Myth, History and History According to F. Schelling

Abstract

Friedrich Schelling grew up amidst the transformative era of Romanticism and German Idealism. At the core of the philosophical perspective forming the basis for his views on myths lies a fundamental idea: without the darkness shrouding the earliest events being lifted, and without identifying the key points of the motifs in the great, enigmatic fabric called history, it is impossible to understand how history truly began. In this sense, the philosophy of mythology can shed light on the earliest connections in history. According to Schelling, the philosophy of mythology plays a fundamental role in understanding the origins of human consciousness and knowledge. It reflects the consciousness of the era within the structure of events and actions that developed alongside the doctrine of gods with profane content in the prehistoric age. Due to this fact, mythology is viewed as a vital source for explaining history’s most ancient connections. Furthermore, Schelling emphasizes that the fundamental element constituting a people is not merely physical coexistence, but a shared structure of consciousness. This structure first emerges through language; however, the true foundation of social unity lies in a shared worldview, most clearly expressed in mythology. Mythology is a product of the collective consciousness that emerges alongside a people’s existence, making a people without mythology inconceivable. Schelling approaches myths as multi-layered intellectual structures containing allegorical meanings and traces of past thought. While myths explain the physical and spiritual origins of societies, they also reveal the common source of human consciousness. This article provides a detailed examination of Schelling’s perspective in the context of the 19th century.