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Mitologia e filosofia: O sentido dos grandes mitos gregos
Impossível enumerar as metáforas adormecidas de Oceano, Tífon, Cérbero, Tritão, Píton, Quimera e outros seres maravilhosos que habitam incógnitos nossa linguagem do dia a dia. A proposta deste livro é justamente despertá-los contando as histórias magníficas que constituem sua origem. Mas o interesse da mitologia não para por aí. Os grandes mitos propõem, num plano propriamente filosófico, uma infinidade de lições de vida e de sabedoria de uma profundidade abissal. Também são elas que este livro analisa ao retomar em grande parte os libretos publicados em colaboração com a revista Le Figaro no decorrer do ano de 2014.
- GenresPhilosophyMythology
758 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2023
About the author
Luc Ferry
314 books273 followersLuc Ferry (born January 1, 1951) is a French philosopher and a notable proponent of Secular Humanism. He is a former member of the Saint-Simon Foundation think-tank.
He received an Agrégation de philosophie (1975), a Doctorat d’Etat en science politique (1981), and an Agrégation de science politique (1982). As a Professor of political science and political philosophy, Luc Ferry taught at the Institut d'études politiques de Lyon (1982–1988) — during which time he also taught and directed graduate research at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University —, at Caen University (1989–96). He was a professor at Paris Diderot University (since 1996) but did not teach there.
From 2002 and until 2004 he served as the Minister of Education on the cabinet led by the conservative Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. During his tenure, he was the minister in charge of the implementation of the French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools. He received the award of Docteur honoris causa from the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). He is the 2013 Telesio Galilei Academy of science Laureate for Philosophy. He was enthroned to Chevalier De La Dive Bouteille De Gaillac on the 20 march 2012 together with Max Karoubi and Francesco Fucilla.
Source: Wikipedia
He received an Agrégation de philosophie (1975), a Doctorat d’Etat en science politique (1981), and an Agrégation de science politique (1982). As a Professor of political science and political philosophy, Luc Ferry taught at the Institut d'études politiques de Lyon (1982–1988) — during which time he also taught and directed graduate research at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University —, at Caen University (1989–96). He was a professor at Paris Diderot University (since 1996) but did not teach there.
From 2002 and until 2004 he served as the Minister of Education on the cabinet led by the conservative Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. During his tenure, he was the minister in charge of the implementation of the French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools. He received the award of Docteur honoris causa from the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). He is the 2013 Telesio Galilei Academy of science Laureate for Philosophy. He was enthroned to Chevalier De La Dive Bouteille De Gaillac on the 20 march 2012 together with Max Karoubi and Francesco Fucilla.
Source: Wikipedia
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October 13, 2025In our Western view of things, we are still trapped in a simplistic step-by-step scheme: mythology > religion > philosophy/science. In this scheme mythology is attributed to a primitive way of looking at the world, followed by the more elaborate, coherent worldviews of religions (especially monotheistic ones), finally culminating in the more rational world of philosophies and science. It is an evolutionary vision inextricably linked to Western progressive thinking (and consecrated by the French positivist philosopher Auguste Comte). While there are certainly arguments for it, this progression has been largely discredited as far too simplistic and insufficiently recognizing the unique nature of each phenomenon.
In this book, French philosopher Luc Ferry doesn't completely break away from this progression. But he does convincingly demonstrate that there is at least as much continuity as rupture between mythology and philosophy (science is not his focus). His thesis is that Greek philosophy in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE did not appear out of nowhere, as a sudden miracle, but rather was a form of laicization or secularization of the religious universe of the Greeks, i.e. the myths. In his conclusion he formulates it as follows: “on the one hand, the first philosophers will take over a whole part of the religious heritage as it is inscribed in particular in the great mythical stories that we have analyzed concerning the birth of the gods and the world; but, on the other hand, this heritage will nevertheless be considerably modified, that is to say, at the same time translated and betrayed in a new form of thought, rational thought, which will give it a new meaning and status.”
In this book, Ferry mainly focuses on the first part, the big mythical stories of the Greeks. He not only offers a balanced retelling of them (which also pays attention to the variants), but also a systematic interpretation, both his own as that of illustrious predecessors. And again and again he returns to the fact that the ancient myths of the Greeks attempted to capture reality in stories that illustrate the complexity of that reality in coherent themes and images, which were later transformed into a more rational discourse by the early Greek philosophy. Genealogical connections (between gods) are replaced by causal relationships, and divine entities by more physical and natural elements. In doing so, these philosophers (Thales, Anaximander, Herakletes, etc.) do retain the fundamental characteristics that the myths have underlined in reality: harmony, justice, beauty, hierarchy, finality, etc. “It is less a question of breaking with religion than of rearranging its contents, less of wiping the slate clean than of diverting its major themes into a new perspective. And it is this duality – rupture and continuity – which will mark, from the beginning, but indelibly, the ambiguous relationship between philosophy and its only serious rival, religion. »
Ferry’s view seems to me to be valid to a certain extent, but I can’t help but feel that it is a little too one-sided, and does not do justice to the unique character of the mythical stories. This may also be because—like Paul Veyne in his "Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths??"—he focuses almost exclusively on the myths as texts, thus ignoring the entire area of rites and cults (with the exception of the Dionysian festivals). I can't help it, but precisely because of this blind spot, I get the impression that he tries to force the Greek myths a bit too much into the confines of his own philosophy.
That doesn't change the fact that this is an extremely interesting, very well-documented, and well-constructed book, which I highly recommend!
In this book, French philosopher Luc Ferry doesn't completely break away from this progression. But he does convincingly demonstrate that there is at least as much continuity as rupture between mythology and philosophy (science is not his focus). His thesis is that Greek philosophy in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE did not appear out of nowhere, as a sudden miracle, but rather was a form of laicization or secularization of the religious universe of the Greeks, i.e. the myths. In his conclusion he formulates it as follows: “on the one hand, the first philosophers will take over a whole part of the religious heritage as it is inscribed in particular in the great mythical stories that we have analyzed concerning the birth of the gods and the world; but, on the other hand, this heritage will nevertheless be considerably modified, that is to say, at the same time translated and betrayed in a new form of thought, rational thought, which will give it a new meaning and status.”
In this book, Ferry mainly focuses on the first part, the big mythical stories of the Greeks. He not only offers a balanced retelling of them (which also pays attention to the variants), but also a systematic interpretation, both his own as that of illustrious predecessors. And again and again he returns to the fact that the ancient myths of the Greeks attempted to capture reality in stories that illustrate the complexity of that reality in coherent themes and images, which were later transformed into a more rational discourse by the early Greek philosophy. Genealogical connections (between gods) are replaced by causal relationships, and divine entities by more physical and natural elements. In doing so, these philosophers (Thales, Anaximander, Herakletes, etc.) do retain the fundamental characteristics that the myths have underlined in reality: harmony, justice, beauty, hierarchy, finality, etc. “It is less a question of breaking with religion than of rearranging its contents, less of wiping the slate clean than of diverting its major themes into a new perspective. And it is this duality – rupture and continuity – which will mark, from the beginning, but indelibly, the ambiguous relationship between philosophy and its only serious rival, religion. »
Ferry’s view seems to me to be valid to a certain extent, but I can’t help but feel that it is a little too one-sided, and does not do justice to the unique character of the mythical stories. This may also be because—like Paul Veyne in his "Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths??"—he focuses almost exclusively on the myths as texts, thus ignoring the entire area of rites and cults (with the exception of the Dionysian festivals). I can't help it, but precisely because of this blind spot, I get the impression that he tries to force the Greek myths a bit too much into the confines of his own philosophy.
That doesn't change the fact that this is an extremely interesting, very well-documented, and well-constructed book, which I highly recommend!
August 13, 2018
Maravilhoso estudo sobre a ligação entre os mitos gregos e a filosofia. Aprendizado riquíssimo.
June 7, 2025
Le récit des mythes est là pour appuyer l'idée fondamentale que la mythologie est intrinsèquement liée à la philosophie des grecs. Le soucis est que la richesse des mythes n'est exploitée par l'auteur que pour appuyer l'idée d'un agencement du cosmos et d'un chaos (qui ne peuvent exister l'un sans l'autre) dans lequel toute vie évolue. On finit par vite tourner en rond. Bien que les manifestations de cet agencement dans les mythes différent, l'idée de fond philosophique mise en avant se répète inlassablement, finissant par lasser.
January 19, 2023
Un très grand travail de vulgarisation et de qualité.
August 11, 2020
Grécke mýty v gombrichovskom podaní Luca Ferryho
Ak hľadáme inšpiráciu pre rozmýšľanie a príbehy, často sa stane, že sa ocitneme na poli antickej literatúry, jej mýtov a legiend. Grécka kultúra vytvorila na dlhé stáročia originálny model myslenia. Prostredníctvom príbehov si ho aplikujeme do básní, filozofie, metafor a pranostík.
Francúzsky filozof Luc Ferry v publikácii Řecké mýty (Garamond, 2020) s podtitulom Mytologie a filosofie, ponúka kvalitnú orientáciu v zložitej genéze božstiev a legiend.
Dojem, že príbehy o Odyseovi a gréckom panteóne sú notoricky známe ľahko stratí stabilitu. Súvislosti medzi mytológiou a realitou podporili vznik mnohých náboženstiev, a tak treba pozorne študovať a hľadať prepojenia. Nie je náhodné, že v mravoukách a kultúrach mnohých národov sa nachádzajú variácie prvkov práve gréckej filozofie.
Venovať sa antickej knižnici individuálne je romantická, no čitateľsky náročná úloha. Cieľ môže komplikovať forma jazyka, ale aj problematická dostupnosť niektorých titulov. V našich končinách knihy vychádzali v sérii Antická knihovna od konca 60. do prvej polovice 80. rokov minulého storočia vo vydavateľstve Svoboda v českom jazyku. Dnes je séria antikvariátnou záležitosťou, no je pomerne dobre dostupná. Ak aj nahromadíte väčšinu titulov, stále je to len dobre splnená zberateľská méta, ktorú ešte treba skoordinovať so skúseným pohybom v týchto vodách.
Ktorou knihou začať? Je lepšie najskôr ovládať Homérov epos Iliada a Odysea a potom naň nadviazať učením o vzniku božstiev a titanov? Pre intuitívneho čitateľa môže ísť o zmätočné otázky s tendenciou odradiť od detailného štúdia starovekej knižnice. Ambícia porozumieť týmto knihám je pritom ľudsky a spoločensky významná.
Jazyk Luca Ferryho v knihe Řecké mýty je beletristický, nie technický a informatívny. Má sklon imitovať naratívne štruktúry tejto knižnice. Táto forma učeniu dodáva autentickejší charakter a tiež motivuje k lepšiemu porozumeniu textov. Dal by sa pripodobniť ku objemnému, no veľmi civilne a zrozumiteľne spracovanému Príbehu umenia od Ernsta Hansa Gombricha. Informatívna kvalita Řeckých mýtov od Luca Ferryho má pre čitateľa obrovský potenciál. Vie byť učebnicou, mapou aj konzistentným príbehom o základoch gréckych legiend a mýtov.
https://medziknihami.dennikn.sk/clank...
Ak hľadáme inšpiráciu pre rozmýšľanie a príbehy, často sa stane, že sa ocitneme na poli antickej literatúry, jej mýtov a legiend. Grécka kultúra vytvorila na dlhé stáročia originálny model myslenia. Prostredníctvom príbehov si ho aplikujeme do básní, filozofie, metafor a pranostík.
Francúzsky filozof Luc Ferry v publikácii Řecké mýty (Garamond, 2020) s podtitulom Mytologie a filosofie, ponúka kvalitnú orientáciu v zložitej genéze božstiev a legiend.
Dojem, že príbehy o Odyseovi a gréckom panteóne sú notoricky známe ľahko stratí stabilitu. Súvislosti medzi mytológiou a realitou podporili vznik mnohých náboženstiev, a tak treba pozorne študovať a hľadať prepojenia. Nie je náhodné, že v mravoukách a kultúrach mnohých národov sa nachádzajú variácie prvkov práve gréckej filozofie.
Venovať sa antickej knižnici individuálne je romantická, no čitateľsky náročná úloha. Cieľ môže komplikovať forma jazyka, ale aj problematická dostupnosť niektorých titulov. V našich končinách knihy vychádzali v sérii Antická knihovna od konca 60. do prvej polovice 80. rokov minulého storočia vo vydavateľstve Svoboda v českom jazyku. Dnes je séria antikvariátnou záležitosťou, no je pomerne dobre dostupná. Ak aj nahromadíte väčšinu titulov, stále je to len dobre splnená zberateľská méta, ktorú ešte treba skoordinovať so skúseným pohybom v týchto vodách.
Ktorou knihou začať? Je lepšie najskôr ovládať Homérov epos Iliada a Odysea a potom naň nadviazať učením o vzniku božstiev a titanov? Pre intuitívneho čitateľa môže ísť o zmätočné otázky s tendenciou odradiť od detailného štúdia starovekej knižnice. Ambícia porozumieť týmto knihám je pritom ľudsky a spoločensky významná.
Jazyk Luca Ferryho v knihe Řecké mýty je beletristický, nie technický a informatívny. Má sklon imitovať naratívne štruktúry tejto knižnice. Táto forma učeniu dodáva autentickejší charakter a tiež motivuje k lepšiemu porozumeniu textov. Dal by sa pripodobniť ku objemnému, no veľmi civilne a zrozumiteľne spracovanému Príbehu umenia od Ernsta Hansa Gombricha. Informatívna kvalita Řeckých mýtov od Luca Ferryho má pre čitateľa obrovský potenciál. Vie byť učebnicou, mapou aj konzistentným príbehom o základoch gréckych legiend a mýtov.
https://medziknihami.dennikn.sk/clank...
August 25, 2021
Hezké převyprávění řeckých mýtů s pokusy o interpretaci jejich významu a vyzniku. Celkem podnětné a zajímavé, trochu obtěžující je až téměř vulgární (v původním slova smyslu) jazyk autora (jedna antická postava dle něj není dost sexy), to ale zase netuším, jestli nevzniklo překladem.
January 24, 2026
J’aime beaucoup ce livre. Ou il nous lit et raconte des mythes. Même si l’analyse reste à la surface
February 19, 2026
Começa muito bem mas é constantemente repetitivo nos seus conceitos.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews