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Microcosm–macrocosm analogy

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"Macrocosm" and "Macrocosmos" redirect here. For other uses, seeMacrocosm (disambiguation).
Illustration of the analogy between the human body and ageocentriccosmos: the head is analogous to thecœlum empyreum,closest to thedivine lightof God; the chest to thecœlum æthereum,occupied by theclassical planets(wherein theheartis analogous to thesun); theabdomento thecœlum elementare;the legs to the dark earthy mass (molis terreæ) which supports this universe.[a]

Themicrocosm–macrocosm analogy(or, equivalently,macrocosm–microcosm analogy) refers to a historical view which posited a structural similarity between thehuman being(themicrocosm,i.e., thesmall orderor thesmall universe) and thecosmosas a whole (themacrocosm,i.e., thegreat orderor thegreat universe).[b]Given this fundamental analogy, truths about the nature of the cosmos as a whole may be inferred from truths about human nature, and vice versa.[1]

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 (theworld soul), a position advanced byPlatoin hisTimaeus.[2]Moreover, this cosmic mind or soul was often thought to be divine, most notably by theStoicsand those who were influenced by them, such as the authors of theHermetica.[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 themind) application, the analogy was also applied tohuman physiology.[4]For example, thecosmologicalfunctions of theseven classical planetswere sometimes taken to be analogous to the physiological functions of humanorgans,such as theheart,thespleen,theliver,thestomach,etc.[c]

The view itself is ancient, and may be found in many philosophical systems world-wide, such as for example inancient Mesopotamia,[5]inancient Iran,[6]or in ancientChinese philosophy.[7]However, the terms microcosm and macrocosm refer more specifically to the analogy as it was developed inancient Greek philosophyand itsmedievalandearly moderndescendants.

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[edit]

Zeno of Citium(c. 334–262 BCE), founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.

Antiquity[edit]

Amongancient GreekandHellenisticphilosophers, notable proponents of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy includedAnaximander(c. 610– c. 546 BCE),[8]Plato(c. 428 or 424– c. 348 BCE),[9]theHippocratic authors(late 5th or early 4th century BCE and onwards),[10]and theStoics(3rd century BCE and onwards).[11]In later periods, the analogy was especially prominent in the works of those philosophers who were heavily influenced byPlatonicand Stoic thought, such asPhilo of Alexandria(c. 20 BCE– c. 50 CE),[12]the authors of the early GreekHermetica(c. 100 BCE–300 CE),[13]and theNeoplatonists(3rd century CE and onwards).[14]The analogy was also employed inlate antiqueand early medieval religious literature, such as in theBundahishn,aZoroastrianencyclopedic work, and theAvot de-Rabbi Nathan,a JewishRabbinical text.[15]

Middle Ages[edit]

Medieval philosophywas generally dominated byAristotle,who – despite having been the first[16]to coin the term "microcosm" – had posited a fundamental and insurmountable difference between the region below the Moon (thesublunary world,consisting of thefour elements) and the region above the Moon (the superlunary world, consisting of afifth element). Nevertheless, the microcosm–macrocosm analogy was adopted by a wide variety of medieval thinkers working in different linguistic traditions: the concept of microcosm was known inArabicasʿālam ṣaghīr,inHebrewasolam katan,and inLatinasmicrocosmusorminor mundus.[17]The analogy was elaborated byalchemistssuch as those writing under the name ofJabir ibn Hayyan(c. 850–950 CE),[18]by the anonymousShi'itephilosophers known as theIkhwān al-Ṣafāʾ( "The Brethren of Purity",c. 900–1000),[19]by Jewish theologians and philosophers such asIsaac Israeli(c. 832– c. 932),Saadia Gaon(882/892–942),Ibn Gabirol(11th century), andJudah Halevi(c. 1075–1141),[20]byVictorinemonks such asGodfrey of Saint Victor(born 1125, author of a treatise calledMicrocosmus), by theAndalusianmysticIbn Arabi(1165–1240),[21]by the German cardinalNicholas of Cusa(1401–1464),[22]and by numerous others.

Paracelsus(1494–1541)

Renaissance[edit]

The revival ofHermeticismandNeoplatonismin theRenaissance,both of which had reserved a prominent place for the microcosm–macrocosm analogy, also led to a marked rise in popularity of the latter. Some of the most notable proponents of the concept in this period includeMarsilio Ficino(1433 – 1499),Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa(1486–1535),Francesco Patrizi(1529–1597),Giordano Bruno(1548–1600), andTommaso Campanella(1568–1639).[23]It was also central to the new medical theories propounded by the Swiss physicianParacelsus(1494–1541) and his manyfollowers,most notablyRobert Fludd(1574–1637).[24]Andreas Vesalius(1514–1564) in his anatomy textDe fabricawrote that the human body "in many respects corresponds admirably to the universe and for that reason was called the little universe by the ancients."[25]

In Judaism[edit]

Part of a series on
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Analogies between microcosm and macrocosm are found throughout the history ofJewish philosophy.According to this analogy, there is a structural similarity between the human being (themicrocosm,fromancient Greekμικρός κόσμος,mikrós kósmos;Hebrewעולם קטן,Olam katan,i.e., thesmall universe) and thecosmosas a whole (themacrocosm,fromancient Greekμακρός κόσμος,makrós kósmos,i.e., thegreat universe).[26]

The view was elaborated by the Jewish philosopherPhilo of Alexandria(c. 20 BCE–50 CE), who adopted it fromancient GreekandHellenistic philosophy.[27]Similar ideas can also be found in earlyRabbinical literature.In the Middle Ages, the analogy became a prominent theme in the works of most Jewish philosophers.

Rabbinical literature[edit]

In theAvot de-Rabbi Nathan(compiled c. 700–900 CE), human parts are compared with parts belonging to the larger world: the hair is like a forest, the lungs like the wind, the loins like counselors, the stomach like a mill, etc.[28]

Middle Ages[edit]

The microcosm–macrocosm analogy was a common theme among medieval Jewish philosophers, just as it was among theArabic philosopherswho were their peers. Especially influential with regard to the microcosm–macrocosm analogy were theEpistles of the Brethren of Purity,an encyclopedic work written in the 10th century by an anonymous group ofShi'itephilosophers.[29]Having been brought toIslamic Spainat an early date by thehadith scholarandalchemistMaslama al-Qurṭubī(died 964),[30]theEpistleswere of central importance to Spanish Jewish philosophers such asBahya ibn Paquda(c. 1050–1120),Judah Halevi(c. 1075–1141),Joseph ibn Tzaddik(died 1149), andAbraham ibn Ezra(c. 1090–1165).[31]

Nevertheless, the analogy was already in use by earlier Jewish philosophers. In his commentary on theSefer Yetzirah( "Book of Creation" ),Saadia Gaon(882/892–942) put forward a set of analogies between the cosmos, theTabernacle,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 workAvot de-Rabbi Nathanhad still been relatively simple and crude, much more elaborate versions of this application were given by Bahya ibn Paquda and Joseph ibn Tzaddik (in hisSefer 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 philosopherIsaac 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 toMaimonides(1138–1204), the relationship between God and the universe is analogous to the relationship between the intellect and the human being.[32]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^FromRobert Fludd'sUtriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia,1617–21
  2. ^The terms microcosm and macrocosm derive fromancient Greekμικρός κόσμος(mikrós kósmos) andμακρός κόσμος(makrós kósmos), which may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but whose primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (seewiktionary;cf.Allers 1944,pp. 320–321, note 5).
  3. ^See the illustration shown on the right (fromRobert Fludd'sUtriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia,1617–21), which correlates the sun (considered to be a planet in thegeocentric model) with the heart.

References[edit]

  1. ^On the macrocosm and the microcosm in general, see, e.g.,Conger 1922;Allers 1944;Barkan 1975.
  2. ^SeeOlerud 1951.
  3. ^On the Stoics, seeHahm 1977,63ff.; on theHermetica,seeFestugière 1944–1954,vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
  4. ^See, e.g.,Kranz 1938,pp. 130–133.
  5. ^Svärd & Nokso-Koivisto 2014.
  6. ^Götze 1923;Duchesne-Guillemin 1956.
  7. ^Raphals 2015–2020.
  8. ^See, e.g.,Allers 1944.
  9. ^See especiallyOlerud 1951.
  10. ^SeeKranz 1938;Schluderer 2018.
  11. ^SeeHahm 1977,63ff.
  12. ^See, e.g.,Runia 1986,pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465–466.
  13. ^SeeFestugière 1944–1954,vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
  14. ^See, e.g.,Wilberding 2006,pp. 53–56.
  15. ^Kraemer 2007;Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
  16. ^Kraemer 2007,p. 178.
  17. ^Kraemer 2007,p. 178; on the Latin terminology, seeFinckh 1999,p. 12.
  18. ^Kraus 1942–1943,vol. II, pp. 47, 50.
  19. ^See, e.g.,Widengren 1980;Nokso-Koivisto 2014;Krinis 2016.
  20. ^Jacobs & Broydé 1906;Kraemer 2007.
  21. ^Aminrazavi 2009–2021.
  22. ^Miller 2009–2017.
  23. ^See the discussion inAllers 1944,pp. 386–401.
  24. ^Debus 1965,pp. 19, 41–42, 86, 114–123,et passim.
  25. ^O'Malley 1964,p. 324.
  26. ^The Greek terms may mean 'small universe' and 'great universe', but their primary meaning is 'small order' and 'great order', respectively (seewiktionary;cf.Allers 1944,pp. 320-321, note 5). The terms also occur in medieval Arabic sources asʿālam ṣaghīrand in medieval Latin sources asmicrocosmusorminor mundus(seeKraemer 2007;on the Latin terminology, seeFinckh 1999,p. 12).
  27. ^See, e.g.,Runia 1986,pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465-466.
  28. ^Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
  29. ^Jacobs & Broydé 1906;Kraemer 2007.On the microcosm–macrocosm analogy in theEpistles of the Brethren of Purity,see e.g.,Widengren 1980;Nokso-Koivisto 2014;Krinis 2016.
  30. ^De Callataÿ & Moureau 2017.
  31. ^TheEpistles of the Brethren of Puritywere of much less importance toMaimonides(1138–1204), who also ignored Joseph ibn Tzaddik's work on the microcosm–macrocosm analogy; seeKraemer 2007.
  32. ^abcdeKraemer 2007.
  33. ^Jacobs & Broydé 1906;Kraemer 2007.Physiological applications of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy are also found and in, a.o., theHippocratic Corpus(seeKranz 1938,pp. 130–133), and in the Zoroastrian workBundahishn(seeKraemer 2007).

Bibliography[edit]

General overviews[edit]

Wikisourcehas the text of the 1921Collier's EncyclopediaarticleMicrocosm and Macrocosm.

The following works contain general overviews of the microcosm–macrocosm analogy:

  • Allers, Rudolf(1944)."Microcosmus: From Anaximandros to Paracelsus".Traditio.2:319–407.doi:10.1017/S0362152900017219.JSTOR27830052.S2CID149312818.
  • Barkan, Leonard(1975).Nature's Work of Art: The Human Body as Image of the World.London/New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN978-0300016949.
  • Conger, George Perrigo (1922).Theories of Macrocosms and Microcosms in the History of Philosophy.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-1290429832.
  • Jacobs, Joseph;Broydé, Isaac(1906)."Microcosm".InSinger, Isidore;Funk, Isaac K.;Vizetelly, Frank H. (eds.).Jewish Encyclopedia.Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 544–545.
  • Kraemer, Joel (2007)."Microcosm".InBerenbaum, Michael;Skolnik, Fred(eds.).Encyclopaedia Judaica.Vol. 14 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. pp. 178–179.ISBN978-0-02-866097-4.

Other sources cited[edit]

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