Mythical Thinking – In the Past and Today

Abstract

The question about myth has long been an inexhaustible reservoir of philosophical, sociological and anthropological problems. In the modern culture one can observe attempts to renew mythical thinking and to create an important place for it. We should therefore inquire into the bases of such a presence. Why is mythical thinking returning to our culture despite the changes in the contemporary world, especially the changes concerning the AI? The present paper i san attempt to analyze the presence of mythical thinking in the modern culture. It points towards the fact that returning of mythical thinking coincides with the return of religion. There are three circumstances of this return that are worth highlighting: the loss of the normative potency of our world; over-rationalization and over-unification of our culture; and the iconic turn, that is, strengthening of the visual and emotional dimension of our culture. The paper also analyzes a theory of mythical thinking and its relations with religion and science.