Analysis. Cassirer's Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Germany philosophier Ernst Cassirer developed Kant?s thought of forms. He constructed his own philosophy system of symbolic forms, which made Kant抯 搒cheme?into 搒ymbolic? Scheme is used to explain natural science phenomenon, while symbolic could be used to interpret human culture phenomona. Cassirer analysed human culture through symbolic and delineated culture feature of human. He revised and broadened the classical defination of that human is rational animal. Then he advanced his opinion of that human is symbolic animal. Cassirer suggested symbolic is bacially being forms of human culture and all human culture forms is some symbolic form in character. Human is the animal that can create culture by inviting and using symbolic. Only in the process of creation culture can human become human who can gain real freedom. It is the function of symbolic that decidedly works in human life, which makes man transcend animal and the physical world into 揷osmos of symblic?揾uman culture world? Thus, symbolic function is the medium which connect human with culture. The study of philosophy become studing all kinds of symbolic forms, such as languages, myths, arts and sciences. Cassirer called his own philosophy攖he philosophy of symbolic forms? According to Cassirer, the philosophy of symbolic forms is the tie which connects his philosophy anthropology with his cultrue philosophy. Human, symbolic and culture became trinity, thus the philosophy of human, the philosophy of symbolic and culture philosophy are the same. This paper discusses above theme by five sections. ?棗 The first section sees the thought source of Cassirer?s philosophy of symbolic forms. Cassirer?s thought resulted from Kant. He furthured along Kant?s critical philosophy and broadened the thought of scheme into the thought of symbolic. He carried Kant?s apriorism into all human culture activities and made Kant?s rational critical into culture critical. Then he made traditional epistemology broaden into culture philosophy. The second section analyses Cassirer?s theory of that?human is symbolic animal which delieanted the nature of human and the relationship between human and symbolic. Cassirer suggested rationality could not include culture essence of human by criticizing kinds of theories of the nature of human, esp. the theory of that human is rational animal. He advanced that man is the animal that can make culture, by which can we understand human culture world and the nature of human. In the third section the author discusses all kinds of culture forms. Different culture forms include myths, religions, languages, arts, history and scienecs, all of them can be as symbolic which explain the meaning of the world by announcing human?s development and constructing human culture world. The fourth section sees the relations among all kinds of culture forms? languages and myths, languages and sciences; religions (myths), arts and sciences. Then Cassirer discovered the development history of human mind through thinking of man. At last, the author discusses the meaning of cassirer?s philosophy of symbolic forms.