"Escape from reality": self-mythologisation as harmonization of "I-being" through illusion acceptance
Myth is one of actual mechanisms of harmonization of representations of a person. Myth-creation in its illusory-designing functions is a mechanism of psychological protection, non-conscious and automatic (as rationalization, replacement, projection, sublimation, etc.). One of the mechanisms of individual myth-creation is self-mythologisation. Any static fixing of I-concept becomes a myth of the person about itself. Frequently processes of self-mythologisation are connected with the phenomenon of escape from reality, being a protectively compensatory mechanism, which protects the person from unacceptable reality. Some of the ways of mental protection represent forms of escapism, that is express aspiration of the person to leave the reality for the world of illusions, imagination (escape from reality as escape from success, escape into illness, escape from freedom, etc.). When estimating the phenomenon of compensatory myth-creation of the image of the world and the image of I, the aspect of its non-authenticity and illusiveness is commonly emphasised, while the aspect of harmonizing is ignored. However, the person does not identify 'living in a myth' as illusion. In the process of myth-creation, a replaceable simulation of reality takes place by means of creating a myth about reality. Self-mythologisation is also connected with the concept of self-deception. The problem of reflexivity of self-deception has an extremely ambivalent nature and is quite comparable to the similar aspect of self-mythologisation. 'Creators of myths' and 'those who live in myth' possess various degrees of reflexivity about life in myth. However, the way out of myth is illusory for both in the end. Basic distance from myth is problematic to a greater or lesser extent for all its figurants. In the situation of self-mythologisation, as well as in case of self-deception, the person is simultaneously acting the roles of the creator of myth and the one 'living in myth'. Myth, which is identified as myth, as an artificial phenomenon, has consequent demystification, demythologisation, revealing of myth. Demythologisation of one myth (by means of reflection) and, accordingly, further statement of another myth occurs only within myth, in the context of myth, which has not been mastered by demythological reflection yet. We can only speak about degrees of mythologisation and demythologisation of consciousnesses, but not about the basic ways out of myth, not about an opportunity of essential demythologisation of the world image. Any personal choice of remythologisation or demythologisation of one's life can be free only within mythological context and immanent mythologisation of consciousness. Non-freedom from myth it is not burdensome, as it is not reflective. The person is free from myth to the degree of his capability to realize impossibility of total demythologisation.
Keywords
self-deception, escape from reality, illusion, self-mythologisation, самообман, бегство от реальности, иллюзия, аутомифологизацияAuthors
| Name | Organization | |
| Yarovenko Svetlana A. | Siberian State Technological University (Krasnoyarsk) | yarmyth@mail.ru |
References