In her wonderful book, “The Battle for God,” Karen Armstrong, drawing on the work of other eminent scholars, introduces us to a central reason why there has been a resurgence of religious fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the modern world. Indeed, her book points out some intriguing and insightful parallels between all three religions. But perhaps the really central concept she adumbrates occurs in the Introduction to the book: this is the distinction between mythos and logos.
This distinction is, in my view, vital in seeking to understand why the West is in decline.
What Are Mythos and Logos?
“Allegory of the Sciences, Minerva, and Chronos Protecting the Sciences Against Envy and Ignorance,” 1614–1616, by Jacob Jordaens. Oil on canvas. Private collection. (Public Domain)
Put simply, the ancient world, including the Medieval one, operated on the basis of both understandings: People understood that mythos and logos were two different ways of interpreting the world, but that both were necessary and that each had its own domain, or area of applicability….