Work on Myth

(Paperback)

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In this rich examination of how we inherit and transform myths, Hans Blumenberg continues his study of the philosophical roots of the modern world. Work on Myth is in five parts. The first two analyze the characteristics of myth and the stages in the West's work on myth, including long discussions of such authors as Freud, Joyce, Cassirer, and Val ry. The latter three parts present a comprehensive account of the history of the Prometheus myth, from Hesiod and Aeschylus to Gide and Kafka. This section includes a detailed analysis of Goethe's lifelong confrontation with the Prometheus myth, which is a unique synthesis of "psychobiography" and history of ideas.Work on Myth is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.

Reviews

"This is a stunning philological work. It patiently connects and disconnects logical, rhetorical, and historical links between dogma, myth, and ideology, their establishments in religion, law, and science, and the critiques that singe and sear them... Robert M. Wallace's work is a model of scholarly translation, ambitious and carefully executed." Willis G. Regier, Modern Language Notes

Author Bio

Hans Blumenberg, the creator of metaphorology, was one of the most important German philosophers of the latter 20th century.