Between Mythos and Philosophia

Abstract

Abstract: Chronologically, mythos (myth) came into being before philosophia (philosophy). Mythos tends to make people "wonder" and "think" whereas philosophia attempts to work out the meaning of this wondering. Thus it leads to a process of endless exploration. This being the case, philomythos is in a way like philosophos. In other words, he who loves myths is somewhat like a philosopher who loves wisdom and pursues truth. Plato himself is not merely a myth-lover but a myth-maker, and he therefore develops a dialogue-based philosophy saturated with poetic wisdom. It is through the interaction between mythos and philosophia that mythos becomes rationalized through philosophical logos while philosophia becomes intuitionalized through mythic thinking. Thereby what is discussed in Plato's dialogues has got considerably deepened and reinforced. As is discerned, Plato's philosophy demonstrates a unique style and speculative art in the created, transformed, and traditional types of myths employed in his writings per se.

Key words: Plato, mythos; philosophia, poetic wisdom, the Kronos myth

Wang Keping. Between Mythos and Philosophia[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2013, 33(2): 41-50.

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