Idea
This statement gives myth a positive function within the making of meaning, so it is not seen as mere illusion or primitive residue. Myth here is an imagination that connects human experience to broader significations and gives what is scattered a form that can be understood and lived. The problem, then, is not the existence of myth, but how it is handled: is it read as a force of meaning, or as a closed substitute for thinking?
Concise Formulation
Myth: an imagination that founds meaning
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies a precise place in the book’s argument because it revises the view that sets reason and myth in complete opposition. The text does not defend illusion; rather, it distinguishes between myth as a symbolic tool that produces meaning and its use when it turns into a certainty that blocks critique. From here, the statement enters a broader project of understanding religion and culture from within their symbols, not only from outside them.
Why It Matters
The importance of this statement is that it prevents the function of imagination in religious life from being oversimplified. It also clarifies one aspect of Arkoun’s approach: reading symbols rather than abolishing them, and understanding meaning rather than merely negating it. In this sense, it helps the reader grasp that criticizing fundamentalism does not mean rejecting everything symbolic or imaginative.
Brief Evidence
This statement gives myth a positive function within the making of meaning, so it is not seen as mere illusion or primitive residue. Myth here is an imagination that connects human experience to broader significations and gives what is scattered a form that can be understood and lived. The problem, then, is not the existence of myth, but how it is handled: is it read as a force of meaning, or as a closed substitute for thinking?
Reading Questions
- How does the text distinguish myth as meaning from myth as a closure of thought?
- Does the text place myth in opposition to reason, or within the work of meaning itself?
Documentation Level
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.