Chapter 11 May: Existential Psychology 341addiction, and popular culture in a
vain effort to find meaning in their
lives. Myths are not falsehoods;
rather, they are conscious and
unconscious belief systems that pro-
vide explanations for personal and
social problems. May (1991) com-
pared myths to the support beams in
a house—not visible from the out-
side, but they hold the house
together and make it habitable.
From earliest times and in
diverse civilizations, people have
found meaning in their lives by the
myths they share with others in their
culture. Myths are the stories that
unify a society; “they are essential
to the process of keeping our souls
alive and bringing us new meaning
in a difficult and often meaningless
world” (May, 1991, p. 20).
May believed that people
communicate with one another on
two levels. The first is rationalistic
language, and on this level, truth
takes precedence over the people who are communicating. The second is through
myths, and on this level, the total human experience is more important than the
empirical accuracy of the communication. People use myths and symbols to transcend
the immediate concrete situation, to expand self-awareness, and to search for identity.
May (1990a, 1991) believed that the Oedipus story is a powerful myth in
our culture because it contains elements of existential crises common to everyone.
These crises include (1) birth, (2) separation or exile from parents and home,
(3) sexual union with one parent and hostility toward the other, (4) the assertion
of independence and the search for identity, and (5) death. The Oedipus myth has
meaning for people because it deals with each of these five crises. Like Oedipus,
people are removed from their mother and father and are driven by the need for
self-knowledge. People’s struggle for self-identity, however, is not easy, and it may
even result in tragedy, as it did for Oedipus when he insisted on knowing the truth
about his origins. After being told that he had killed his father and married his
mother, Oedipus put out his eyes, depriving himself of the ability to see, that is,
to be aware, to be conscious.
But the Oedipus narration does not end with denial of consciousness. At this
point in Sophocles’ trilogy, Oedipus once again is exiled, an experience May saw
as symbolic of people’s own isolation and ostracism. As an old man, Oedipus is
seen contemplating his tragic suffering and accepting responsibility for killing his
father and marrying his mother. His meditations during old age bring him peace
and understanding and the ability to accept death with grace. The central themes
The Oedipus myth holds meaning for people even
today because it deals with existential crises common
to everyone. © Alinari Archives/The Image Works