Abstract
Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945), Neo-Kantian philosopher of Marburg school, studies myth as a component of symbolic forms. He considers myth as the cornerstone of philosophy of culture as well as the source of such other forms as language, religion, art and science. Cassirer, applying an epistemological approach towards myths and other realms of human culture, argues that human beings experience the world through a mediated process. Of course, this mediated encounter with the world has different aspects in the evolving course of culture. These aspects are completely dependent upon the symbolic form through which man experiences his world. However, it seems what Cassirer puts forth as an explanation of the cultural evolution of mankind is basically influenced by his semiotic viewpoints. Therefore, the present article tries to find the theoretical resources of Cassirer’s thought and analyze his reasoning in this regard. Emphasizing Cassirer’s theoretical assumptions as well as his methodology, we have tried to better understand his claims about myth and other symbolic forms. It has been revealed that Cassirer’s theory is mainly shaped by his particular models of semiotic functions. Analyzing the semiotic functions of each specific form indicates that Cassirer has differentiated three independent functions. Each of these functions works on an expressive, [1] representative, [2] or signifying [3] basis and is respectively correspondent with myth, language, and science.
References
Apel, Karl-Otto. 1973. Towards a transformation of philosophy, Glyn Adey & David Fisby (trans.). Milwaukee: Marquette University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Barash, Jeffrey Andrew. 2011. Myth in history, philosophy of history as myth: On the ambivalence of Hans Blumenberg’s interpretation of Ernst Cassirer’s theory of myth. History and Theory 50. 328–340.10.1111/j.1468-2303.2011.00588.xSearch in Google Scholar
Cassirer, Ernst. 1946. The myth of the state. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cassirer, Ernst. 1955. Philosophy of symbolic forms, vol II: Mythical thought, Ralph Manheim (trans.), Charles W. Hendel (ed.). New Haven & London: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cassirer, Ernst. 1980. Philosophy of symbolic forms, vol. I: Language, Ralph Manheim (trans.), Charles W. Hendel (ed.). New Haven & London: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cassirer, Ernst. 1988. Zabān va ostore, [Language and myth], Mohsen Thalâthi (trans.). Tehran: Noqre Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cassirer, Ernst. 1994. Resāle-i dar bāb-e Ensān, [An essay on man], Bozorg Naderzâdeh (trans.). Tehran: The Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies.Search in Google Scholar
Coskun, Deniz. 2007. Law as symbolic form: Ernst Cassirer and the anthropocentric view of law. Dordrecht: Springer.10.1007/978-1-4020-6256-8Search in Google Scholar
Frazer, James George. 2009. The golden bough: A study of magic and religion. Auckland: The Floating Press.10.1093/owc/9780199538829.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Friedman, Michael. 2000. A parting of the ways: Carnap, Cassirer, and Heidegger. Chicago & La Salle: Carus.Search in Google Scholar
Habermas, Jürgen. 1971. Knowledge and human interests, J.J. Shapiro (trans.). Boston: Beacon Press.Search in Google Scholar
Hamburg, Carl H. 1956. Symbol and reality: Studies in the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.10.1007/978-94-011-9461-7Search in Google Scholar
Haqi, Ali. 2010. The role of the myth in history. The History and Geography Book of the Month 149. 8–11.Search in Google Scholar
Hoel, Aud Sissel. 2011. Thinking “difference” differently: Cassirer versus Derrida on symbolic mediation. Synthese 179. 75–91.10.1007/s11229-009-9629-2Search in Google Scholar
Ja’fari, Hassan. 2009. Religion and myth: A study of Ernest Cassirer’s theory of the myth. Religion Research 6. 5–27.Search in Google Scholar
Keller, Pierre. 2015. Cassirer’s retrieval of Kant’s Copernican revolution in semiotics. In J. Tyler Friedman & Sebastian Luft (eds.), The philosophy of Ernst Cassirer, 259–288. Berlin & Boston: Walter de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110421811-011Search in Google Scholar
Levy-Bruhl, Lucien. 2010 [1910]. Kārkard-e Zehn dar Djavāme-e Aqabmandeh, [How natives think], Yadollâh Moughen (trans.). Tehran: Hermes.Search in Google Scholar
Mehregan, Arvin. 2013. Philosophy of semiotics. Isfahan: Fardâ.Search in Google Scholar
Meletinsky, Eleazar M. 2000. The poetics of myth. New York & London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Mesqari, Ali-Akbar A. & Vahid Qâsemi. 2011. The origin of myth in the primitive form of perception. Philosophical Researches 8. 191–236.Search in Google Scholar
Montagu, M. F. Ashley. 1949. Cassirer on mythological thinking. In Paul Arthur Schilpp (ed.), The philosophy of Ernst Cassirer, 359–377. La Salle, IL: Open Court.Search in Google Scholar
Motzkin, Gabriel. 2008. Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms: A foundational reading. In Jeffrey Andrew Barash (ed.), The symbolic construction of reality, 73–93. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago.10.7208/chicago/9780226036892.003.0004Search in Google Scholar
Moughen, Yadollâh. 1999. The mythical thought form. In Yadollâh Moughen (ed.), Language, thought and culture, 193–219. Tehran: Hermes.Search in Google Scholar
Moughen, Yadollâh. 2010a. Ernest Cassirer: Philosopher of culture. Tehran: Office of Cultural Research.Search in Google Scholar
Moughen, Yadollâh. 2010b. Levy-Bruhl and the problem of mentality. Tehran: Office of Cultural Studies.Search in Google Scholar
Renz, Ursula. 2011. From philosophy to criticism of myth: Cassirer’s concept of myth. Synthese 179. 135–152.10.1007/s11229-009-9624-7Search in Google Scholar
Rotenstreich, Nathan. 1952. Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms and the problem of history. Theoria 18(3). 155–173.10.1111/j.1755-2567.1952.tb00913.xSearch in Google Scholar
Segal, Robert A. 2004. Myth: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University.10.1093/actrade/9780198724704.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Skidelsky, Edward. 2008. Ernst Cassirer: The last philosopher of culture. Princeton: Princeton University.10.1515/9781400828944Search in Google Scholar
Sperber, Dan. 1979. Rethinking symbolism, Alice L. Morton (trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge University.Search in Google Scholar
Sulokor, Harry. 1995. Art and literature in the thought of Ernest Cassirer: Functional approach, Amir-Hossein Ranjbar (trans.). Art Journal 28. 60–78.Search in Google Scholar
Tsag, Gerhilde. 1999. The return of myth: A plan for the education of the myth of the state, Mohammad-Reza Nikfar (trans.). Negâh-e Now 40. 77–90.Search in Google Scholar
Verene, Donald Phillip. 1969. Kant, Hegel, and Cassirer: The origins of the philosophy of symbolic forms. Journal of the History of Ideas 30(1). 33–46.10.2307/2708243Search in Google Scholar
Verene, Donald Phillip. 1987. Cassirer. In Lindsay Jones (ed.), Encyclopedia of religion, vol. 3. 1448–1450. New York: Scribner.Search in Google Scholar
© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston