Thumos (Manliness)
Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:20 am
I was in a shop recently, getting something repaired. The man doing the repair, suddenly thrust some wires at me, which he had to solder(?) and said "here hold these", huh? I was taken back. Why, you may ask. Men don't do that. It's like, could you hold this please, or do you mind, etc. His manner was abrupt, unquestionning and demanding. I obeyed. So what was so different. This man was. It has been a while since I have known a man like this. They are rare and it made me think of an article I had read recently on Plato and Thumos, a small excerpt which I have included below.
Plato’s allegory of the chariot, which the ancient philosopher used to explain the tripartite nature of the soul or psyche. In the allegory, a chariot (representing the soul) is pulled by a rebellious dark horse (symbolizing man’s appetites) and a spirited white horse (symbolizing thumos).
The Greeks believed thumos was essential to andreia — manliness. If men have lost the ability to recognize, appreciate, cultivate, and utilize one of the three main components of their nature, they should not be surprised when negative consequences follow. When one hears of a lack of virility, fight, energy, and ambition in modern men, of a malaise of spirit that has settled over their sex, what is really being spoken of is a shortage of thumos. For millions of men, thumos lies dormant, an energy source left untapped. It is as if each of them had a potential thoroughbred waiting in the stable, ready and eager to run, but they kept him locked away, only trotting him out for pony rides at children’s birthday parties.
What Is Thumos?
Plato envisioned the three components of one’s soul as independent entities. Thumos was thought to be the most independent. The Greeks believed it was found in animals, humans, and the gods. Thumos could act separately from you, or in cooperation with you — as an accompaniment, tool, or motivation behind some action. Because it was a distinct part of yourself, you could talk to it, tell it to endure, to be strong, or to be young (thumos was associated with the passion and power of youth, but older people could have it too).
The Greek philosopher Empedocles called thumos the “seat of life.” If it left you entirely, you would faint, and permanent separation meant death.
Thumos likewise constitutes the “seat of energy that can fill a person,” and serves as the active agent within man. It is the stimulus, the drive, the juice to action — the thing that makes the blood surge in your veins. Philosopher Sam Keen got at the idea with his concept of “the fire in the belly.”
The Romans held a similar belief, equating energy with virtus, or manliness. “The whole glory of virtus,” Cicero declared, “resides in activity.”
What is the nature of this energy and where does it lead, or does such a thing really exist.
He caught my attention.
Plato’s allegory of the chariot, which the ancient philosopher used to explain the tripartite nature of the soul or psyche. In the allegory, a chariot (representing the soul) is pulled by a rebellious dark horse (symbolizing man’s appetites) and a spirited white horse (symbolizing thumos).
The Greeks believed thumos was essential to andreia — manliness. If men have lost the ability to recognize, appreciate, cultivate, and utilize one of the three main components of their nature, they should not be surprised when negative consequences follow. When one hears of a lack of virility, fight, energy, and ambition in modern men, of a malaise of spirit that has settled over their sex, what is really being spoken of is a shortage of thumos. For millions of men, thumos lies dormant, an energy source left untapped. It is as if each of them had a potential thoroughbred waiting in the stable, ready and eager to run, but they kept him locked away, only trotting him out for pony rides at children’s birthday parties.
What Is Thumos?
Plato envisioned the three components of one’s soul as independent entities. Thumos was thought to be the most independent. The Greeks believed it was found in animals, humans, and the gods. Thumos could act separately from you, or in cooperation with you — as an accompaniment, tool, or motivation behind some action. Because it was a distinct part of yourself, you could talk to it, tell it to endure, to be strong, or to be young (thumos was associated with the passion and power of youth, but older people could have it too).
The Greek philosopher Empedocles called thumos the “seat of life.” If it left you entirely, you would faint, and permanent separation meant death.
Thumos likewise constitutes the “seat of energy that can fill a person,” and serves as the active agent within man. It is the stimulus, the drive, the juice to action — the thing that makes the blood surge in your veins. Philosopher Sam Keen got at the idea with his concept of “the fire in the belly.”
The Romans held a similar belief, equating energy with virtus, or manliness. “The whole glory of virtus,” Cicero declared, “resides in activity.”
What is the nature of this energy and where does it lead, or does such a thing really exist.
He caught my attention.
