Mythological Thinking and the Formation of Mythological Notions. Myth and Language in the Concept of E. Cassirer

摘要

The article is devoted to the comparison of principles of linguistic name-forming and the formation of mythological notions. On this basis the characteristic features of mythological thinking become clearer. The theoretical basis of the research is the ideas of E. Cassirer. The author of the article does not consider the philosophy of culture E. Cassirer and focuses on the topic of myth and language. The object of research is mythological thinking and its structure. The subject is the principles of the formation of mythological and linguistic notions. Through the analysis of the principles of linguistic name-forming and the formation of mythological notions, the author believes, it is possible to approach the clarification of links between myth and language in modern culture. The formation of linguistic signs and notions is regarded as the basis on which further spiritual activity is possible. The author highlights general principles of linguistic name-forming and the formation of mythological notions. First principle is the function of "noticeability", the function of separation characteristic moment from the undifferentiated whole of sensory perception. Second principle is the function of linguistic and mythological classifications. Human body is a reference point for these classifications. Third principle is that linguistic and mythological notions are formed in accordance with their practical and teleological significance not in accordance of the objective properties of things and phenomena. The similarity of the principles makes it possible to study mythological thinking based on the study of the linguistic thinking. And in that, and in another case, it is a manifestation of a non-rational mental function, which E. Cassirer calls a language fantasy or metaphorical thinking.