Representations of Light in Western Culture

Abstract

In physical terms, light is a wave radiating from an energy source, yet different cultures in different periods have also attributed metaphysical properties to light that are outside of nature. Even in today’s secular discourse, we often resort to using imagery of light to symbolise a variety of virtues, whereas ‘New Age’ discourse raises light to a renewed metaphysical status. In this article, we will use the genealogical method to examine the origins of the popular Western conception of light as representative of knowledge, goodness, wisdom and sanctity by looking at the great myths and the foundational texts of Western culture. This understanding of light is a deep structure, originating in religion, that persists in secular culture: from ancient Near Eastern mythologies, to Plato’s parable of the cave, to the Judeo-Christian narrative and the Enlightenment and culminating in the role of light in New Age culture.

Keywords

• light
• knowledge
• mythology
• New Age
• Judeo-Christian narrative