Maps of Meaning summary

In the West, we often pride ourselves on our scientific worldview. Modern science, we think, helps us see the world for what it really is: a place of facts, not feelings.

But as the previous blink illustrated, emotions play a critical part in our day-to-day understanding of the world. Our feelings help us determine whether a thing is good or bad for us, and therefore whether we should approach or avoid it – often without our conscious effort.

Myths are not simply prescientific nonsense – they are valid and valuable tools for navigating the world.

Given our shared human nature, it’s perhaps no surprise that these tools have some universal characteristics. Whether the Mesopotamian creation myth, the story of the Egyptian gods Horus, Isis, and Osiris, or the passion of Christ – across cultures, myths describe the story of the Way: a brave hero’s journey into the unknown, and his triumphant return.

It’s no coincidence that the characters in ancient myths are often kings, queens, and princes battling for the throne.

Many cultures used myths to justify the authoritarian power of their ruler. The Mesopotamian emperor, for instance, was thought to be an emissary of the mythical hero Marduk.

When we’re children, we’re protected from the unknown by our parents. We don’t need mythical heroes to model the right behavior for us, because our parents simply tell us how to behave. Of course, in doing so, they embody the values of the culture that surrounds them. 

Part of growing up and emancipating ourselves from our parents is learning to replace their values and protection with the values and protection of culture.

The existence of the unknown is a fact of life. As humans, we’re constantly surrounded by things we don’t understand, and never will.

Culture provides a measure of protection from the chaos of the unknown. Nonetheless, the chaos often finds us when we least expect it.

Have you ever come across the curious symbol of a serpent eating its own tail?

In many cultures, this self-consuming snake, the ouroboros, is used to represent the original state of the cosmos. It first appeared in ancient Babylon, and can be found in various cultures across Africa, India, and Mexico.

One of the most puzzling features of human nature is our capacity for evil.

In today’s world, we tend to view evil as a product of a psychological defect, a bad upbringing, or other unjust social or economic conditions. But as German philosopher Hannah Arendt suggested when she contemplated the evil perpetrated during the Third Reich, the truly horrifying idea is that even ordinary people are capable of evil. She calls this “the banality of evil.”

Facing the unknown is always uncomfortable – which is why humans have devised countless strategies to avoid it.

Losing ourselves to ideology is one such avoidance strategy. An ideology is a fixed story about how the world works, or how it should be. A national supremacist, for example, believes in the story that his country is better than all other countries. He will try to fit everything he encounters into this narrative – actively avoiding, denying, or suppressing any anomalies that might suggest a different truth.