Historical Value of Myths
Product details
- ISBN 9781138229891
- Weight: 220g
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 14 Dec 2022
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This book explores the connection between history and mythology by engaging with myths not as allegories or falsehoods, but as representations of historical experience.
Historical approaches to myth are often absent from discussions of mythology, which favour symbolic and psychological interpretations. This analysis traces certain episodes of myths’ complex ancestries, from when their relationship with history could not so easily be severed, to subsequent attempts, which misunderstood myths as confused, undeveloped lenses for humanity to view the world. Drawing on the works of English philosopher R.G. Collingwood and the Romanticism movement, the book argues for the expansion of methodological approaches to myths. It explores the ways in which myths have served as clues for the history of civilization and humanity’s ever-changing complexities.
The Historical Value of Myths is an illuminating read for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in the fields of mythology, the philosophy of history, and anthropology.
John Karabelas is an independent researcher with interests in the philosophy of history and European cultural and intellectual history. He has published articles on R.G. Collingwood’s philosophy ("Fairy Tales and Totemism," 2011; "Rationalism and the Law," 2015), and the philosophy of history of the British idealists (2018).
