CosmosA complex and orderly system, such as our universe; the opposite of chaos.
A complex, well-ordered, and unified system, usually referring to the world
of human experience or to the universe as a whole. The verb in Greek means to
put in order and to adorn, hence our words ‘cosmetic’ and ‘cosmetologist’.
In referring to the universe as cosmos rather than as chaos, the classical
Greeks defined reality as a homogeneous, ordered whole. In contrast, modern
Western culture has tended to view reality dualistically, splitting it into
subject and object, humanity and nature, mind and matter. Contemporary thinkers
who attempt to reclaim the universe as cosmos have been forced to abandon the
fixed structure of classical cosmologies in light of the pervasively
evolutionary character of the universe revealed by modern science. Nonetheless,
such thinkers -- whether they are religious or secular -- share the desire of
the ancient Greeks to provide a consistent and meaningful framework for the
world of human experience, by relating it to the principles governing all of
reality.
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by: CTNS
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