Mythos and Logos

Running head: MYTHOS AND LOGOS
MYTHOS AND LOGOS
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MYTHOS AND LOGOS
Introduction
Ancient Greece is often seen to be the birthplace of philosophical thoughts and
theories, modern philosophical as well as scientific understandings are formed. The trend of
Greek philosophical though shows marked changes from Pre-Socratic philosophers like
Thales to Aristotle. It can be said that their ideas and propositions were largely based around
the fundamental domains of ‘Mythos’ and ‘Logos’.
Body
Discussion Prompt:
‘Mythos’ is the Greek term for ‘myth’, which associates every natural and worldly
phenomena with mythological and supernatural occurrences (Palmer, 2013). This tradition
was followed in every society, more importantly the ancient Greek society, until ‘logos’ came
into play. ‘Logos’ is Greek for logic, and falls under the domain of philosophers. It attempted
to explain everything through rational judgement or logical reasoning (Palmer, 2013).
Apparently, ‘logos’ appears to subvert the strict religious beliefs which borders heavily on the
domain of ‘mythos’. Hence, there was a radical shift from ‘mythos’ to an equally opposing
radical force of ‘logos’, especially in the Pre-Socratic philosophers. Nevertheless, Socrates
and the succeeding philosophers like Plato and Aristotle attempted to bridge the gap between
these two apparently distinct phenomena through their search for truth and the ideal.
Although different in approach, this search comes close to the discoveries of modern science.
The Greek philosophers gave rise to many theoretical concepts which forms the basis of
modern philosophical thought.
Apply:
1. The propositions of the pre-Socratic philosophers like Thales, Anaximenes, or
Heraclitus shows a shift of focus from ‘Mythos’ to ‘Logos’ (The Pre Socratic