It is necessary for the study of Cold War rhetoric, especially in understanding the concept of worldviews in O’Gorman’s Spirits of the Cold War, to have a firm grip on Burke’s concept of myth. Having a thorough understanding of myth as Burke defines it, makes it possible for us to create a more complex image of the prevailing ideologies and worldviews of the Cold War era. The presence of origin myths in language, such as that of the myth of the Babylonian split, implies that there is a unity prior to the division that exists in our current world. This orientation towards the myth of unity is what drives the creation of particular identifications, worldviews, and ideologies. We identify, adopt worldviews and ideologies, and create our own
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According to O’Gorman, language has a “world-making” capacity (10). This capacity of language “stretches toward the transcendent, aspirational, or ‘ideal’ (O’Gorman, 10-11). Spirit guides worldviews, ideologies, and identifications toward the myth of prior unity. When Cold War leaders created the strategies of containment, or massive retaliation, liberation, or deterrence, they were “[choosing] not just what it [the nation] will do, but who it will aspire to be in the world of nations” (O’Gorman, 20). Spirit reveals or encapsulates the core or essence of something; it implies a way of being. For this reason, spirit is related to myth, because myth gives us argumentative access to the core of our …show more content…
His use of words such as “aspirational” and “transcendent” show that he recognizes that the prevailing worldviews of the Cold War era point towards something past material reality and even past high levels of abstraction. O’Gorman does not, however, use myth in the Burkean sense of the word. He often makes the argument that Cold War worldviews function mythically, but he does not use Burke’s definition of myth. It should also be noted that there is no mention of mythic image, mystification, or the notion of prior unity in Spirits of the Cold War even though all of these should be mentioned as they are important to think about when discussing worldview and spirit. To look at and analyze worldviews without directly referencing Burke’s concept of myth does not allow us to view these concepts with as much depth and complexity as they should be
According to O’Gorman, language has a “world-making” capacity (10). This capacity of language “stretches toward the transcendent, aspirational, or ‘ideal’ (O’Gorman, 10-11). Spirit guides worldviews, ideologies, and identifications toward the myth of prior unity. When Cold War leaders created the strategies of containment, or massive retaliation, liberation, or deterrence, they were “[choosing] not just what it [the nation] will do, but who it will aspire to be in the world of nations” (O’Gorman, 20). Spirit reveals or encapsulates the core or essence of something; it implies a way of being. For this reason, spirit is related to myth, because myth gives us argumentative access to the core of our …show more content…
His use of words such as “aspirational” and “transcendent” show that he recognizes that the prevailing worldviews of the Cold War era point towards something past material reality and even past high levels of abstraction. O’Gorman does not, however, use myth in the Burkean sense of the word. He often makes the argument that Cold War worldviews function mythically, but he does not use Burke’s definition of myth. It should also be noted that there is no mention of mythic image, mystification, or the notion of prior unity in Spirits of the Cold War even though all of these should be mentioned as they are important to think about when discussing worldview and spirit. To look at and analyze worldviews without directly referencing Burke’s concept of myth does not allow us to view these concepts with as much depth and complexity as they should be