Philosophy is a discipline of knowledge that is oriented to the study of the first causes, the ultimate ends and also the essence of things and, for this, an endless number of theories and concepts have been developed that enable human beings to respond to a wide range of questions. variety of fundamental problems on various issues. And, among them, it is worth highlighting the concept of logos.
In this article we will see what logos in philosophy consists of and what has been its relevance within this discipline throughout History.
First of all, it should be noted that the word logos comes from the Greek (Λόγος, -lôgos-, “léghein”) and It can be translated in different ways: calculation, reason, reasoning, thought, speech, argument or discourse through the word or reason
This word could also be understood as “sense” or “intelligence”, and has been translated in Romance languages as a verb. Furthermore, according to Aristotle’s philosophy, logos is one of the three modes of persuasion in rhetoric, as are ethos and pathos.
Heraclitus (550-480 BC) used the word logos for the first time in the 5th century BC in his “Theory of Being.” when he said: “Not to me, but having listened to the logos, it is wise to say with him that everything is one.” In this way he took the logos as the great unity of reality, which is why Heraclitus asked that the human being to listen to her; in other words, she said that we should wait for reality to manifest itself instead of pushing.
“Being” for Heraclitus, understood as the logos in philosophy, is The intelligence that orders directs and is responsible for giving harmony to the development of the changes that occur over time in existence itself ; Therefore, the logos in philosophy deals with a substantial intelligence, which is present in all things and when the human being loses the sense of his own existence it is because he has distanced himself from the logos.
Therefore, logos in philosophy was born as a doctrine of Classical Greece from the hand of Heraclitus, the philosopher who established for the first time that human beings should interpret and approach the world through reason or logos, imposing itself progressive form to mythos.
The myth versus the logos in Philosophy
In Ancient Greece, mythical and archaic thought predominated which is the one that is considered irrational and the one that would be responsible for giving an explanation of the facts through imagination, the thought being associated with mythos (Homer, 8th century BC).
On the other hand, there would be logical and modern thinking, which would be the one associated with the philosophical theories of Heraclitus and Herodotus, this type of thinking being the one that is considered rational, as it is explained through proven truths and is the one that would be associated with the logos in philosophy.
The two types of thought coexisted for a long time until logos would eventually prevail over mythos and, in this way, rational thinking would end up triumphing over the type of irrational thinking, this process taking place between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The myth would end up being desacralized to become a literary work, art or a story, until which ceased to perform a sacred function, thought to be profane.
Therefore, myth could be said to be a type of uncritical and unfounded thinking , based on animistic and emotionally committed knowledge; while logos in philosophy refers to a type of thinking related to critical and grounded knowledge.
Heraclitus and the logos in philosophy
As we have seen, the logos in philosophy began to be theorized within this discipline of knowledge through the philosopher Heraclitus, who gave it a meaning related to the type of rational thought, compared to the mythos or irrational thought prevailing at that time and, with Over time, The logos would end up becoming the basis of all Western philosophy and thought the latter being the one that has developed throughout history until reaching the present day.
Therefore, there is a traditional consensus when considering Heraclitus as the father of logos, this being a philosopher who considered that human beings have logos (reason) within them, a very powerful tool that you should use to learn and know reality from reasoning and, based on this, direct their own behaviors. Thus, the logos would be what directs the universe and what should guide people, who do not always listen to the logos.
In this sense, for Heraclitus, The logos would be the one that dominates the universe and, therefore, the human being as well by enabling harmony and order of things in life.
The logos in philosophy has also received different meanings. For example, The logos was for Plato the articulated discourse that allows giving reason for an argument or a thing and would also be an intermediary in the formation of the world.
On the other hand, for Aristotle, who understood that logic is what deals with declarative speech (the speech that denies or affirms), this then became the fundamental object of logic as “logos apophantikos” (“declarative discourse”) Therefore, for Aristotle the logos was conceived as semantic content.
For the Stoics, who were in charge of developing Heraclitus’ thesis on the logos, this was the divine principle that was responsible for governing and dominating nature and the divine universe
Why has it been so important for philosophers?
Logos is a concept that has had great significance due to its crucial importance when moving from myth to logos. We could say that The logos is the basis of the philosophy that managed to evolve throughout history until our time
For Philo of Alexandria, the logos was considered the moral law and the unifying principle of the intelligible, thus being the intermediary between creatures and their creator ; Therefore, it would be the reality that is responsible for mediating between the absolute transcendence of the creator and the finitude of creatures or beings, including human beings.
It is important to highlight the importance that logos came to have in philosophy during the time of the Enlightenment (in Europe during the 18th century), when the conception of the human being’s reasoning capacity as an unlimited source was developed, this being the only possible way to know the truth. Therefore, from this perspective, the human being is fundamentally a rational being and, therefore, to discover the truth he must rely on his reasoning to progress and acquire knowledge in various areas.
From this perspective, we can highlight the philosophical thesis of Hegel (18th century), a philosopher who came to consider logos as an absolute concept, so that He believed that everything that surrounds human beings is rational and there is nothing out of the ordinary
In the 21st century, logos in philosophy continues to be considered a synonym for “reason” and also as the universal principle that governs all human beings.
The definition of logos according to Psychology
Once we have seen what logos is in philosophy, it is convenient to mention what it means within psychology, and more specifically in logotherapy This was a Viennese school of psychotherapy that was developed by Viktor Frankl after the individual psychology of Alfred Adler and the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud.
In this area of the History of Psychology, The search for the logos was “the search for the meaning of existence.” , the main objective of therapeutic and existential work. According to logotherapy, in order to find the meaning and meaning that guide the actions or praxis of all human beings, it is necessary to approach the logos.
