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Collective selfhood as a psychically necessary illusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2025
Abstract
Drawing on developmental psychopathology and thinking about the we-mode of social cognition, we propose that historical myths – be they on the scale of the family, the nation, or an ethnic group – are an expression and function of our need to join with other minds. As such, historical myths are one cognitive technology used to facilitate social learning, the transmission of culture and the relational mentalizing that underpins social and emotional functioning.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press
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Target article
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