Last week we set out on the Via Ciceronis with the intention of reaching a vantage point from which we shall be able to look at the world from a different perspective and understand ourselves, our social communities, and the world around us better. With our destination clear and our compass aligned, we are now ready to take our first real step and discuss a word that lies at the centre of the Ciceronian world view. This week, we shall discuss the word ratiō, and it is essential that we grasp the essence of this word before we advance too far. The Latin word ratiō is difficult to translate into English accurately. The OLD (Oxford Latin Dictionary) has 15 definitions and each of these add complexity and nuance to the meaning. In the context of philosophy, ratiō is often used to mean ‘reason’ (the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements logically) or ‘rationality’ (the quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic). However, there are certain nuances in Cicero’s use of the word that these translations fail to bring forward.
The difference between the modern understanding of rationality and Cicero’s ratiō is perhaps best revealed in the way the word is used in Mathematics. One talks about rational and irrational numbers. A rational number is one that can be expressed as a ratio of whole numbers. In other words, using the power of reason, humans can calculate the exact value of the number. It follows that an irrational number cannot be expressed as a ratio of whole numbers, like the values of π or ϕ (the Golden Ratio involved in the Fibonacci sequence). We cannot calculate the exact value of these numbers and so they are called irrational. This reveals that the modern conception of rationality implies that man is the one who dictates what is rational. If something is incalculable for humans, it can be considered irrational. This is where the Ciceronian understanding differs.
As we shall see in the coming weeks, Cicero did not commit himself to one particular school of philosophy. He drew from all of them, as and when he felt it appropriate. However, in his understanding of ratiō, Cicero is wholly Stoic. Like the Stoics, Cicero believed that ratiō (logos (Λόγος) as the Greek Stoics called it) was a quality of nature and formed the basis of natural law.
“The most learned men are happy to set out from law. And I would think them right, if, as they define it, law is the highest rationality rooted in nature (lex est ratio summa insita in natura) which commands what must be done and prohibits the opposite. When this same rationality is established and secured in the human mind, it is law. (eadam ratio cum est in hominis mente confirmata et perfecta, lex est)” (Cic. Leg. 1.18)
Unlike the modern mathematical understanding, the rational here is something that is present in nature and needs to be sought out from it. The human mind still has access to it. However, its source is natural and not human. It is nature that dictates what is rational. For example, although it cannot be calculated by human reasoning, ϕ still has an exact value that exists and is used in nature. Therefore, even though we describe it as irrational, ϕ still shares in the rationality of nature. In this Stoic understanding, ϕ is still rational.
The Ciceronian ratiō also has a spiritual underpinning. Rationality is considered to have a divine quality and human beings, having the ability to reason, have a special bond with the divine.
“Humans alone, in all the animal kingdom, have a share in both rationality and thinking (rationis et cogitationis), which all others lack. So, what is there, not just in humans, but in all heaven and earth as well, that is more divine than rationality? (ratione divinius) which when it has matured and complete is rightly called wisdom. Therefore, since there is nothing better than rationality (nihil est ratione melius), and it is found in both humans and God, rationality is the first bond between humans and God. (prima homini cum deo rationis societas)” (Cic. Leg. 1.22-23)
This connection to rationality is one of the defining qualities of being human. It is what distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Cicero uses the word ‘deus’ here but I am reluctant to translate this as god because of the influence that modern religious ideas have on the word. Of course, the concept of god that we have now did not exist in Cicero’s pre-Christian world (He died in 43BC). Therefore, although it is a mouthful, I think “guiding life essence” comes closer to the creative and rational Stoic ‘supreme god’. This guiding life essence is the source of all energy and life. It is not present in one place at one time, but present in everything, always. One might go as far as to say that everything natural and human is just the material manifestation of this essence. Rationality enables us to connect with the guiding life essence and in turn, enables us to have connections with each other and nature which all have a similar connection to the guiding life essence.
This conception of ratiō lies at the core of the Ciceronian world view. Therefore, it is important to remember that when I translate ratiō as “rationality” that I carry with it the Stoic understanding of a rationality that is not based on human calculation, but one that is dictated by nature with a divine quality that enables humans to connect with the guiding life essence and each other.
