Metaxy ( el, μεταξύ) is a concept used by the contemporary

political philosopher Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

Eric Voegelin Eric Voegelin (born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, ; 1901–1985) was a German-American political philosopher. He was born in Cologne, and educated in political science at the University of Vienna, where he became an associate professor of poli ...

to mean the permanent place where man is in-between two poles of

existence Existence is the ability of an entity to interact with reality. In philosophy, it refers to the ontology, ontological Property (philosophy), property of being. Etymology The term ''existence'' comes from Old French ''existence'', from Medieval ...

. Such as the infinite ''(

apeiron ''Apeiron'' (; ) is a Greek word meaning "(that which is) unlimited," "boundless", "infinite", or "indefinite" from ''a-'', "without" and ''peirar'', "end, limit", "boundary", the Ionic Greek form of ''peras'', "end, limit, boundary". Origin ...

'') and the finite (the divine mind or ''

nous ''Nous'', or Greek νοῦς (, ), sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, is a concept from classical philosophy for the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real. Alternative English terms used in p ...

'') reality of existence or between the beginning of existence (''apeiron'') and the beyond existence ('' epekeina''). As a technical usage Voegelin defined metaxy as the connection of the mind or ''nous'' to the material world and the reverse of the material world's connection to the mind as "consciousness of being". Under Voegelin it can also be interpreted to mean a form of perception in contrast to

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

a template of the mind (or ''nous'') in contrast to the dynamic and unordered flow of experiential consciousness. As a form of reflectiveness in-between two poles of experience (finite and the infinite or immanent and transcendent). The whole of existence being expressed as the

cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

. The metaxy being man's connection to the material world this as the ground of being. Voegelin taught that those who sought political power for its own end were

sophists A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...

and those who were seeking meaning and truth in life or union with the knowable and true, were

philosophers A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Neoplatonists Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neop ...

used the concept to express an

ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...

placement of Man between the Gods and animals. The concept is also used by

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

. She believed that

compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

must act in the area of metaxy. Athanasios Moulakis, ''Simone Weil and the Politics of Self-denial'', University of Missouri Press, 1998, p. 141.

References

Bibliography

*Navia, Luis E., Socrates, the man and his philosophy, pp. 30, 171. University Press of America . *Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works, Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. . *Micael P. Federici, Eric Voegelin The Restoration of Order (2002) ISI Books *Steel, Sean. (2014). The Pursuit of Wisdom and Happiness in Education: Historical Sources and Contemplative Practices. New York: SUNY Press. {{ISBN, 978-1-4384-5213-5

External links

Online text of SymposiumVoegelin, Dostoevsky and the Metaxy
Continental philosophy