For any given mythological story, I know it didn’t actually happen, but I also know that whether or not it actually happened is irrelevant to my life. So the regular definition of truth “did it actually happen” is not the right generalization to this setting. Why should I believe useless things? What I really want to know is (a) what does this story imply about reality and how I should act in the world and (b) if I do act that way, does my life get better?
Yeah, the benefits of literal truth are more altruistic and long-term.
Yeah, the benefits of literal truth are more altruistic and long-term.