hêgemonikon

ἡγεμονικόν

Pronunciation

hej-uh-MAH-nuh-kahn or heg-uh-MON-i-kuhn

Definition

Hêgemonikon is the ruling faculty of the mind, often associated by the Stoics with the self.

Our ruling faculty controls our body and psychological responses. The hêgemonikon is comprised of many faculties: sensation (sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell), perception, sexual reproduction, voice (communication), and rationality. The core rational faculties include impression, reflection, assent, and impulse.

Impression: a representation in the mind. Impression is a metaphor akin to the impression one makes when pressing a signet ring into a wax seal. An impression is not the ring itself but a representation of it. Likewise, the Stoics were materialists who believed that everything was composed of matter. Impressions were changes in the mind that represented the world around it.

Reflection: use of reason about whether an impression accurately represents reality. Is this impression true or false?

Assent: a judgment about an impression.

Impulse: a psychological or motivational force towards or away from an object (i.e., impression). In an animal sense, an animal sees food and gets an impulse towards it.