MYTH AS A FACTOR IN THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL-LAW THOUGHT

Abstract

The challenges of the modern world order have led, among other consequences, to a visible stagnation in the development of legal thought, as well as to deregulation and the transformation of the state and law. In chaotic and crisis situations, humanity has often sought salvation in myths, spiritual reflection, and natural-law thinking and understanding. The history of the study of myth began in antiquity and can be assumed to reach back even before the earliest Hellenic thinkers. Later, Renaissance mythographers continued this work. In the nineteenth century, comparative mythology emerged, taking a critical stance towards myth and mythology as rivals to science, calling mythology a “disease of language” or a misinterpretation of magical ritual. Myth is a feature of every culture. It arose in the past and has survived, evolved, and taken shape up to the present day as a symbol-a set of symbolic images derived from the human psyche, stories, imaginary representations, spiritual and customary heritage, and traditions transmitted orally from generation to generation to individuals and communities over the course of their historical development. Myth thus forms part of the cultural and historical heritage of each community. Ancient myths were taken over by the Sophists, who, through reinterpretation and elaboration, laid the foundations of natural-law theories. The spirit and development of these theories has continued across the centuries to the present day. Myths had an important role in the development of legal thought, especially in the past, but they may have a role even today. The key question is whether new myths will emerge in the future, connected with the spiritual rebirth and salvation of humankind, and articulated through the forms and contents of natural-law teaching.