Mythology and Nature Philosophy

Introduction

Mythology is referred to as the study of myths, or the extent of myths. A myth is known to be a holy story illustrating how the world and humanity came to be in their present form. Myths are commonly characterized by gods or supernatural heroes. They are often endorsed by leaders and priest and with strong relationship to the universe. Therefore, myths in most cases take place in a primordial age, when the land had not yet received its present form. It also gives an explanation of how the world achieved its current form and how customs, institutions and taboos were developed. On the other hand, philosophy of nature deals with nature and the tangible universe that prevailed before the establishment of modern science. It is believed to be the precursor of natural sciences like physics and metaphysics (Reynolds, 1990).

Thesis statement

Mythology as the study of myths explains the account of the origins of the world through the origins of God with significant personalities. Philosophy of nature deals with the inquiry through abstract reasoning. Critically, it takes experience, assesses arguments for what it believes and provides justification for its case. Big difference exists between myths and natural philosophy, for instance, the account of origin of all things is based mostly on mythological figures, whereas the nature philosophy is based on the arches which give an explanation of all other things that underlies all reality and sustains it.

Mythology offers supernatural explanations for the universe and creation. Mythology believes that the visible universe is under the support and also sustained by an invisible universe. On the other hand, natural philosophy attempts to provide explanation basing on the world around it in more natural terms (Kearney, 1996). For instance, it believes that the guiding principle of the world is all in the mind instead of anthropomorphic creator gods. Generally, myths are just stories about people, while nature philosophy looks for principles or other natural explanations. Myths create room for multiplicity of explanations while the philosophy of nature aimed at finding the single principle behind the cosmos. Myths also are known to be extremely conservative, slow to accept any change, self-justifying, and morally ambivalent.

Conclusion

Philosophers focused on a rationale order that can be seen in the natural phenomena, while mythographers depended on the supernatural.