Philosophy and Political Myths: The Challenges of Ernst Cassirer’s Concept

Abstract

The philosophy of myth as per the German philosopher of Jewish descent, Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945), serves as a backdrop for this research paper. For a long number of years Cassirer was engaged in the problem of myth from various angles –from myth being an important element in terms of the congizance theory, through its significance for the philosophy of culture and philosophical anthropology, to its role in the sphere of political philosophy. Cassirer begins to study the latter intensively in the thirties and forties of the preceding century in an attempt to analyse the manner in which myth is used as a powerful political weapon within totalitarian political options. His research is directed at cases of historical displacement of the mythical community from juridical and political institutions on the one hand, and on the other hand, the return of myth to 20th century social reality as a strong political weapon within totalitarian political orders. The focus of this paper is Cassirer’s analysis of the role of reason and philosophy in stabilizing mythical energies of human conciousness and reflecting on the reality of political myth as well as an ever–clearer understanding of its origin, structure, method and technique. The aim of this article is to critically review Cassirer’s grasp of such a role of philosophy in the context of modern political myths, but also the possibility of its being acknowledged as a universally applicable analytical apparatus for the phenomenon of political myths and ideologies.