Thumos
Encyclopedia
Thumos is an Ancient Greek
word expressing the concept of "spiritedness" (as in "spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood. The word is also used to express the human desire for recognition.
In Homer
's works, thumos was used to denote emotions, desire, or an internal urge. Thumos was a permanent possession of living man, to which his thinking and feeling belonged. When a Homeric hero is under emotional stress he may externalize his thumos, conversing with it or scolding it http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaGenText/tei/DicHist4.xml;chunk.id=dv4-01.
Plato
's Phaedrus and his later work The Republic discuss thumos as one of the three constituent parts of the human psyche
. In the Phaedrus, Plato depicts logos as a charioteer driving the two horses eros and thumos (i.e. love and spiritedness are to be guided by rationality). "In the Republic (Book IV) soul ... becomes divided into nous (“intellect”), thumos (“passion”), and epithumia (“appetite”). To its appetitive part are ascribed bodily desires; thumos is the emotional element in virtue of which we feel anger, fear, etc.; nous is (or should be) the controlling part which subjugates the appetites with the help of thumos."http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaGenText/tei/DicHist4.xml;chunk.id=dv4-01.
mentions Thymos in relation to Liberal Democracy and recognition. He relates Socrates' ideas about Thymos and desire to how people want to be recognized within their government. Problems emerge when other people do not recognize another's Thymos and therefore do not provide the justice that it requires. In order for people to exist in harmony, he argues, isothymia rather than megalothymia must be used to satisfy the human need for recognition. Any system that creates political inequality is necessarily feeding the megalothymia of some members while denying it to others. Fukuyama explains how Thymos relates to history with the example of anti-communism in relation to the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China. He states, "We cannot understand the totality of the revolutionary phenomenon unless we appreciate the working of thymotic anger and the demand for recognition that accompanied communism's economic crisis"
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
word expressing the concept of "spiritedness" (as in "spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood. The word is also used to express the human desire for recognition.
In Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's works, thumos was used to denote emotions, desire, or an internal urge. Thumos was a permanent possession of living man, to which his thinking and feeling belonged. When a Homeric hero is under emotional stress he may externalize his thumos, conversing with it or scolding it http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaGenText/tei/DicHist4.xml;chunk.id=dv4-01.
Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's Phaedrus and his later work The Republic discuss thumos as one of the three constituent parts of the human psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
. In the Phaedrus, Plato depicts logos as a charioteer driving the two horses eros and thumos (i.e. love and spiritedness are to be guided by rationality). "In the Republic (Book IV) soul ... becomes divided into nous (“intellect”), thumos (“passion”), and epithumia (“appetite”). To its appetitive part are ascribed bodily desires; thumos is the emotional element in virtue of which we feel anger, fear, etc.; nous is (or should be) the controlling part which subjugates the appetites with the help of thumos."http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaGenText/tei/DicHist4.xml;chunk.id=dv4-01.
Megalothymia and Isothymia
Megalothymia refers to the need to be recognized as superior to others, while isothymia is the need to be recognized as merely equal to others.Cultural impact
- The Phi Theta KappaPhi Theta KappaPhi Theta Kappa, also ΦΘΚ or sometimes PTK , is the international honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs, particularly community colleges and junior colleges. It also includes Associate's degree-granting programs offered by four-year colleges...
honor society took the letter thetaThetaTheta is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth...
for thumos, representing the "aspiration" that they seek in their potential members. - Thymos is the name of an academic Journal of Boyhood Studies http://www.boyhoodstudies.com/thymos.htm.
Thumos and Democracy
In his book The End of History and the Last Man, Francis FukuyamaFrancis Fukuyama
Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist, political economist, and author. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford. Before that he served as a professor and director of the International Development program at the School of...
mentions Thymos in relation to Liberal Democracy and recognition. He relates Socrates' ideas about Thymos and desire to how people want to be recognized within their government. Problems emerge when other people do not recognize another's Thymos and therefore do not provide the justice that it requires. In order for people to exist in harmony, he argues, isothymia rather than megalothymia must be used to satisfy the human need for recognition. Any system that creates political inequality is necessarily feeding the megalothymia of some members while denying it to others. Fukuyama explains how Thymos relates to history with the example of anti-communism in relation to the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China. He states, "We cannot understand the totality of the revolutionary phenomenon unless we appreciate the working of thymotic anger and the demand for recognition that accompanied communism's economic crisis"
See also
- Manliness, a book by Harvey MansfieldHarvey MansfieldHarvey Claflin Mansfield, Jr. is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships and has been a Fellow at the National Humanities Center; he also received the National Humanities Medal in 2004 and...
(he discusses "thumos" in his 2007 Jefferson LectureJefferson LectureThe Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities . According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities."-History of...
as well http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050802282.html) - MotivationMotivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
- PassionPassion (emotion)Passion is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something....
- UrgeUrgeUrge means a strong desire. Urge may also refer to:*Sucking urge, an infant's instinctive urge to breastfeed* urge, drive forward, to make something move faster...
- WillWill (philosophy)Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
: the conscious mental act that produces physical results. - The Will to PowerThe Will to PowerThe Will to Power is the title given to a book of selectively reordered notes from the literary remains of Friedrich Nietzsche by his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche and Heinrich Köselitz...
External links
- Christopher A. Faraone, "Thumos as Masculine Ideal and Social Pathology in Ancient Greek Magical Spells," in Ancient Anger: Perspectives from Homer to Galen, edited by Susanna Braund and Glenn W. Most (Cambridge University Press, 2003), limited preview.
- http://cigars-chocolateale.blogspot.com/2006/01/book-review-i.html A review of Fukuyama's book, including his use of the concept of thymos in his argument.
- http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/tiberg/Poli390-Week6-BR/Anna-Fukuyama.htm An essay about The End of History that describes megalothymia and isothymia.