Joseph Campbell, in Primitive Mythology: The Masks of God, argues that humankind, despite its many differences, has historically shown more similarities overall. Specifically, the author believes, from his analysis of the evidence, that there is a "unity of the race of man, not only in its biology but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony." He further argues that the future holds "the next great movement" in this symphony, with the same "motifs" as in the past. Although his book is positive in its assessment of human advances, he nevertheless notes that there is no assurance that the future of the human race will be bright. This symphony of unity and its motifs "might be put to use by reasonable men to reasonable ends---or by poets to poetic ends---or by madmen to nonsense and disaster" (Campbell, 1991, v).
Campbell seeks to find a natural history of the human race, and in that search he finds a unity of themes running through all civilizations and religions:
The comparative study of the mythologies of the world compels us to view the cultural history of mankind as a unit; for we that such themes as the fire-theft, deluge, land of the dead, virgin birth, and resurrected hero have a worldwide distribution---appearing everywhere in new combinations while remaining . . . only a few and always the same (Campbell, 1991, 3).
Campbell's basic message, then, is that there is nothing new under the sun. He concludes that civilization is mythology: mythology---and therefore civilization---is a poetic, supernormal image, conceived, like all poetry, in depth, but susceptible of interpretation on various levels" (Campbell, 1991, 472).
The author is, among other things, trying to convince the reader that the members and adherents of each civilization, mythology and religion see themselves and their beliefs as superior to every other. He generally chides those who provincially b...