Myths as Symbolic Map-Models & Durkheim's social forces (Order, Justice, Authority Truth): Zeus, Heracles Thor, Indra; Germanic Myths w/ L White: "It was the symbolic faculty that brought culture into existence" & D. Balaganapath: "A symbol reduces the enormous complexity into a concrete sign" – dovetails w/ Bargh's mental categories
Creators: name: Peck Jr, Charles
Publisher: name: Knowledge Commons
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Indian mythology
subject: Greek and Roman mythology
subject: Myths
subject: Mythology
subject: Mythology (Title)
subject: Durkheimian school of sociology
subject: Filipino Americans--Psychology
subject: Filipinos
subject: Christian art and symbolism
subject: Hindu symbolism
subject: Spirituality in art
subject: Spirituality--Psychology
subject: Spirituality in literature
subject: Religious
subject: Humanism, Religious
subject: Consciousness and self-consciousness
subject: Social perception
subject: Philosophy of mind
subject: Philosophy of Science Association
subject: Philosophy
subject: FOS: Philosophy, ethics and religion
subject: Philosophy of mind--History
subject: Social psychology
subject: Social sciences--Social aspects
subject: Social psychology--Philosophy
subject: Social psychology--Methodology

description: Symbolism and Kant's Symbolic Knowledge: D. Balaganapath's synopsis of symbols" "Our contact with the world outside is based on symbols. Our language is nothing but symbols. The scripts are still more so. Our art, our poetry, in fact, every aspect of life is based on symbols: We think in symbols, we act in symbols
We think in symbols, we act in symbols
We live in symbols, we learn in symbols
Kant, Nietzsche, Ortega Gasset, Heschel, Heidegger state categorically that symbols and Kant's Symbolic Knowledge are vital for human understanding as well as knowledge. Immanuel Kant, an Enlightenment German philosopher (1724–1804), created the theory of "symbolic knowledge." John Glenn stresses that Kant's assessment of symbolism focused on "basic concepts (the categories and the ideas of reason) which the human mind employs can only come to be conceived because they are capable of being first presented in concrete symbolic form!" 
Cultural Symbolism Leslie A. White observes "It was the exercise of the symbolic faculty that brought culture into existence and it is the use of symbols that makes the perpetuation of culture possible. Without the symbol there would be no culture and man would be merely an animal, not a human being." (Leslie A. White (1995: 38)) D. Balaganapath states that "The basis of every culture and every identity is determined by its own established common symbolic expression. India, which is a land of diverse religious, linguistic, social, cultural and racial groups, is very rich in its symbolism. Each of these groups – be it religious or racial, cultural or linguistic – has its own set of symbolic forms to maintain its identity."
A major characteristic of symbols is that symbols condense and encode information.  D. Balaganapath emphasizes that "A symbol reduces the enormous complexity of communication by using a concrete sign as a kind of shorthand for a complex of interrelated concepts, ideas, and values systems… Because of this, symbols make the easy transmission of culture possible."
"The meanings that these symbolic forms transmit are complex. Instead of standing for a single referent, they evoke a variety of meanings, some of which may be ambiguous. At times they evoke powerful emotions and can often both unite and disrupt social groups." 
This dovetails with unconscious research by John Bargh on mental categories and social perception: