Mythic Mind
By Andrew Snyder
Mythic MindMar 08, 2023
36 - On Fairy-Stories (feat. John Carswell)
In this episode, I am joined by John Carswell of the Tolkien Road to discuss Tolkien's essay, "On Fairy-Stories," which is a foundational read for understanding Tolkien's literary philosophy, and particularly his philosophy of fantasy. I often say that I was radicalized by "On Fairy-Stories," so I hope that this conversation is a companion to your own reading!
Become a patron to support my work and to gain full access to Mythic Mind! patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
35 - Leaf by Niggle (feat. Thomas Salerno)
In this episode, I am joined by Thomas Salerno of the Perilous Realms podcast as we discussed Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" and the related areas of Tolkien's literary philosophy. Be sure to check out Thomas's work and to support me on Patreon if you would like for me to continue building out the Mythic Mind community and engaging in collaborations such as this! patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
34 - Tales from the Perilous Realm
In this episode, I introduce the new season of Mythic Mind! If you don't already have a copy of Tolkien's Tales from the Perilous Realm, be sure to order your copy today so you can follow along! Also, be sure to support me on Patreon to get full access to the Mythic Mind community and to support my work. patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
32 - The Next Chapter
Patreon: patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
Substack: andrewnsnyder.substack.com
My Amazon Affiliate Links: The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tales from the Perilous Realm
31 - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
While my current content focus is primarily on the Patreon-exclusive Grimm series, I'm continuing to repurpose old content to keep the public podcast feed alive. In this episode, I read a blog post that I wrote in December of 2020 as my wife and I continued to work through child loss and empty arms. While much has changed since then, there are some experiences that remain forever-present.
The joy of Christmas can become salt on the wounds of those who are mourning, so I hope that this short episode provides some degree of solace to those who need it.
I appreciate your support over at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder. Become a patron today to fund my content creation and gain access to the full Mythic Mind podcast.
Subscribe to my free Substack at substack.com/andrewnsnyder to get weekly summaries and reflections on the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, starting in January.
29 - Being Human
To keep the public podcast feed active, I'm continuing to repurpose old content. In this case, I've uploaded a short presentation I recorded a few years ago about what it means to be human. Enjoy!
Links:
27 - The Christian View of the World
While my focus is on new content for the Patreon-exclusive Grimm series, I'm continuing to repurpose other content to keep the public feed active, and of course to provide patrons with more content as well.
This is my first content lecture from my Christian Worldview course and it’s simply titled, “The Christian View of the Word.” Of course you don’t have to be a Christian to benefit from this podcast, but I also haven’t hidden my Christian perspective. Whether you share in the faith or not, I hope you find this useful in getting a better understanding of the Christian worldview.
To make sure you aren't missing episodes of Mythic Mind, become a patron at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder!
25 - From Heraclitus to Kierkegaard
As a reminder, the public podcast feed is on a hiatus during the current Patreon-exclusive series on the Grimm fairy tales. However, so the public feed isn't completely silent, I'm going to start dropping some recycled content over there.
This episode is a lecture originally delivered for my "Philosophy and Christian Thought" course that surveys some important themes in the history of Western Thought from ancient Greece to Kierkegaard. This comes from early in my online teaching career, so delivery and audio quality is not superb, but hopefully the content will be of some use to you!
For full access to all of Mythic Mind, head over to patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
23 - Hansel and Gretel
In this episode, we continue our Patreon-exclusive series on Grimms' Fairy Tales with Hansel and Gretel. Far more than a mere cautionary tale about over-indulgence, this is story is a classic hero's journey that teaches us how to encounter the unexpected, defeat cannibalistic tyrants, and recover lost treasures that, justly earned, enrich our lives and those around us.
To gain access to the rest of this series, head over to patreon.com/andrewnsnyder!
21 - Despair and Anxious Hope
In this final episode of Mythic Mind's first public season, I review where we've been and finish out our discussion of Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death with the hope that can emerge from despair. Additionally, I discuss why Kierkegaard's legacy matters and how it might relate to modern empirical psychology. Finally, I discuss where we'll be headed next!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/andrewnsnyder
Recommendations:
20 - The Forms of Despair
“The greatest hazard of all, losing the self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all.” - Kierkegaard, The Sickness unto Death
In this episode, coming to you about 3 months late, I continue our study of The Sickness unto Death with a survey of the forms that despair can seem to take. Through personal experience, people we know, and stories we've heard, it seems that there are many ways we might lose ourselves. In the end, however, Kierkegaard tells us that there is only one, which we must avoid at all cost if we are to be authentic human individuals.
Book Recommendations:
- Eros and Self-Emptying: The Intersections of Augustine and Kierkegaard
19 - The Sickness unto Death
After falsely announcing this a few times, we're finally starting on Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death, in which he discusses the nature of despair and what it means to live as an authentic human self in harmony with our design and purpose. Additionally, in response to a listener's question, I share what I believe Kierkegaard would have to say about anxious attachment and avoidance in relationships.
Recommendations:
18 - The Crownless Again Shall Be King
In this special episode, I look toward Good Friday as I discuss some Tolkienian wisdom and the true myth of the gospel.
17 - Tolkien Reading Day
Happy Tolkien Reading Day! In this special episode of Mythic Mind, I'm joined by several podcasters, professors, authors, and other fans to discuss why we're drawn to Tolkien and to share some of our favorite passages. Whether you are already an insider in this community or you just want to know what all these nerds are up to, I hope you find this to be a fun, inspiring, encouraging show that leads you to pick up and read for the first or eleventy-first time!
As always, I'm glad to have you with me on this path. Please be sure to subscribe to Mythic Mind and share this episode with others! If you would like to become a Mythic Mind insider, you can head over to patreon.com/mythicmind.
16 - The Sorrow that Makes for Joy
Thank you for listening! Please be sure to leave a positive review, subscribe, and consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder.
15 - To Need God is a Human Being's Highest Perfection
In the previous episode, we concluded our study of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. In this episode, in preparation for moving into The Sickness unto Death, we discuss Kierkegaard's relatively short discourse, To Need God is a Human Being's Highest Perfection, in which he argues just that. In this approachable, fairly straightforward discourse, he lays out some of the ideas that will be discussed in more detail and with more difficulty in The Sickness unto Death.
At the end, I make another call for submissions to the show's upcoming Tolkien Reading Day episode. After I recorded this, I set up a speakpipe account to make the process easier, so you can either e-mail your recording or go to speakpipe.com/mythicmind.
I also make some recommendations, which you can find here:
'Til We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis): https://amzn.to/3hGNOCI
Tales from the Perilous Realm(Tolkien): https://amzn.to/34idO4c
14 - Anxiety as Saving Through Faith
In this episode, I conclude our study of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety with the final chapter, "Anxiety as Saving Through Faith," which uses Augustinian and Boethian themes to demonstrate the educative potential of anxiety in relation to the human task of becoming authentically human. Also, I reveal my plans for Mythic Mind following the completion of Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death.
13 - The Good, The Bad, and the Anxious
In this episode, we return to Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety with Chapter 4, in which he discusses, among other things, the psychology of evil and repentance. It's a longer, rather dense episode, so, if you have any questions or comments, definitely send me an e-mail at mythicmindpodcast@gmail.com and I will be glad to address them on the show. If you would like to support my work and gain access to exclusive content and early releases, you can head over to https://www.patreon.com/andrewnsnyder. Also, please consider giving me a 5-star review and perhaps a positive comment on the various platforms to help with visibility. As always, thank you for continuing to walk these paths with me.
12 - Yes, The Lord of the Rings is Christian
There was recently a post published to Medium, titled “No, the Lord of the Rings is not Christian.” This post, which made rounds throughout the internet, argued that, despite a popular understanding, Tolkien’s great work is not only not fundamentally a Christian work, but that it is actually fundamentally secular, and even philosophically "progressive." I provided a response post to my blog, which seems to have struck a chord with many, so I decided to read it here. The original article superficially touched on so many topics, so I decided that a response worth giving will actually require a series, explore the Christian elements behind Tolkien’s stories, his broader religious framework, his literary philosophy, and so forth. This first response post primarily looks at Tolkien’s narratives themselves. If you would like to keep up with the series, you can subscribe to my site, andrewnsnyder.com or, to gain access to all of my blog readings, past, present, and future as they come out, you can support me on Patreon at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder at any tier.
11 - What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
This is the second lecture from my course, "Philosophy and Christian Thought." I do a couple things in this lecture: first, I address the question posed by Tertullian, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" with reference to Origen, Augustine, and Aquinas. Second, I provide some thoughts regarding Plato’s Apology. I hope this is of some use to you. If it is, I welcome you to leave me a positive review and to consider supporting my work at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder. As always, thanks for joining me on the paths of Wisdom.
10 - Philosophy & Christian Thought
As I previously mentioned, I currently have too much on my plate to regularly produce new episodes of Mythic Mind, but I still want to provide content on a regular basis. I've taught a few philosophy and theology courses, so I'm going to start uploading my course lectures whenever I'm unable to make new content for the podcast. We're going to start with a course titled "Philosophy & Christian Thought," which is an introductory philosophy course that is meant to help Christians learn what philosophy is and how to think philosophically in relation with the broad history of western thought. Because this course was designed as an introduction, it will likely be more accessible than my regular Kierkegaard content. I hope you are able to gain something from it, and I encourage you to share it with people you know who would benefit from an introductory study like this.
If you would like to support my content, I humbly welcome you to head over to my Patreon page at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder.
09 - The Existential Moment
It has been a while, but I bring you the ninth episode of the Mythic Mind podcast! In this episode, we return to Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety with the third chapter. Kierkegaard introduces the term of "the moment," which describes our willful mediation between past actuality and future potential in reference to the eternal. In the moment, we are separated from the rest of earthly existence and are able to live authentically as humans, bringing together the eternal and temporal, bodily and soulish, and, ultimately, Heaven and Earth in all that we do. This is the life of true and enduring meaning. This is true humanity.
08 - The Frog-King, or Iron Henry
In this episode, we take a break from Kierkegaard to examine the Grimm Tale of "The Frog-king, or Iron Henry" as we inaugurate a new series that, after this episode, will be a Patreon-exclusive journey through fairy-tales and folklore. At the moment, this series will be posted irregularly, but, once we hit the next goal of $400/month, they will be released every other week (on the off-weeks from Mythic Mind). This series will be available to all patrons at the $5/month tier or higher.
If you have questions or comments, please send me an e-mail at mythicmindpodcast@gmail.com and I will address your correspondence on the show!
07 - I'm Still Here
As we continue to enjoy parenthood with our newborn twins and make daily visits to the hospital to visit our son who is still in the NICU, our schedule has been a little heavy lately. In this episode, I just wanted to briefly check in with you, let you know that I'm still here, and update you on some changes I've made to my Patreon goals. If you want to see where I'd like to go in the future, you can head over to patreon.com/andrewnsnyder.
06 - The Dizziness of Freedom
In this episode, we discuss Chapter 2 of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. Kierkegaard describes anxiety as the dizziness of freedom which is inherent in human existence, but is consciously experienced as we become more or less conscious of our responsibility to properly relate to the worlds above, below, and within. Anxiety is a symptom of our yearning for fulfillment, but can result in corruption just as much as it can result in authentic human satisfaction in harmony with our ideal.
I encourage you to send your questions and comments to mythicmindpodcast@gmail.com, check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com, and to consider supporting me on Patreon at pateron.com/andrewnsnyder. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!
No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company!
05 - The Concept of Anxiety (Finally)
In this episode, we finish our discussion of the first chapter of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. We discuss Kierkegaard's understanding of what it means to be human, truly human, and the role that anxiety plays in shaping our identity, for better or for worse. Additionally, we further discuss what it means to use a mythic perspective to consider what matters rather than, first and foremost, material things.
I encourage you to send your questions and comments to mythicmindpodcast@gmail.com, check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com, join our new subreddit at reddit.com/r/mythicmind/ and to consider supporting me on Patreon at pateron.com/andrewnsnyder. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!
No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company!
04 - We Need More Butter and Responsibility
In this episode, I provide some personal lessons I've learned during the gap since the last episode and we look at the first half of Chapter One of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety. We discuss the ethical relationship between the individual human and the history of the human race. As far as we are, or should be, concerned, where does guilt reside, how is it passed through generations, and what is the individual's ethical task? Does shame have any positive value? Practically speaking, why does the individual's relation to guilt matter?
I encourage you to check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com, join our new subreddit at reddit.com/r/mythicmind/ and to consider supporting me on Patreon at pateron.com/andrewnsnyder. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!
No matter what form your support takes, I am grateful for your continued company!
03 - The Concept of Anxiety, Introduction
In this episode, we look at the introduction to Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety and discuss the importance of making sure we're bringing the right tools to bear on the project at hand. Additionally, and on a related note, we discuss the difference between authenticity and ideological possession. We all have perspectives, but are we using them as tools to rightly engage with the world or are we attempting to bring world in submission to our tools?
I encourage you to check out my blog over at andrewnsnyder.com and to consider supporting me on Patreon at pateron.com/andrewnsnyder. I can only start providing content on a regular basis with your support!
02 - The Concept of Anxiety, Preface
In this episode, we begin our discussion of Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety with the preface. We introduce some important themes that will be expanded throughout this series, including the importance of the individual, authentic selfhood, and our relation to Truth.
If you appreciate this podcast, please subscribe, share, and consider supporting me on Patreon!
01 - An Introduction to Mythic Mind
I've thought about starting this for years and now it is finally coming to pass! In this introductory episode, I begin to explain the title, "Mythic Mind," frame the purpose of the podcast, and reveal our first series. I look forward to engaging with the fellowship that emerges from this journey.