por He mythical thought It was the way in which the first settlers of the planet explained the different phenomena that happened. Generally, the protagonists of the stories typical of mythical thought were supernatural beings whose actions were unquestionable.
According to mythical thought, the gods and supernatural beings were responsible for each scenario that took place in reality; for this reason they were considered extremely powerful entities.
In essence, the main purpose of mythical thought was to give some order to reality as it was presented in antiquity. Through this thought, a kind of cause and effect relationship was created that served so that human beings could locate themselves and better understand their environment.
This type of thought was characterized by being widely dogmatic. Through this, it was sought to make sense of reality but it was not questioned: once conceived, it was taken for absolute truth.
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Origin
Mythical thought arose from the need to understand the phenomena to which human beings were exposed.
This is an intrinsic characteristic of individuals; For this reason, already in the first men and women this intention to explain the reason for the phenomena, which were totally foreign to the original humans, was appreciated.
One of the first concerns was to understand what was the origin of the human being, as well as the origin of the universe as such.
In this context, the first men conceived myths in which the protagonists were supernatural and very powerful beings; Since the causes of the phenomena were beyond the comprehension of human beings, the most natural response was to attribute said phenomena to said miraculous beings.
Sedentary lifestyle and society
When the first settlers began to become sedentary and formed more complex civilizations, mythical thought was also very useful to explain values and behaviors that were associated with the specific tribe.
Thanks to the myths it was possible to structure an orderly society, and since these explanations were not questioned, they also meant a quite efficient form of control, usually from the wealthy classes to the most vulnerable.
According to various researchers, mythical thought was the point of origin from which philosophy was generated, since the first philosophers delved into said thought with a more rational approach, seeking explanations that had little to do with supernatural beings.
Characteristics
Supernatural beings participate
The protagonists of the stories related to mythical thought are always miraculous beings, with supernatural powers that have the power to do and undo according to their will and in many cases moved by whims.
As a consequence of this characteristic, some phenomena could not be completely predicted, which could generate total submission of the first inhabitants towards their gods.
It is unquestionable
Mythical thinking does not admit of questioning. The supernatural characters that participate in the mythical events are beyond the comprehension and intelligence of man, so human beings can only accept the phenomena as they appear.
not shown
This feature is related to the one explained above. Since questions are not allowed, it is not necessary to demonstrate the truth or falsity of the events that make up the mythical thought; they just happen.
Explains natural and social phenomena
Through mythical thought, the original societies managed to explain both natural and social phenomena. The fact of being able to give a mythical explanation to certain social processes made it possible to generate an orderly structure within societies.
It can be affirmed that many of the values that characterized the different civilizations came precisely from the mythical thought that they conceived in their beginnings.
Determines the essential characteristics of companies
The mythical thought served as the social and historical base of the original peoples. For them, the characteristics they had at a certain time were given by these phenomena that had been explained through mythical thought.
That is, the first human civilizations were considered the result of the myths that their oldest members conceived.
examples
Mayan creation myth
The story related to the rise of the Maya is narrated in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of this civilization. According to this story, a group of supernatural beings decided to create the human being; however, they had several unsuccessful attempts.
The gods were only successful when they used white and yellow corn: from these elements they conceived a human being capable of speech. This story explains why corn was such a valuable item for the Mayans.
Colombian myth of the creation of humans, the sun and the moon
According to the Colombian worldview —specifically, that of the Chibcha civilization—, the gods Ráquira and Ramiriquí lived alone in a space full of natural beauties. On one occasion they considered creating human beings through mud and reeds: with the mud they created the man and with the reeds the woman.
After seeing that the first specimens were successful, the gods created more and more human beings; Thanks to this they managed to inhabit the entire Chibcha empire.
Differences with philosophical thought
Philosophical thought is completely different from mythical thought; however, they are closely related, since the starting point for philosophical thought was precisely mythical thought.
The first philosophers —who did not consider themselves as such because philosophy as a discipline had not yet been born— began to study carefully the myths that were predetermined in their cultures, but the difference was in the focus of their approach: it was a purely rational focus. .
So, it can be said that the main difference between philosophical and mythical thought is that the former is based on supernatural explanations, while the latter focuses its efforts on understanding phenomena based on a rational and objective vision.
Furthermore, philosophical thought is in constant questioning. Each new rational argument is considered to enrich thought and strengthen it.
On the other hand, in the mythical thought the argumentation or the demonstration of what is proposed is not conceived. These are closed explanations that do not admit questions or rebuttals.
References
«The myth of the creation of the Maya» in Living the Mayan time. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from Living Mayan Time: maya.nmai.si.edu
«Myths of the creation of humans, the sun and the moon» at the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute for Biological Resources. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute: Humboldt.org.co
Rojo, A. «From mythical thought to scientific thought» in Minor Words. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from Minor words: minor words.info
«Pre-philosophical thought» on Wikipedia. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from Wikipedia: wikipedia.org
De Castro, S. “The “passage from myth to logos”: birth of Philosophy, Eurocentrism and genocide” in El Salto. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from El Salto: elsaltodiario.com
“What is Mythical Thinking” at IGI Global. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from IGI Global: igi-global.com
Goebs, K. “Myth, Metaphor, Mythical Thinking – Functions and Uses of Mythical and Divine Metaphor in Ancient Egypt” at University of Toronto. Retrieved on November 12, 2019 from the University of Toronto: nmc.utoronto.ca