In Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, he discusses how most modern thinkers "all go further" than doubt in an attempt to explain it away. Rather than acknowledge that truth can be discovered in capacities other than the mind, these thinkers are stuck in what Walter Fisher calls: "a rational-world paradigm" (3). Kierkegaard believes that individuals must confront this doubt and at some point take a leap of faith in order to discover new truth. Although maybe not to the same extent, this is also true for myths. If one does not step out of his or her analytic mind and into a new tale of awe, wonder, and enchantment, then that person is limiting their knowledge of truth.
Kierkegaard speaks of a double movement that happens when one takes a leap of faith. The first movement is an infinite resignation. In this movement, one renounces his passion for the material world, and this gives him an eternal consciousness. The same thing happens in myth. In order to step into a narrative, one must similarly removal himself from the primary world and commit himself to the secondary. In the second movement, one believes that somehow he will regain everything that he lost against all odds. For the man of myth, this is far easier than the man of faith. The man of myth is merely throwing his life into a whole new universe but gets to return to the primary world. The man of faith, on the other hand, may not have this same luxury. He is obedient to his call, even if it turns the world against him and costs him his life.
While myth may not be the exact same as this faith that Kierkegaard is describing, it still requires one to open himself up to truth that is outside of the rational-world paradigm. It takes faith to trust in myths because if they do not bear epistemological significance, then we are wasting our time. But, they do. This is one of the major reasons for embarking on a study of them.
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