What is the LOGOS in philosophy and what is its importance

In today's class of a Teacher we are going to talk about what is logos in philosophy and what is its importance. It arises as a doctrine in Ancient Greece (S.VI-V a. C.) from the hand of the philosopher Heraclitus and translates as reason. That is, through the logos it is established that the individual has to develop a rational attitude to the world.

In this way, the importance of the logos lies in the fact that it stands as the basis of the western philosophyl, while the world ceases to be explained from religion (mythos). If you want to know more about the logos and its importance, keep reading this lesson from a PROFESSOR Let's start!

Index

1. What is logos in philosophy?
2. Heraclitus and the Logos
3. What is the importance of logos in philosophy
4. types of logos

To understand what logos is, we must first analyze the meaning of the word itself, which comes from the Greek (Λόγος) and can be translated in different ways: reason, word, speech or argument through word or reason.

A) Yes, the logos was born as a doctrine in Classical Greece of the S.V a. c. from the hand of the philosopher Heraclitus (540-480 BC) C.), who establishes for the first time that man must interpret and approach the world through logos or reason, progressively imposing itself on the mythos.

In this way, what we have in Ancient Greece is thought mythical/archaic (mythos associated with Homer, S.VIII a. C.), which is irrational and would explain the facts through the imagination. And, on the other hand, the thought logical/modern (logos associated with figures such as Heraclitus and herodotus), which is rational and would explain the facts through verified truths.

Both thoughts would coexist for a time until, finally, the logos would prevail over the mythos.. A) Yes, the rational triumphs over the irrational, around the S.VI-V a. C., the myth is desacralized, becomes a story, art or literary work and progressively ceases to perform a sacred function and becomes profane.

Ultimately, over time, the logos stands as the basis of our entire philosophy and western thought, which is developing throughout history reaching our days.

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Traditionally, Heraclitus is considered to be the father of Logos.. And it is that, according to this philosopher, the individual has within him a logos/reason that he must use to know reality from reason and direct his own behavior. Therefore, the logos is the one that runs the universe and the one who speaks to the individual, who does not always listen to him.

Likewise, it establishes that it is the one that dominates the whole world and the universe: It is the law that allows its operation and the way/tool ​​to access knowledge, the one that allows us to see/understand the world if we listen to it, the one that enables order and harmony of things and the one that lives in the soul of each individual.

Later, the stoics They developed the thesis of Heraclitus and they will tell us about the logos as the divine principle that governs and dominates the divine universe and nature. An idea that will later also be present in the Jewish and Christian tradition.

The importance of the logos in philosophy lies in the fact that it is responsible for and allows the passage from myth to logos to explain everything that surrounds us from reason. In this way, the logos is defined as the basis of our philosophy and will evolve throughout history.

In this way, the idea of ​​logos had a special importance during the illustrationn. Moment in which trust and blind faith in the unlimited reason of the human being, which stands as the only way to reach the truth. Thus, the human being is above all a rational being and, therefore, he must reason everything to discover the truth, acquire knowledge and progress. Progress that, in turn, occurs through the development of science, research and Cartesian method.

In this line, he will highlight the thesis of the philosopher Hegel(S.XVIII). For whom the logos is an absolute concept: Teverything around us is rational and there is nothing out of the ordinary (we are not going to see a dog fly because he is not rational) and, therefore, rational is real and it is what helps us to differentiate the rational from the irrational (what can be taken as real, but is not.)

Ultimately, today logos is synonymous with reason and it is the universal principle that governs the individual.

Throughout history the logos has transcended and has come to be present in science, religion and psychology. currently existing various types of logos, for example:

• The logos in religion: For him Christianity (St. John's Gospel) the logos is God and is the verb. The one who rules the world and who creates with his word.
• logos in psychology: From the psychologist's thesis Victor Emil Frankl (Vienna) the logos is the sense of existence of the individual. Thus is born the logotherapy: the search for the meaning of existence (logos) by the individual.

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Antiseri and Reale. History of Philosophy. Vol. 1 and 2. Ed. Herder. 2010