I have found Rene Girard and mimetic theory helpful—YouTube lectures on the topic and some Jordan Peterson use of ancient myth.

One’s literal understanding is too fickle to get to the bottom of this.

Also. When I have scratched the surface on the neuroscience of sensory perception and cognition, I’m left with the sense that it is all metaphorical anyway.

I mean, what does it mean to “see” or “hear” or “recognize” or “compare” or “imagine”?