thumos

''Thumos'' (also commonly spelled 'thymos'; grc-gre, θυμός) is the Ancient Greek concept of "spiritedness" (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate"). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to express the human desire for recognition. It is not a somatic feeling, as nausea and giddiness are.

History

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'' and converse with or scold it.Long, A. A. Psychological Ideas in Antiquity. In: ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas''. 1973-74 003br>link

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'' (erotic love and spiritedness are to be guided by logos). In the ''Republic'' (Book IV) soul becomes divided into (See Plato's tripartite theory of soul):
* ''nous'' ("intellect", "reason"), which is or should be the controlling part which subjugates the appetites with the help of ''thumos''.
* ''thumos'' (" passion"), the emotional element in virtue of which we feel anger, fear, etc. (''the Republic'' IV, 439e);
* ''epithumia'' ("appetite", "affection"), to which are ascribed bodily desires;

However, the term "emotion" is relatively modern. It was introduced into academic discussion as a catch-all term to passions, sentiments and affections.

Plato suggested we have three parts of our soul, which in combination makes us better in our destined vocation, and is a hidden basis for developing our innate ideas. Thumos may draw from this to strengthen man with our reasoning, this tripartite division is as follows:
# Reason (thoughts, reflections, questioning)
# Spiritedness (ego, glory, honor) and
# Desires (natural e.g. food, drink, sex vs unnatural e.g. money, power).

Democritus used " euthymia" (i.e. "good thumos") to refer to a condition in which the soul lives calmly and steadily, being disturbed by no fear, superstition, or other passions. For Democritus euthymia was one of the root aspects the goal of human life.

Greek polytheism

Achilles, in the Illiad, cares for his own honour; he keeps gods and deities in his heart; "...the thunderous lord of Hera might grant you the winning of glory, you must not set your mind on fighting the Trojans, whose delight is in battle, without me. So you will diminish my honour."

''Thymos'' and democracy: 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. Both terms are neoclassical compounds, coined by Francis Fukuyama.

In his book '' The End of History and the Last Man'', the author 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, Fukuyama 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."

Modern concepts

Harvey Mansfield, author of the 2006 book ''Manliness'', bringing Thumos to political science, in relation to thumos; “Politics is about what makes you angry, not so much about what you want. Your wants do matter, but mainly because you feel you are entitled to have them satisfied and get angry when they are not.” Politics, which political science misses; “is about who deserves to be more important.”

Robert Kagan defines Thumos as; “a spiritedness and ferocity in defence of clan, tribe, city, or state.” Kagan's argument is men in Western civilization are lacking in thumos, manly virtue, it is what leads many men to self-sacrifice, men must preserve enough thumos to be prepared to die for their country, lest they become decadent and ultimately subservient.

Cultural references

* In Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote the knight has been described as driven by a spirited thymos or anger when his sense of self-worth is denigrated. He only recovers balance, a sense of justice, when he comes to abide among the Sarracens.
* The Phi Theta Kappa honor society took the letter theta for ''thumos'', representing the "aspiration" that they seek in their potential members.
* ''Thymos'' is the name of an academic Journal of Boyhood Studie


* Aldous Huxley's proposed term for psychedelics, ''phanerothyme'', derives from ''thymos''.
* The player character's superpower in the role-playing game '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is known as "Thu'um" and is inspired by the concept of thumos.
* ''Thumos'' is the name of an American progressive doom/post-metal band whose music is based on the works of Plat

See also

* ''Manliness'', a book by Harvey Mansfield (he discusses "thumos" in his 2007 Jefferson Lecture as wel


* '' Rage and Time'', by Peter Sloterdijk
*'' Amour-propre''
* Motivation
* Urge
* Will: the conscious mental act that produces physical results.
* Will to power

References

{{reflist

Concepts in ancient Greek philosophy of mind
Platonism
Mental states
Words and phrases with no direct English translation