Kritik der symbolischen Formen II

Myth is one of the most powerful forms the human mind has developed to make sense of the world. This volume starts from Cassirer's idea of myth as symbolic form that follows a genuine kind of logic. It takes ancient Japanese mythologies as an example to explore this idea and take it beyond the notion, still held by Cassirer, of the primitivity of myth. Ancient Japanese mythologies select, grasp and order their objects in accordance with a discernible rational agenda, and they interact with each other and with other symbolic forms present at the time. Their analysis thus reveals important clues about the way mythology operates as a genuine form of 'worldmaking' in concert and conflict with other modes of making sense.