Thumos, also spelledthymos (Ancient Greek:θυμός), is theAncient Greek concept of'spiritedness' (as in "a spirited stallion" or "spirited debate").[1] The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood and is also used to express the human desire for recognition. It is not asomatic feeling, as nausea and dizziness are.
InHomer'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 histhumos and converse with or scold it.[2]Achilles, in theIliad, cares for his own honour; he keeps gods and deities in his heart; "...the thunderous lord ofHera might grant you the winning of glory, you must not set your mind on fighting theTrojans, whose delight is in battle, without me. So you will diminish my honour (thumos)."[3]
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 otherpassions. For Democritus euthymia was one of the root aspects of the goal of human life.
Plato'sPhaedrus and his later workThe Republic discussthumos as one of the three constituent parts of the humanpsyche. In thePhaedrus, Plato depictslogos as a charioteer driving the two horseseros andthumos (erotic love and spiritedness are to be guided by logos). In theRepublic (Book IV) soul becomes divided into (SeePlato's tripartite theory of soul):[2]
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 ourinnate ideas. Thumos may draw from this to strengthen man with our reasoning, this tripartite division is as follows:
"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 areneoclassical compounds, coined byFrancis Fukuyama. In his bookThe End of History and the Last Man, Fukuyama mentions "thymos" in relation toliberal democracy and recognition. He relates Socrates' ideas aboutThymos and desire to how people want to be recognized within their government. Problems emerge when other people do not recognize another'sThymos, and therefore do not provide the justice that it requires. In order for people to exist in harmony, Fukuyama argues,isothymia rather thanmegalothymia must be used to satisfy the human need for recognition. Any system that creates political inequality is necessarily feeding themegalothymia of some members while denying it to others. Fukuyama explains howThymos 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."[4]
Hyperthymia,dysthymia,cyclothymia, andeuthymia (medicine) are mental/behavioral conditions in modern psychology, whilealexithymia studied inneuropsychology.