In the second book, "What's Wrong with the Diet? What is the role of the psyche?" the key role of the psyche in people's eating behavior was revealed. Harmony in the psyche becomes the engine for future changes in the eating behavior of people with...
What we'll explore: How did the ancient Greeks discover true beauty?
What's new: Why was it so important for the Greeks to be in harmony with the cosmos?
What we will learn: What does kalokagathia mean and how to achieve integrity in it?
1. In the old days, a human saw a living, whole, cosmos that was not broken into parts. For him, there was no fundamental classification according to which the world is divided into material and spiritual things (Ortega y Gasset Jose, 1991) [1].
2. Man as an image of the cosmos.For an educated Greek (rational soul), knowledge of the macrocosm (big world) was possible only through the microcosm (small world) of the human body. Through the beauty of the microcosm, the ancient Greeks could sensually perceive the true beauty of the macrocosm. After all, for the ancient Greeks the human body inherited the essence of the living cosmos, and the cosmos was beautiful and perfect of all created things and therefore, according to Plato, was the prototype. What, according to Plato, made the cosmos so beautiful?
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3. The beauty of space. Many elements of the cosmos make up a single and whole body. The body of the cosmos is created in proportion due to the correct proportions of fire, air, water, and earth. It is harmonious, despite the separateness of the elements of space - planets, stars, and other objects. Has a soul that moves the cosmos from within according to the laws of reason. And all of the above makes the cosmos a living and perfect being, consisting of body, soul, and mind. But the main thing, according to Plato, was that God created in his image, which means the universe can only be beautiful.
• "After all, God, wishing to make the world as similar as possible to the most beautiful and completely perfect among conceivable objects [cosmos, ed., author], created it as a single visible living being, containing all living beings akin to it by nature in itself" (italics by the author) (Plato, 1994. Timaeus. 30 d, 31 a) [2] *.
What does it mean? Plato shows the connection between the beautifully created universe (large cosmos) and the world in which man lives (small cosmos). However, to imitate the beautiful essence of the universe, it is necessary to see and understand this connection, which is impossible without education.
* Now and further we will mainly refer to the philosophy of ethics of Plato as a representative of high or mature classics (Author).
4. Human connection with space and education. Of course, to understand the essence of such a philosophy, it was necessary to be educated. And this begs the question. Why does an ordinary Greek citizen need to know and understand this? Because this constituted the core or existence of the ancient Greeks as a citizen of the polis. The rest of his life revolved around such a philosophy since he is not only part of the polis as a citizen, but, most importantly, he is part of the visible cosmos *. If this is the case, then it is important to be in harmony with it as one. Why was it important for a citizen of the polis to be in harmony with the cosmos?
