Criticism of Vladimir Propp’s Theory on Genesis of Magic Fairy Tales’ Structure

Ukrainian National Academy of Science

Humanitarian Educational Centre

Odessa branch

Philosophy Department

Olexander Kyryliuk

ANTI-PROPP

Criticism of Vladimir Propp’s

Theory on Genesis of Magic Fairy Tales’ Structure

Odessa

Autograph – CHE UNSA

2009

ББК 71-0

К-43

УДК 008-1

Olexander Kyryliuk. ANTI-PROPP. Criticism of Vladimir Propp’s Theory on Genesis of Magic Fairy Tales Structure. – Odessa: Autograph/CHE UNSA, 2009. – p. 50. (Engl.).

Separate English supplement (Topics) to the book:

Olexander Kyryliuk. Weltanschauung Categories of Ultimate Bases in the Universal Culture Dimensions. – [Ukrainian National Academy of Science Ninetieth Anniversary; In Commemoration of Academician Volodymyr Shуnkarуuk (80-th anniversary): Photo coupled with wife]. / Abst. in Russian. pp. 357-389/ Bibl. pp. 392-411. / English Summary. / Abbrev. // UNSA Humanitarian Educational Centre: Odessa philosophy department // Odessa, Ukraine: Autograph Publish. House. – 2008. – 416 рр. In Ukrainian)

Олександр Кирилюк. АНТИ-ПРОПП. Критика теорії В. Проппа зі структури чарівної казки та її генезису. – Одеса: Автограф/ЦГО НАН України. – 2009. – 50 с. (англ. мова).

Окремий додаток до книги (автореферат англійською): Кирилюк О.С. Світоглядні категорії граничних підстав в універсальних вимірах культури. – Монографія. – [Текст] – / Дев’яносто років Національній академії наук України. / До восьмидесятиріччя академіка Володимира Іларіоновича ШИНКАРУКА (фото з дружиною). / Автореф. книги рос. мовою сс. 357-389; резюме англ. мовою; список скорочень; бібліограф. сс. 392-411. / Олександр Сергійович Кирилюк – Одеса: Центр Гуманітарної освіти НАН України. Одеський філіал / Автограф. – 2008. - 416 с. (укр. мов.)

ISBN 966-96048-7-7

© О.С. Кирилюк, 2009

Summary

An original author conception of Existential Semiotics is being developed in the monograph. The methodological basis of the research is the results of studying the problem „human being - world" at Kуivan School of Philosophy. The world is understood as a projection of human senses on objective reality. But as the most meaningful human senses are existential senses, world on the whole, and its separate parts and phenomena get the indicated human measuring, foremost, in the maximum terms of the beginning and the end, life and death. Such are not only religious but also modern physical pictures of the world and history and political theories.

These ultimate senses form stable invariants of cultural discourses, in other words, they make culture universalias. These are the Categories of Ultimate Bases or – birth, life, death and immortality, and world-view codes, – alimentary, erotic, aggressive and informative, and also their combinations and formula „life – death – immortality".

They form not only the core basis of culture texts, but also serve as the analytical language of description of these texts.

Defining the invariant elements of a fairy-tale structure is the applied version of the search of culture invariants. On the basis of his own conception Me author provides a falsification of theory of V. Propp, which asserts, that the structure of a fairy-tale is formed by transformation of functions of fairy-tale characters into semantic units and that a fairy-tale is the reflection of reality, first of all - the initiation ceremony.

This falsification is due to acceptance of such base concepts, which are in conflict with it. The falsification of consequences of the theory, which has been conducted, defined falsification of all theoretical system, where these consequences had been taken from (modus tollens). Its falsification has been also proved by the fact that this work managed not only to open "reproduction effect", but also to set up and prove the empiric hypothesis of low level of universality, which describes this effect (K. Popper).

This empiric falsifying hypothesis confirms that any empiric culture text in a specific form through the historically preconditioned concepts reproduce a base universal cultural formula "death -immortality".

The universal utterances of metaphysical, philosophical worldview appear on its basis. The critical review of V. Propp's conception showed that in the reconstruction of a fairy-tale structure he stopped on the superficial, second-rate level of elements of its structure.

On the basis of this falsification in this monograph the author puts forward his own conception not only of the description, but also of explanation the source of structuring of cultural discourses. The factors, which determine the structure of culture texts, are base existential options of human being.

These options as a result reproduce such a world of signs and meanings, which are identical in any culture. Because of it the humanity is united and indivisible not only in an anthropological, but also in cultural and historical aspect. People of different cultures differ one from another not in what they do exactly, but in how they do it.

TOPICS