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Joseph Campbell

Born

in White Plains, NY, The United States

March 26, 1904

Died

October 30, 1987

Website

http://jcf.org

Genre

Religion, Social Sciences, Mythology

Influences

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Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood he became interested in mythology. He loved to read books about American Indian cultures, and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles.

Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Thes Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood he became interested in mythology. He loved to read books about American Indian cultures, and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles.

Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These encounters led to Campbell's theory that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the universal need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities.  

After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, and then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 40s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He also edited works by the German scholar Heinrich Zimmer on Indian art, myths, and philosophy. In 1944, with Henry Morton Robinson, Campbell published A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake. His first original work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, came out in 1949 and was immediately well received; in time, it became acclaimed as a classic. In this study of the "myth of the hero," Campbell asserted that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. In his book he also outlined the basic conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero's journey. 

Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Joseph Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, introduced Campbell's views to millions of people. 
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Joseph Campbell’s books

Average rating: 4.26 · 276,200 ratings · 9,551 reviews · 376 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Power of Myth 4.26 avg rating — 51,606 ratings — published 1988 — 104 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hero With a Thousand Faces 4.13 avg rating — 42,024 ratings — published 1949 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell, Johnson E. Fairchild (Foreword) 4.16 avg rating — 6,875 ratings — published 1972 — 51 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Masks of God, Volume 1: Primitive Mythology 4.27 avg rating — 4,194 ratings — published 1959 — 69 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hero's Adventure: Power of Myth 1 by Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers 4.37 avg rating — 3,773 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation by Joseph Campbell, David Kudler (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.35 avg rating — 2,840 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell, Robert Walter (Editor), Diane K. Osbon (Introduction) 4.40 avg rating — 2,560 ratings — published 1991 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work by Joseph Campbell, Phil Cousineau (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 4.31 avg rating — 2,431 ratings — published 1990 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Masks of God, Volume 2: Oriental Mythology 4.28 avg rating — 2,385 ratings — published 1962 — 62 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Masks of God, Volume 3: Occidental Mythology 4.32 avg rating — 1,818 ratings — published 1964 — 52 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Joseph Campbell…

Series by Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell and Power of Myth (6 books)
by

Joseph Campbell,

Bill Moyers

4.27 avg rating — 56,058 ratings

The Masks of God (4 books)
by

Joseph Campbell

4.29 avg rating — 10,106 ratings

Historical atlas of world mythology (4 books)
by

Joseph Campbell

4.32 avg rating — 421 ratings

The Way of the Animal Powers Part (2 books)
by

Joseph Campbell

4.34 avg rating — 188 ratings

The way of the seeded earth (3 books)
by

Joseph Campbell

4.45 avg rating — 157 ratings

More series by Joseph Campbell…

Quotes by Joseph Campbell (?)

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”
― Joseph Campbell

tags: meaning-of-life

5281 likes

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
― Joseph Campbell

tags: change, life, open-heart, open-mind, resilience

3854 likes

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
― Joseph Campbell

tags: cave, fear

1419 likes

See all Joseph Campbell's quotes »

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Joseph Campbell’s Followers (5,556)

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Joseph Campbell

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Combine Editions
Joseph Campbell’s books