THE ONTOLOGICAL STATUS OF MYTH AND SYMBOL IN THE CONTEXT OF LÉVI-STRAUSS'S WILD THOUGHT

Lévi-Strauss's work The Savage Mind discusses the ontological status of myth and symbol in human nature; it also explains that savage thought is not opposed to modern science, but rather an alternative and equivalent form of knowledge production. Strauss argues that meaning cannot be grasped solely through rational and experimental knowledge, and that myths and symbols are unique ways in which humans perceive and organize the world.

With the advent of the modern era, objective knowledge has increased, and the perspective on symbols and myths has been regarded as belonging to the primitive mind. At the core of this perspective lies the materialist positivist understanding. The materialist positivist understanding has fragmented knowledge, distancing it from wholeness. The fragmentation of knowledge has also led to the fragmentation of human nature. It is clear that the materialist positivist understanding limits meaning to material reality alone, thereby disregarding the spiritual dimension of human beings. Myth and symbol play a fundamental role in understanding the relationship between humans and nature, and they appear not only as historical but also as ontological units of human existence.

In this study, we will evaluate the human search for meaning within the tension between the materialistic positivist paradigm and the symbolic-mythological mode of thought.

Keywords

L. C. Strauss, M L. C. Strauss, Myth, Symbol, Meaning, Materialist Positivist Paradigm