Time Mythologization: Theoretical Foundations and Contemporary Specifics

The article provides a comparative analysis of theoretical and methodological grounds for studying the problem of time mytholo-gization in the context of domestic and foreign approaches to myth, including contemporary social myth. The points of view of Claude Levi-Strauss, Mircea Eliade, and Kurt Hubner on the nature of mythological time were considered. The anti-historicity of the mythological, the connection of myth with the category of eternity, the opposition of sacred and profane time were shown. When determining the temporal features of the mythological and the concept of time mythologization, the principle of historicism was used. It is noted that, in the medieval era, ritualized (mythoritual) practices were already actively used as the main method of mythologiz-ing time; they are still relevant today as a means of familiarizing oneself with mythological time. Among the research on myth as a phenomenon of modernity, the phenomenological approach of Aleksei Losev, the semiotic understanding of Roland Barthes, and their points of view on the nature of time in myth were analyzed. The examination of the ideas of historians and political scientists working with the concept "myth" showed that the focus in their studies of time mythologization shifts from contemplation of the sacred and the eternal to construction and practical implementation of ideas for the sacralization of modi of historical time in the interests of urgent agenda. Time mythologization, which they assume should be understood as part of "work on the myth", results in the construction and maintenance of the desired image of the past. The author defines time mythologization as a process of giving mythological imagery and symbolism to aspects of being of any modus of time, as a result of which historical, calendar time becomes sacralized, acquires universal features, and is associated with the category of eternity. The author proceeds from the assumption that contemporary mythological temporality is understood as constituted through the statement of modi of time, in which the mythologized past becomes part of social memory, the future becomes utopia, and the present everyday ritualized (mythoritual) practices. In mythological temporality, a noncontradictory and simplified picture of the world is formed, allowing one to design the past and even manage it, as well as to plan the future. Answering the question about the reasons for time mythologization today, the author agrees with the supporters of the psychoanalytic concept of myth, who believe that people always have the desire to fight against historical time and to partake the sacred. It is concluded that the temporality of contemporary myth consists in the coverage of all modi of time, and the specificity of time mythologization is manifested in the artistic creativity, politics, and media environment.

Keywords

Authors

References