TY - JOUR

T1 - Myth and Metaphor

T2 - Key Issues in Hans Blumenberg´s Cultural Anthropology

AU - Moss, Maria

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - This essay will focus on two interrelated aspects of Blumenberg's philosophy: myth and metaphor. Blumenberg perceives the functions of myth and metaphor in the development of culture as rational and logical solutions to the life-threatening problems posed by man's biological deficits. (Here Blumenberg agrees with Arnold Gehlen's anthropological theory of deficiency and his definition of humans as M ngelwesen - beings lacking the necessary instincts to fit into the natural environment). One of the central questions of anthropology is how man - despite this apparent lack of instincts - manages to exist. Blumenberg's answer: because he deals with reality belatedly, selectively, indirectly, and, most of all, metaphorically. Used correctly, myth and metaphor not only manage to dodge any immediate and frightening confrontation with reality, but even offer Lebenskunst (the art of living), that primary skill of dealing with and enjoying oneself. After taking a closer look at Blumenberg's definition of myth and (absolute) metaphor, the essay will show how both - even in our time - can be employed to compensate man's biological deficiencies.

AB - This essay will focus on two interrelated aspects of Blumenberg's philosophy: myth and metaphor. Blumenberg perceives the functions of myth and metaphor in the development of culture as rational and logical solutions to the life-threatening problems posed by man's biological deficits. (Here Blumenberg agrees with Arnold Gehlen's anthropological theory of deficiency and his definition of humans as M ngelwesen - beings lacking the necessary instincts to fit into the natural environment). One of the central questions of anthropology is how man - despite this apparent lack of instincts - manages to exist. Blumenberg's answer: because he deals with reality belatedly, selectively, indirectly, and, most of all, metaphorically. Used correctly, myth and metaphor not only manage to dodge any immediate and frightening confrontation with reality, but even offer Lebenskunst (the art of living), that primary skill of dealing with and enjoying oneself. After taking a closer look at Blumenberg's definition of myth and (absolute) metaphor, the essay will show how both - even in our time - can be employed to compensate man's biological deficiencies.

KW - English

KW - Philosophy

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 2010

SP - 88

EP - 93

JO - PAN : Philosophy Activism Nature

JF - PAN : Philosophy Activism Nature

SN - 1443-6124

IS - 7

ER -