Dirk Lüddecke

The text compares Kurt Hildebrandt and Ernst Cassirer in their thinking about myth, politics, and Plato in the 20th century. Cassirer understands myth as a symbolic form of human comprehension of the world, but warns against its political resurgence in totalitarian movements. Hildebrandt evaluates myth as a creative force of holistic thinking and interprets Plato’s political philosophy as the inspiration for a mythical founding of the state driven by the political will of a leader. Thus, the article highlights two opposing paths: rational critique of political myth versus the dangerous mythical glorification of political power. mehr