cosmic man concept as humanist

[nathanielfirst]

there's a cosmic man (woman) concept in Taoism, Hinduism, probably some others i missed that show that the human being, singular, is a reflection of the universe, in structure (whether esoteric or exoteric) and I was just goin to contribute, that most humanism out there ignores god and focuses on human's lives here, but this religious concept pays a lot of attention to the human being himself while still being religious, tied up in religious metaphysics.

I remembered this idea as i was trying to think about human centered ethics, (like, you want ethics human beings can rationally understand, that is focused on humans, which means focusing on human biology and its quirks, like the appendix or wisdom teeth, and of course the quirks in the human brain that leads to human emotions and reasoning, like that you have got to get around how genetics has an effect on intelligence and everyone has different dna, yet we are supposed to call each other equals... ) and i decided that i was going to for me, elevate the human being with his biology pretty highly and base all of my ethics on humans first, and then when I have a complete system that totally works of ethics, i will work in the implications of deities existing and interacting on this system, and how it transforms it... and i realized that this cool concept was there when the time came for that

 

[Mehr Licht]

The idea of man as microcosm is pretty common in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as well.

 

[Mehr Licht]

"Understand that you are another universe, a universe in miniature; that in you there are sun, moon, and stars too. If it were not so, the Lord would not have said to his disciples, 'You are the light of the world' (Matthew 5:14). Do you still hesitate to believe that there are sun and moon in you when you are told you are the light of the world?"

-Origen

 

[Mehr Licht]

I just came across a great statement today on this theme from a 7th century Nestorian / East Syrian monastic - Simon of Taibutheh:

"Consider, O discerning man, that you are the image of God and the bond of all creation, both of the heavenly and of the terrestrial beings, and whenever you bend your head to worship and glorify God, all the creations, both heavenly and terrestrial, bow their heads with you and in you, to worship God; and whenever you do not worship and glorify Him, all the creations grieve over you and turn against you, and you fall from grace."​