Physis
The Greek concept of nature — the inherent quality that makes something what it is and drives its growth.
The Meaning of Physis
Physis meant both "nature" in general and the specific nature of a thing — what it is by birth and growth rather than by human convention (nomos). The pre-Socratic philosophers made physis their central inquiry, seeking the fundamental substance underlying all natural change. The physis-nomos debate — whether laws and customs are natural or merely conventional — was among the most consequential in Greek thought.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The entire field of physics takes its name from physis — Newton's Principia was originally titled "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy."
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Philosophy
💭 conceptLanguage and thought
An English word for the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, and ethics, derived from the Greek philosophia meaning love of wisdom
Nous
💭 conceptPhilosophy and Mind
The Greek concept of pure intellect or mind, the highest faculty of the soul and the organizing principle of the cosmos.
Bios
💭 conceptphilosophy, life
Life as a course or mode of living — not merely biological existence but a chosen way of life, the quality and shape of one's time on earth.
Polemos
💭 conceptphilosophy, mythology
War or conflict — personified as a deity and understood by Heraclitus as the fundamental generating principle of all existence.
Dynamis
💭 conceptPhilosophy and Power
The Greek concept of potentiality and inherent power, central to Aristotle's metaphysics.
Chaos
💭 conceptThe primordial void before creation
The first thing to exist — a vast, formless void from which all of creation emerged. Chaos was not disorder but the gap, the yawning emptiness that preceded everything.
Eros
💭 conceptThe primordial force of desire that drives all creation
In Hesiod's cosmogony, Eros was not a cherub but a primordial force — the desire that compels all things to come together and create.
Fauna
💭 conceptLanguage and zoology
An English scientific term for the animal life of a region, derived from Faunus, the Roman god of the wild and forests who was identified with the Greek god Pan
Logos
💭 conceptWord, reason, and the rational principle of the cosmos
The multifaceted Greek concept meaning word, speech, reason, account, and the rational principle governing the universe.
Nomos
💭 conceptlaw, custom, convention
Human-made law and custom, as opposed to the natural order (physis).
Pythagoreanism
💭 conceptPhilosophy
A philosophical and religious movement founded by Pythagoras centred on mathematics, harmony, and the soul
Apodeixis
💭 conceptphilosophy, rhetoric
Demonstration or proof — the act of showing something to be true through reasoning from first principles.