Myths Reflections in Italian Philosophy

Abstract

This article serves as a synthesis of mythological structures and references to the world of the myth in Italian philosophical tradition. During different times, many different philosophers and cultural figures have been paying attention to the question of the myth in philosophy. Some were reasoning about separateness of these two worlds. Others, as if, Umberto Eco were urging them as means of structural elements. Umberto Eco had masterfully combined both philosophical and mythological structures in his works. Here I use a word «mythological» from a point of view of cultural references that fulfil his writings. Given that European classical culture and especially the culture of Renaissance approached to the myths for inspiration and as a result was filled with their allusions. Imparting them with new meanings and inscribing it to the context of époques. While thinking about the named topic I made a conclusion that the word «myth» has two basic meanings. The first one is the most convenient and popular — placing the reality into a fairytale form, empowering it with magical component, which makes existence clearer and more structured. To be more precise: ancient Greek and ancient Roman myths, which are closely connected to each other. And the myth as a structure itself, a form of a meaning to channel narrative into a more familiar direction and fulfil it with practically any meaning. As for me, the second way of understanding the word «myth» or better to say «mythological» comes from the fact that existing in the sphere of myth seems to our consciousness more native than the consequent literature traditions and ways thinking. As a result, this article appears to be a reasoning about subtle closeness of mythological and philosophical and needs further additions. Seemingly, mythological happens to be long gone from the modern world. But the main question is: would philosophical tradition in way we know it now exists without it? And how important is myth in everything that followed it up?