What is logos in philosophy and why is it so important?

The word logos comes from the Greek Λόγος which translates as thought, reason, speech, word or law. Therefore, we are faced with a term that has multiple meanings and meanings. In this article we will explore what logos is in philosophy.

In particular, we will investigate the origin of the term in ancient Greece and the various interpretations of it. The logos is a very important concept because it represented the birth of the discipline. Let’s begin to discover its mysteries.

Origin of logos in philosophy

The origin of logos, in ancient times, was associated with a new way of interpreting the world and reality. Before, mythical-religious explanations of the world predominated. However, they lost their legitimacy, giving way to reason and meaningful discourse, according to Wihelm Capelle in his book History of greek philosophy.

According to this author, The notion of logos allowed us to make a distinction between the spiritual, the useful, the just and the unjust, the bad and the good. For this reason, it is considered that the emergence of this new concept reflects the intellectual disposition of man.

The usefulness of the logos, as we explained it, was influenced by the emergence of a new form of social organization known as the Greek polis. It was in this configuration of the city and its governance that new ways of thinking associated with logos or philosophical rationality were defined.

In this aspect, Word and discourse, supported by reason and arguments, are a fundamental element. These were used to debate in the agora or public square the issues that concerned the community.

Therefore, The logos represents the interpretation of the world through human thought. Mythical stories no longer have the importance they once had. However, they share the fact of finding meaning in narration and words.

The logos according to Heraclitus

Heraclitus was one of the first thinkers to introduce the concept of logos. According to various interpretations of his works, it can have two meanings. The first sense of the concept of logos is that of discourse. This refers to the pronunciation of words that Heraclitus himself makes when exposing his own philosophy.

On the other hand, a second meaning of the term is that of universal law or law of becoming. Let us remember that Heraclitus is known as the philosopher of change. For him, our entire reality is in constant transformation. But it is not a matter of disordered variation, but of an objective structure of the world.

Therefore, as a chapter in the book Ancient Greek Philosophers maintains, The logos is a reality that governs and unifies the many things in the world.

In this way, it represents an order that structures the change of reality. It is important to highlight that this logos can be reached and understood by all human beings. To do this, it is necessary to use intelligence. Thus, Heraclitus brings together the meaning of speech, reason and thought in the same term.

Interpretation of logos in Plato and Aristotle

For both Plato and Aristotle, the logos has a meaning similar to that proposed by Heraclitus. The Herder Encyclopedia states that for Plato the logos acquires the meaning of argument. That is to say, It is the speech or word argued according to rational principles.

For his part, Aristotle maintains that logos or reason is based on argumentative logic. Likewise, the term is related to the anthropological meaning that the philosopher holds about the human being.

Having said that, Man is a political animal endowed with the ability to communicate rationally through language. Thus, we distinguish between what is fair and what is unfair or what is true and what is false.

Heidegger and his interpretation of logos

Coming to contemporary times, the question of what logos is in philosophy is once again brought into discussion thanks to Martin Heidegger. This 20th century philosopher maintains that the ancients’ interpretation of logos did not reach its fundamental meaning.

Furthermore, the concept of logos cannot only be reduced to a rational faculty or an enunciation of discourse. Therefore, in his famous work Being and time (2022) conducts a thorough analysis of this term in ancient Greece.

The conclusion Heidegger reaches is that the logos is the being. Furthermore, it is a being that can only be investigated by humans. In this way, we are faced with an existentialist interpretation of the term logos. Therefore, the meaning of logos in this philosopher brings together three aspects:

It is true speech It is present or existing It is not hidden, therefore it is evident

How to apply logos in daily life

Using logos in daily life implies make use of rational and reflective thinking in our way of understanding the world around us. One way to put it into practice is through critical thinking. That is, evaluating what happens in our reality based on our own reason.

Likewise, we use logos when we make decisions. We achieve this by analyzing the pros and cons of our choices, both in the short and long term. In short, everything that implies a reflection on one’s own thoughts and what surrounds us is a rational attitude. Therefore, he uses the philosophical logos.

Importance of logos in philosophy

The passage from myth to logos was a process that gave rise to philosophy as such. This change involved leaving aside mythical and poetic explanations to reach logical and formal descriptions of the world around us.

The loss of legitimacy of mythical explanations of the world led to philosophical thought, which was nourished by an interest in those hidden principles of our reality.

Because of this, From certain points of view, such as the one held by Heidegger, philosophy gave birth to the sciences. Therefore, without logos or the emergence of logical thinking, the development of science would be in danger.

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