In contemporary usage, the terms microcosm and macrocosm are also employed to refer to any smaller system that is representative of a larger one, and vice versa. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for microcosm. However, the terms microcosm and macrocosm refer more specifically to the analogy as it was developed in ancient Greek philosophy and its medieval and early modern descendants. The meaning of MICROCOSM is a little world especially : the human race or human nature seen as an epitome of the world or the universe. The view itself is ancient, and may be found in many philosophical systems world-wide, such as for example in ancient Mesopotamia, in ancient Iran, or in ancient Chinese philosophy. For example, the cosmological functions of the seven classical planets were sometimes taken to be analogous to the physiological functions of human organs, such as the heart, the spleen, the liver, the stomach, etc. Hence, it was sometimes inferred that the human mind or soul was divine in nature as well.Īpart from this important psychological and noetic (i.e., related to the mind) application, the analogy was also applied to human physiology. Moreover, this cosmic mind or soul was often thought to be divine, most notably by the Stoics and those who were influenced by them, such as the authors of the Hermetica. One important corollary of this view is that the cosmos as a whole may be considered to be alive, and thus to have a mind or soul (the world soul), a position advanced by Plato in his Timaeus. Send us feedback about these examples.Analogy between man and cosmos Illustration of the analogy between the human body and a geocentric cosmos: the head is analogous to the cœlum empyreum, closest to the divine light of God the chest to the cœlum æthereum, occupied by the classical planets (wherein the heart is analogous to the sun) the abdomen to the cœlum elementare the legs to the dark earthy mass ( molis terreæ) which supports this universe. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'microcosm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2023 See More

2023 Nathan Moeder, a real estate analyst with London Moeder Advisors, recently spoke about the Mission Valley centers as if a microcosm of the broader picture of stressed commercial properties. 2023 The back-and-forth is a mere microcosm of the culture wars ripping our country apart. Beyond their status as organized sentences relating to a central idea, paragraphs are a microcosm. 2023 Thornhill, in some ways, is a microcosm of the Browns defense as a whole. Synonyms Research Findings Guided Practice Synonyms. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 22 July 2023 But Kolkata, a city of more than 4.5 million in eastern India, is a microcosm of who will benefit from that protection and who won’t. 2023 The economies of scale are, of course, unique to the microcosm of exotic cars. Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 1 Sep. Synonyms for MICROSCOPIC: tiny, minuscule, infinitesimal, small, miniature, atomic, teeny, weensy Antonyms of MICROSCOPIC: massive, enormous, cosmic, gigantic, giant. 2023 Yet DeBoer follows a long line of pundits in suggesting, without much justification, that elite campuses are reliable microcosms of wider societal trends. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023 The stakes are not life or death in this film, but the views depicted represent a microcosm of the forces currently tearing countries apart everywhere.

Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. The model is designed to represent the town in. The game was a microcosm of the entire season, full of ups and downs. In the phrase in microcosm it describes something in a greatly reduced size or form. Recent Examples on the Web The battle for autoworkers’ hearts is a microcosm of a larger struggle for working-class voters, a category typically defined by pollsters as voters without a college degree. Microcosm refers to something (such as a place or an event) that is seen or understood as a small version of something much larger.

Microcosm synonym