Culture Matters The Myth of Fact
Nov 4, 2025
In this enlightening discussion, Dr. Claudia MacMillian, founder of the Macmillan Institute and a scholar in literature, shares her insights on the 'myth of fact' and its impact on education and human experience. She emphasizes that isolated facts lack the fullness of truth and that context is crucial. Dr. MacMillian advocates for cultivating the poetic imagination to enrich our understanding and empathy, highlighting the importance of reading whole works and embracing mystery. She urges a shift from performance-based education to soul formation, preparing us to engage more deeply with life.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Fact Is Not The Whole Truth
- Modernity elevated isolated details into 'facts' by extracting them from context.
- Donald Cowan warns a fact is accepted as true, not the whole truth, which makes culture brittle.
Culture Operates Within Overlapping Myths
- A cultural 'myth' shapes how whole societies interpret reality across institutions.
- We live in overlapping myths (home, school, church) that influence perception and behavior.
Poetry Trains Our Moral Sensibility
- Sidelining poetry and literature in universities weakened our capacity for deep sensibility and empathy.
- Without the poetic imagination we grow thin, brittle, and less able to tolerate difference.