Microcosm–macrocosm analogy
The microcosm–macrocosm analogy (or, equivalently, macrocosm–microcosm analogy) refers to a historical view which posited a structural similarity between the
One important corollary of this view is that the cosmos as a whole may be considered to be alive, and thus to have a mind or soul (the world soul), a position advanced by Plato in his Timaeus.[2] Moreover, this cosmic mind or soul was often thought to be divine, most notably by the Stoics and those who were influenced by them, such as the authors of the Hermetica.[3] Hence, it was sometimes inferred that the human mind or soul was divine in nature as well.
Apart from this important psychological and noetic (i.e., related to the
The view itself is ancient, and may be found in many philosophical systems world-wide, such as for example in
In contemporary usage, the terms microcosm and macrocosm are also employed to refer to any smaller system that is representative of a larger one, and vice versa.
History
Antiquity
Among
Middle Ages
Renaissance
The revival of
In Judaism
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Jewish philosophy |
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Analogies between microcosm and macrocosm are found throughout the history of Jewish philosophy. According to this analogy, there is a structural similarity between the human being (the microcosm, from ancient Greek μικρός κόσμος, mikrós kósmos; Hebrew עולם קטן, Olam katan, i.e., the small universe) and the cosmos as a whole (the macrocosm, from ancient Greek μακρός κόσμος, makrós kósmos, i.e., the great universe).[26]
The view was elaborated by the Jewish philosopher
Rabbinical literature
In the
Middle Ages
The microcosm–macrocosm analogy was a common theme among medieval Jewish philosophers, just as it was among the
Nevertheless, the analogy was already in use by earlier Jewish philosophers. In his commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation"), Saadia Gaon (882/892–942) put forward a set of analogies between the cosmos, the Tabernacle, and the human being.[32] Saadia was followed in this by a number of later authors, such as Bahya ibn Paquda, Judah Halevi, and Abraham ibn Ezra.[32]
Whereas the physiological application of the analogy in the Rabbinical work Avot de-Rabbi Nathan had still been relatively simple and crude, much more elaborate versions of this application were given by Bahya ibn Paquda and Joseph ibn Tzaddik (in his Sefer ha-Olam ha-Katan, "Book of the Microcosm"), both of whom compared human parts with the heavenly bodies and other parts of the cosmos at large.[33]
The analogy was linked to the ancient theme of "know thyself" (Greek: γνῶθι σεαυτόν, gnōthi seauton) by the physician and philosopher Isaac Israeli (c. 832–932), who suggested that by knowing oneself, a human being may gain knowledge of all things.[32] This theme of self-knowledge returned in the works of Joseph ibn Tzaddik, who added that in this way humans may come to know God himself.[32] The macrocosm was also associated with the divine by Judah Halevi, who saw God as the spirit, soul, mind, and life that animates the universe, while according to Maimonides (1138–1204), the relationship between God and the universe is analogous to the relationship between the intellect and the human being.[32]
See also
Notes
- ^ From Robert Fludd's Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia, 1617–21
- ^ The terms microcosm and macrocosm derive from ancient Greek μικρός κόσμος (mikrós kósmos) and μακρός κόσμος (makrós kósmos), which may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but whose primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (see wiktionary; cf. Allers 1944, pp. 320–321, note 5).
- ^ See the illustration shown on the right (from Robert Fludd's Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia, 1617–21), which correlates the sun (considered to be a planet in the geocentric model) with the heart.
References
- ^ On the macrocosm and the microcosm in general, see, e.g., Conger 1922; Allers 1944; Barkan 1975.
- ^ See Olerud 1951.
- ^ On the Stoics, see Hahm 1977, 63ff.; on the Hermetica, see Festugière 1944–1954, vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
- ^ See, e.g., Kranz 1938, pp. 130–133.
- ^ Svärd & Nokso-Koivisto 2014.
- ^ Götze 1923; Duchesne-Guillemin 1956.
- ^ Raphals 2015–2020.
- ^ See, e.g., Allers 1944.
- ^ See especially Olerud 1951.
- ^ See Kranz 1938; Schluderer 2018.
- ^ See Hahm 1977, 63ff.
- ^ See, e.g., Runia 1986, pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465–466.
- ^ See Festugière 1944–1954, vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
- ^ See, e.g., Wilberding 2006, pp. 53–56.
- ^ Kraemer 2007; Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
- ^ Kraemer 2007, p. 178.
- ^ Kraemer 2007, p. 178; on the Latin terminology, see Finckh 1999, p. 12.
- ^ Kraus 1942–1943, vol. II, pp. 47, 50.
- ^ See, e.g., Widengren 1980; Nokso-Koivisto 2014; Krinis 2016.
- ^ Jacobs & Broydé 1906; Kraemer 2007.
- ^ Aminrazavi 2009–2021.
- ^ Miller 2009–2017.
- ^ See the discussion in Allers 1944, pp. 386–401.
- ^ Debus 1965, pp. 19, 41–42, 86, 114–123, et passim.
- ^ O'Malley 1964, p. 324.
- ^ The Greek terms may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but their primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (see wiktionary; cf. Allers 1944, pp. 320-321, note 5). The terms also occur in medieval Arabic sources as ʿālam ṣaghīr and in medieval Latin sources as microcosmus or minor mundus (see Kraemer 2007; on the Latin terminology, see Finckh 1999, p. 12).
- ^ See, e.g., Runia 1986, pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465-466.
- ^ Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
- ^ Jacobs & Broydé 1906; Kraemer 2007. On the microcosm–macrocosm analogy in the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, see e.g., Widengren 1980; Nokso-Koivisto 2014; Krinis 2016.
- ^ De Callataÿ & Moureau 2017.
- ^ The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity were of much less importance to Maimonides (1138–1204), who also ignored Joseph ibn Tzaddik's work on the microcosm–macrocosm analogy; see Kraemer 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Kraemer 2007.
- ^ Jacobs & Broydé 1906; Kraemer 2007. Physiological applications of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy are also found and in, a.o., the Hippocratic Corpus (see Kranz 1938, pp. 130–133), and in the Zoroastrian work Bundahishn (see Kraemer 2007).
Bibliography
General overviews
The following works contain general overviews of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy:
- S2CID 149312818.
- ISBN 978-0300016949.
- Conger, George Perrigo (1922). Theories of Macrocosms and Microcosms in the History of Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1290429832.
- Jacobs, Joseph; Broydé, Isaac (1906). "Microcosm". In Singer, Isidore; Funk, Isaac K.; Vizetelly, Frank H. (eds.). Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 544–545.
- Kraemer, Joel (2007). "Microcosm". In ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
Other sources cited
- Aminrazavi, Mehdi (2009–2021). "Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition).
- De Callataÿ, Godefroid; Moureau, Sébastien (2017). "A Milestone in the History of Andalusī Bāṭinism: Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī's Riḥla in the East". Intellectual History of the Islamicate World. 5 (1): 86–117. .
- ISBN 978-0444999610.
- S2CID 164108095.
- ISBN 978-2251326740.
- Finckh, Ruth (1999). Minor Mundus Homo: Studien zur Mikrokosmos-Idee in der mittelalterlichen Literatur (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 3525205791.
- Götze, Albrecht (1923). "Persische Weisheit in griechischem Gewande: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Mikrokosmos-Idee". Zeitschrift für Indologie und Iranistik (in German). 2: 60–98, 167–177.
- Hahm, David E. (1977). The Origins of Stoic Cosmology. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. ISBN 978-0814202531.
- OCLC 905422149.
- OCLC 468740510.
- Krinis, Ehud (2016). "The Philosophical and Theosophical Interpretations of the Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Ikhwān al-ṣafā' and Jewish Medieval Writings". In Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali; De Cillis, Maria; De Smet, Daniel; Mir-Kasimov, Orkhan (eds.). L'Ésotérisme shi'ite, ses racines et ses prolongements – Shi'i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments. Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Sciences Religieuses. Vol. 177. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 395–409. ISBN 978-2503568744.
- Miller, Clyde Lee (2009–2017). "Cusanus, Nicolaus [Nicolas of Cusa]". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition).
- Nokso-Koivisto, Inka (2014). Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Rasāʾil Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ and Certain Related Texts (Unpubl. PhD diss.). University of Helsinki. hdl:10138/136006.
- Olerud, Anders (1951). L'idée de macrocosmos et de microcosmos dans le 'Timée' de Platon: Étude de mythologie comparée (in French). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. OCLC 680524865.
- ISBN 978-0930405557.
- Raphals, Lisa (2015–2020). "Chinese Philosophy and Chinese Medicine". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition).
- ISBN 978-9004074774.
- Schluderer, Laura Rosella (2018). "Imitating the Cosmos: The Role of Microcosm–Macrocosm Relationships in the Hippocratic Treatise On Regimen". Classical Quarterly. 68 (1): 31–52. .
- Svärd, Saana; Nokso-Koivisto, Inka (2014). "The Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Mesopotamian and Medieval Arabic History of Science". In Lindstedt, Ilkka; Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko; Mattila, Raija; ISBN 978-3868351248.
- Widengren, G. (1980). "Macrocosmos-microcosmos speculation in the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa and some Hurufi texts". Archivio di Filosofia. 48: 297–312.
- Wilberding, James (2006). Plotinus' Cosmology: A Study of Ennead II.1 (40). Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199277261.