time connect myth with truth.

So What?

Again it boils down to this question. Why does this matter? Well, you may have begun to quickly perceive the connection that is here with regards to the Bible. Religious writings are always connected in one way or another to some notion of myth. And truth-seekers often consult various religious writings. Lewis’s notion of myth has implications for our understanding of the Bible. My next post will explore some of those implications.

This post is part of a series of posts on C.S. Lewis and his idea of Myth

• Part One – C.S. Lewis and Myth
• Part Two – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Historical Fact
• Part Three – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Scripture
• Part Four – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Truth
• Part Five – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Christ

Books I Directly Used (they go into more depth):

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about C.S. Lewis’s idea of myth.  You might be asking yourself, why would you do that?  Well, its complicated to trace my own path to thinking about this, but there’s a couple reasons one might want to think about it.

• In reading his work it’s important to have his understanding in mind.
• The use of “myth” has been used widely in discussions of theology and scriptures
• It has implications for our understanding of fact, truth, and even Christ.

Since we’re talking about C.S. Lewis’s idea, it should be clear that it is not what you would find in a dictionary under the word “myth” (although since he used that term it bears relation).  Lewis himself considered coining a new term for what he was suggesting, but felt that it would be better to use the term myth in a different sense.

So what does it mean?

We find some help in understanding what Lewis means from J.R.R. Tolkien.  In a discussion on the term, he suggested to Lewis that as speech is to objects, myth is to truth.  For instance, the word “tree” is not itself a tree, but rather something we use to refer to a tree.  Similarly, myth is something we use to refer to truth.  Lewis later suggested in his article, “Myth become Fact” that myths allow us to concretely experience that which is only otherwise known as an abstraction.  So, a great myth gives concrete expression to a truth that is an abstract concept.  But what comes to you in experiencing a great myth is not truth, but reality (because truth is about something of which is reality).

Myth is a story that allows one to experience as concrete reality that which when examined is only an abstraction.

Looking Forward

This idea is something that needs to be chewed on like a good meal – long, slowly, and carefully.  In the future, I’ll post some of my thoughts on how this connects with things such as Historical Fact, Scripture, Truth (the absolute kind), and Christ.

This post is part of a series of posts on C.S. Lewis and his idea of Myth

• Part One – C.S. Lewis and Myth
• Part Two – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Historical Fact
• Part Three – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Scripture
• Part Four – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Truth
• Part Five – C.S. Lewis, Myth, and Christ

Books I Directly Used (they go into more depth):