Abstract
Cooke strives to comprehend the limits and possibilities of the mythographical approach to knowledge production but undercuts questions of methodology through exploration of the metatheoretical conditions of possibility of a mythographical approach. As such, this is an ontological enquiry to an epistemological aporia. Highlighting how myths are understood in terms of the dichotomy mythos/logos, and thereby constituted as ‘the Other’ of logocentric metaphysics, he conducts a deconstructive reading of previous mythographic approaches. Drawing parallels between Dvora Yanow’s incommensurable values and Derridean différance, Cooke argues that ‘to know’ is itself a myth, enabling the potential expansion of myth analysis to all forms of knowledge. This chapter stages a necessary intervention for those who seek to better comprehend myth on its own terms, putting mythography ‘on edge’.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Barthes, R. (1991). Mythologies. New York: Noonday.
Blass, A. (2005). Translator’s introduction. In J. Derrida (Ed.), Writing and difference (pp. ix–xxiii). London: Routledge.
Campbell, J. (2002). The inner reaches of outer space: Metaphor as myth and as religion. Novato, CA: New World Library.
Camus, A. (2005). The myth of Sisyphus. London: Penguin.
Coupe, L. (2009). Myth: The new critical idiom. London: Routledge.
Derrida, J. (1974). White mythology: Metaphor in the text of philosophy. New Literary History, 6, 5–74.
Derrida, J. (1985). Letter to a Japanese Friend. (Prof. Izutsu). In D. Wood & R. Bernasconi (Eds.), Derrida and Différance (pp. 1–5). Warwick: Parousia Press.
Derrida, J. (1992). The other heading. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press.
Derrida, J. (1997). Of grammatology. London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Derrida, J. (2004). Dissemination. London: Continuum.
Derrida, J. (2005). Writing and difference. London: Routledge.
Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. (2002). Dialectic of enlightenment: Philosophical fragments. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Huskey, R. (2009). Paul Ricœur on hope: Expecting the good. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1963). Structural anthropology. London: Penguin.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1970). The raw and the cooked. London: Jonathan Cape.
Nietzsche, F. (1971). On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense. In W. Kaufmann (Ed.), The portable Nietzsche. London: Chatto and Windus.
Plato. (1973). Phaedrus & letters VII and VIII. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Ricœur, P. (1965). History and truth. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Ricœur, P. (1967). The symbolism of evil. Boston: Beacon.
Ricœur, P. (1991). A Ricœur reader: Reflection and imagination. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Ricœur, P. (2003). The rule of metaphor. London: Routledge.
Ricœur, P. (2006). Memory, history, forgetting. London: University of Chicago Press.
Simms, K. (2003). Paul Ricœur. London: Routledge.
Spitzer, A. (2011). Derrida, myth and the impossibility of philosophy. London: Continuum.
Spivak, G. (1997). Translator’s preface. In J. Derrida (Ed.), Of grammatology (pp. ix–lxxxviii). London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
White, E. (1991). Between suspicion and hope: Paul Ricœur’s vital hermeneutic. Journal of Literature and Theology, 5, 311–321.
Williams, R. (1988). Keywords. London: Fontana Press.
Yanow, D. (1992). Silences in public policy discourse: Organizational and policy myths. Journal of Public Administration, 2, 399–423.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cooke, R. (2016). The Precipice of Myth: Mythology/Epistemology. In: Bliesemann de Guevara, B. (eds) Myth and Narrative in International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53752-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53752-2_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-53751-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53752-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)