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Microcosm–macrocosm analogy

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Analogy between man and cosmos

"Macrocosm" and "Macrocosmos" redirect here. For other uses, seeMacrocosm (disambiguation).

Illustration of the analogy between the human body and ageocentric cosmos: the head is analogous to thecœlum empyreum, closest to thedivine light of God; the chest to thecœlum æthereum, occupied by theclassical planets (wherein theheart is analogous to thesun); theabdomen to 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 order or thesmall universe) and thecosmos as a whole (themacrocosm, i.e., thegreat order or 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 byPlato in hisTimaeus.^[2] Moreover, this cosmic mind or soul was often thought to be divine, most notably by theStoics and 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, thecosmological functions of theseven classical planets were 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, 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 philosophy and itsmedieval andearly modern descendants.

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

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

Antiquity

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Amongancient Greek andHellenistic philosophers, 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 byPlatonic and 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 antique and early medieval religious literature, such as in theBundahishn, aZoroastrian encyclopedic work, and theAvot de-Rabbi Nathan, a JewishRabbinical text.^[15]

Middle Ages

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Medieval philosophy was 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 inArabic asʿālam ṣaghīr, inHebrew asolam katan, and inLatin asmicrocosmus orminor mundus.^[17] The analogy was elaborated byalchemists such as those writing under the name ofJabir ibn Hayyan (c. 850–950 CE),[18] by the anonymousShi'ite philosophers 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] byVictorine monks such asGodfrey of Saint Victor (born 1125, author of a treatise calledMicrocosmus), by theAndalusian mysticIbn Arabi (1165–1240),^[21] by the German cardinalNicholas of Cusa (1401–1464),^[22] and by numerous others.

Renaissance

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The revival ofHermeticism andNeoplatonism in 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 fabrica wrote 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

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Jewish philosophy
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Hellenistic Positions: Hasmonean Sadducean Pharisee Boethusian People: Aristobulus of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria
Medieval Influenced by: Brethren of Purity Ibn Bajjah (Avempace) Ismaili philosophy Jewish Kalam Kabbalah Rabbinic Judaism Spanish and European: Hasdai ibn Shaprut Ibn Gabirol Abraham bar Hiyya Bahya ibn Paquda Judah Halevi Abraham ibn Daud Joseph ibn Tzaddik Abraham ibn Ezra Maimonides Nachmanides Samuel ibn Tibbon Joseph ben Judah Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera Gersonides Moses of Narbonne Isaac ben Sheshet Hasdai Crescas Joseph Albo Elia del Medigo Judah Minz Isaac Abarbanel Judah Leon Abravanel Yemenite: Natan'el al-Fayyumi Mansur ibn Sulayman al-Ghamari Other: Isaac Israeli Saadia Gaon al-Mukkamas Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat Ibn Kammuna Positions: Maimonidean / Anti-Maimonidean Kabbalist Karaism Talmudic Tosafist
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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, fromKoinē Greek:μικρὸς κόσμος,romanized: mikròs kósmos,Hebrew:עולם קטן,romanized: ʻolam qāṭān,lit. 'small universe') and thecosmos as a whole (themacrocosm, from Koinē Greek:μακρὸς κόσμος,romanized: makròs kósmos,lit. 'great universe').[26]

The view was elaborated by the Jewish philosopherPhilo (c. 20 BCE–50 CE), who adopted it fromHellenistic 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

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In theAvot de-Rabbi Natan (compiled c. 700–900), 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 counsellors, the stomach like a mill, etc.^[28]

Middle Ages

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The microcosm–macrocosm analogy was a common theme among medieval Jewish philosophers, just as it was among theArabic philosophers who were their peers. Especially influential concerning the microcosm–macrocosm analogy were theEpistles of the Brethren of Purity, an encyclopedic work written in the 10th century by an anonymous group ofShi'i Muslim philosophers.^[29] Having been brought toal-Andalus at an early date by thehadith scholar andalchemist Maslama al-Majriti of theUmayyad state of Córdoba (died 964),^[30] theEpistles were of central importance toSephardic 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 Natan had 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]

Notes

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^FromRobert Fludd'sUtriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia, 1617–21
^The terms microcosm and macrocosm derive fromancient Greekμικρὸς κόσμος (mikròs kósmos) andμακρὸς κόσμος (makròs 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).
^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

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^On the macrocosm and the microcosm in general, see, e.g.,Conger 1922;Allers 1944;Barkan 1975.
^SeeOlerud 1951.
^On the Stoics, seeHahm 1977, 63ff.; on theHermetica, seeFestugière 1944–1954, vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
^See, e.g.,Kranz 1938, pp. 130–133.
^Svärd & Nokso-Koivisto 2014.
^Götze 1923;Duchesne-Guillemin 1956.
^Raphals 2015–2020.
^See, e.g.,Allers 1944.
^See especiallyOlerud 1951.
^SeeKranz 1938;Schluderer 2018.
^SeeHahm 1977, 63ff.
^See, e.g.,Runia 1986, pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465–466.
^SeeFestugière 1944–1954, vol. I, pp. 92–94, 125–131.
^See, e.g.,Wilberding 2006, pp. 53–56.
^Kraemer 2007;Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
^Kraemer 2007, p. 178.
^Kraemer 2007, p. 178; on the Latin terminology, seeFinckh 1999, p. 12.
^Kraus 1942–1943, vol. II, pp. 47, 50.
^See, e.g.,Widengren 1980;Nokso-Koivisto 2014;Krinis 2016.
^Jacobs & Broydé 1906;Kraemer 2007.
^Aminrazavi 2009–2021.
^Miller 2009–2017.
^See the discussion inAllers 1944, pp. 386–401.
^Debus 1965, pp. 19, 41–42, 86, 114–123,et passim.
^O'Malley 1964, p. 324.
^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 ṣaghīr and in medieval Latin sources asmicrocosmus orminor mundus (seeKraemer 2007; on the Latin terminology, seeFinckh 1999, p. 12).
^See, e.g.,Runia 1986, pp. 87, 133, 157, 211, 259, 278, 282, 315, 324, 339, 388, 465-466.
^Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
^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.
^De Callataÿ & Moureau 2017.
^TheEpistles of the Brethren of Purity were of much less importance toMaimonides (1138–1204), who also ignored Joseph ibn Tzaddik's work on the microcosm–macrocosm analogy; seeKraemer 2007.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eKraemer 2007.
^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

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General overviews

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Wikisource has the text of the 1921Collier's Encyclopedia articleMicrocosm 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.JSTOR 27830052.S2CID 149312818.
Barkan, Leonard (1975).Nature's Work of Art: The Human Body as Image of the World. London/New Haven: Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0300016949.
Conger, George Perrigo (1922).Theories of Macrocosms and Microcosms in the History of Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-1290429832.
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.ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.

Other sources cited

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Aminrazavi, Mehdi (2009–2021)."Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Spring 2021 Edition).
De Callataÿ, Godefroid; Moureau, Sébastien (2017). "A Milestone in the History of Andalusī Bāṭinism: Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī's Riḥla in the East".Intellectual History of the Islamicate World.5 (1):86–117.doi:10.1163/2212943X-00501004.
Debus, Allen G. (1965).The English Paracelsians. London: Oldbourne.ISBN 978-0444999610.
Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques (1956)."Persische weisheit in griechischem gewande?".Harvard Theological Review (in German).49 (2):115–122.doi:10.1017/S0017816000028169.JSTOR 1508803.S2CID 164108095.
Festugière, André-Jean (1944–1954).La Révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste. Vol. I–IV (in French). Paris: Gabalda.ISBN 978-2251326740.
Finckh, Ruth (1999).Minor Mundus Homo: Studien zur Mikrokosmos-Idee in der mittelalterlichen Literatur (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.ISBN 3525205791.
Götze, Albrecht (1923)."Persische Weisheit in griechischem Gewande: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Mikrokosmos-Idee".Zeitschrift für Indologie und Iranistik (in German).2:60–98,167–177.
Hahm, David E. (1977).The Origins of Stoic Cosmology. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.ISBN 978-0814202531.
Kranz, Walther (1938). "Kosmos und Mensch in der Vorstellung frühen Griechentums".Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse (in German).2 (7):121–161.OCLC 905422149.
Kraus, Paul (1942–1943).Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque (in French). Cairo:Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale.ISBN 978-3487091150.OCLC 468740510.
Krinis, Ehud (2016). "The Philosophical and Theosophical Interpretations of the Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Ikhwān al-ṣafā' and Jewish Medieval Writings". In Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali; De Cillis, Maria; De Smet, Daniel; Mir-Kasimov, Orkhan (eds.).L'Ésotérisme shi'ite, ses racines et ses prolongements – Shi'i Esotericism: Its Roots and Developments. Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Sciences Religieuses. Vol. 177. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 395–409.doi:10.1484/M.BEHE-EB.4.01178.ISBN 978-2503568744.
Miller, Clyde Lee (2009–2017)."Cusanus, Nicolaus [Nicolas of Cusa]". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Summer 2017 Edition).
Nokso-Koivisto, Inka (2014).Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Rasāʾil Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafāʾ and Certain Related Texts (Unpubl. PhD diss.). University of Helsinki.hdl:10138/136006.
Olerud, Anders (1951).L'idée de macrocosmos et de microcosmos dans le 'Timée' de Platon: Étude de mythologie comparée (in French). Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.OCLC 680524865.
O'Malley, Charles Donald (1964).Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, 1514–1564. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 978-0930405557.
Raphals, Lisa (2015–2020)."Chinese Philosophy and Chinese Medicine". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Winter 2020 Edition).
Runia, David T. (1986).Philo of Alexandria and theTimaeus of Plato. Leiden: Brill.ISBN 978-9004074774.
Schluderer, Laura Rosella (2018)."Imitating the Cosmos: The Role of Microcosm–Macrocosm Relationships in the Hippocratic Treatise On Regimen".Classical Quarterly.68 (1):31–52.doi:10.1017/S0009838818000149.
Svärd, Saana; Nokso-Koivisto, Inka (2014). "The Microcosm–Macrocosm Analogy in Mesopotamian and Medieval Arabic History of Science". In Lindstedt, Ilkka; Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko; Mattila, Raija;Rollinger, Robert (eds.).Case Studies in Transmission. The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East, 1. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. pp. 159–187.ISBN 978-3868351248.
Widengren, G. (1980). "Macrocosmos-microcosmos speculation in the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa and some Hurufi texts".Archivio di Filosofia.48:297–312.
Wilberding, James (2006).Plotinus' Cosmology: A Study of Ennead II.1 (40). Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0199277261.