Comprehension of the foundations of culture being in terms of philosophical metaphors of fire

The article substantiates the potential of metaphors associated with the phenomenon of fire for comprehension and interpreting culture in the philosophical concepts by F. Nietzsche, O. Spengler, Z. Freud and P. Sorokin. We have explained the heuristic meaning of fire metaphors in the philosophical and cultural discourse. The article presents the role of metaphors as independent means of philosophical thinking about the "unattainable", means of excogitating philosophical ideas, analyzes the meaning of fire metaphors in understanding the foundations (principles) of culture. Attention is focused on the problem of culture dynamics, and also on the possibilities of metaphors (as a substantiation of our thesis about the possibilities and meaning of the fire metaphor) in the analysis of the concepts of culture by the abovementioned authors. The problem of the beginning of culture is associated with the identification of the energetic (creative) principle of its existence.