Jane: Nice to hear from you. I would have written you an email had I been able to find your address on the DePaul University site. This form of communication will have to do for now. Indeed, we well may be related. As I understand our heritage, the Breckenridge clan was from the midlands of Scotland. My grandfather, immigrated from Scotland to Ontario, Canada. My father settled in southern Saskatchewan prior to the first World War. I was born in Saskatchewan, did my PhD. in Ontario and eventually found my way into the states. I now reside in Greensboro, NC. I can be reach at [email protected]

In regard to the question you postulated on Research Gate, beside being a neuroscientist, I also write poetry. I have thought some about mythology because mythology and the verbal transmission of culture (See the writings of Robert Bringhurst) were the mechanisms used by mankind for much of his existence. Some might call story telling poetry. Some of these stories almost take on an archetypal character, which I believe are tempered by superstition. I suppose the question is why do myths tend to be similar between cultures that had no contact with each other. Perhaps, instead of postulating an organizing principle arising in neurophysiology, the evolution of thought (stories), might be like the evolution of biology. Facing similar conditions, there are a finite range of possible outcomes - such that common solutions (Noosphere in De Chardin's terminology for the mind or Selection in a Darwinian context) are co-discovered simultaneously throughout the various strata of mankind.

CBB

In this area of work there is still a lot more theory than practical understanding. I am sure you have looked at Carl Jung's ideas on collective unconsciousness being "universal". The problem with Jung (and Freud) is that many of their ideas are untestable from a scientific point of view no matter how enticing they may seem. Despite this their ideas remain popular attracting attention and respect amongst some mental health clinicians who use them in their clinical practice.

There is a great new book out, The Neurobiology of the Gods by Erik D Goodwyn, which I have read and am going to reread. Yes, I have dealt with Jung and with a disciple of his, Ernest Becker. I am also interested in NGray, R. M. (1996). Archetypal explorations: Towards an archetypal sociology.

I like your question, Jane. I am trying to establish the importance of sweet food and how it affected our behaviour in prehistoric times. The urge to satisfy this hunger lead to honey hunting and stories about defeating a dragon that guarded a treasure. I look forward to reading The Neurobiology of the Gods that you suggest.

Anneliese Pontius (2002) discussed bizarre acts committed by schizophrenic men, including two dismemberment murders in which the perpetrators tried to create an ancient-god-like male-female combination of their victims; and three firesetters who sought to unite extreme opposites by fire. She noted that these behaviors reflect the acting-out of basic themes shared by ancient myths and rituals worldwide. The uneducated men who committed these acts were unaware of these myths, suggesting that these patterns may reveal “built-in constraints of subjective experience” (2002, p. 183) that are universal, resembling Jungian archetypes (Jung, 1977).

Pontius, A. A. (2002). Neuroethology, exemplified by limbic seizures with motiveless homicide in "limbic psychotic trigger reaction." In G. A. Cory, & R. Gardner (Eds.), The evolutionary neuroethology of Paul MacLean: convergences and frontiers (pp. 167-192). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.