Myth and Religion: A Study of Ernst Cassirer’s Theory of Myth

Subject Areas : Christianity

حسن جعفری ¹ (ندارد)

Received: 2009-10-31 Accepted : 2010-01-08 Published : 2009-09-23

Keywords: Myth, religion, Symbol, Language, the Sacred,

Abstract :

In modern times, the Neo-Kantian philosophy of Ernst Cassirer is themost significant attempt to construct a philosophy of myth as anintegral part of the philosophy of religion. His most elaborateddefinition of myth can be found in the second volume of hisPhilosophy of Symbolic Forms. According to this book, myth is asymbolic form that maintains unity of the word and being, the signifierand the signified, it yet still retains itself in the developing structureand, by the use of symbols and signs, it shapes the foundation ofreligion. Myth and religion, therefore, represent the fundamentaltendency toward symbolic formation. In other words, they constitutethe basis of a metaphor that lies at the heart of all forms of symbolicfunction.This essay surveys the nature of myth, the characteristics ofmythic–religious though and the role of time and place in thedevelopment of the mythology. It also deals with the relation betweenlanguage and myth and tries to give an account of the interrelationshipbetween myth and religion.