# 452 - Hillsdale talk - Mythological Thinking: The Crossroads of Psychology and Theology

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-symbolic-world-1141216/452-hillsdale-talk-mythological-thinking-the-crossroads-of-psychology-and-theology
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-symbolic-world-1141216/452-hillsdale-talk-mythological-thinking-the-crossroads-of-psychology-and-theology.md
Podcast: [The Symbolic World](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-symbolic-world-1141216)
Published: 2026-05-29T15:37:50+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/452-hillsdale-talk-mythological-thinking-the-crossroads-of-psychology-and-theology--72226359
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72226359/2026_05_hillsdale_talk_final_29may2026_2_pm_01.mp3
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Duration seconds: 4843

## Resource

This is a talk I did at Hillsdale College in March 2026. In this talk, I explore mythological thinking as a way of understanding how facts become meaningful. Facts do not present themselves to us neutrally. They are always organized by care, relevance, attention, and story. I look at examples from Genesis, Icarus, Spider-Man, the Tower of Babel, and modern science to show how myths preserve deep patterns of human experience. Rather than treating myth as fiction or primitive explanation, I argue that myth reveals the structures by which we perceive reality, understand purpose, and connect psychology with theology. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/DEShUddn8HY Join Seraphim Hamilton in studying the Book of Isaiah this June. Register now to get 15% off before the early bird sale ends: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-fifth-gospel 🔓 Become a patron to support us and unlock exclusive monthly symbolism content: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🎧 Listen to and review The Symbolic World podcast: -Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0gI8bUwPtT3gkduHqNh6M5 -Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-symbolic-world/id1386867488 Timestamps: 00:00 Coming up 01:38 Intro music 02:03 Introduction at Hillsdale College 06:59 Talk begins: hope, fragmentation, and new conversations 09:19 “Facts don’t care about your feelings” 12:12 Care organizes facts 16:50 Facts are always contained in a story 19:15 The Fifth Gospel course announcement 20:10 Why stories survive across generations 24:04 Mythological stories vs. scientific descriptions 27:14 Origin stories and why we care 30:37 Genesis as more than a scientific text 33:34 Genesis, relevance, and human catego…

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