Above we see the first inscribed gold coin. The image is of a stag, the symbol of Ephesos (Present day Black Sea area of Turkey). The inscription (PHANES or EIMI PHANES). Phanes is Greek for that which APPEARS. Eimi is Greek for I am.The Greeks invented coinage, and the first inscribed coin says PHANES.
Let's think about this.
The Greek word for coin is NOMOS. Nomos comes from NOMIZO which means to Think - in the sense of to Reason. The Greeks had many words for Thinking. Before the Greeks Thinking was Thinking. For the Greeks, thinking was Reasoning, Perceiving, Knowing, Understanding, and most important Syllogizing (Conceptualizing - latin form).
Concept: Syl-Logos (reasoning together) had a very specific meaning. It was the art of examining an idea from four specific perspectives. What is it? What is it not? What does it APPEAR (PHANES) to be? What does it not APPEAR to be.
Appearance for the Greeks was the essence of Change, which defines the human experience. Being was the Unchanging that lies beneath all appearance. The dialectic between Being and Appearing, between the Changing and the Unchanging defines Greek thought.
So the word APPEAR, appears on the first Greek Gold coin. It was as if they understood the role this little piece of metal would now assume on the Human Stage. It is as if they understood that exchange and change were intimately related. Yet they chose a medium of exchange that they considered to be most permanent: gold.
On Gold, the symbol of the unchanging, lies the word "Appear:" the essence of change.
What is terribly interesting about all this is how the process of Syllogism so thoroughly informed not just Greek thought, but also the processes and the structure of Greek political economy.
By contrast, how critical is Syllogism to Modern American thought and process? Does syllogism even exist for modern day Americans?
When we think about the meaning of CONCEPT, do we apply the process of syllogism? In politics, economy and art do we go through the rigorous process of syllogistic thought, or do we settle for slogans and sound bites?
When we use terminology like Conceptual Art, for example, do we apply a rigorous analysis based on syllogistic principles? Think of poor simple Jenny Holzer (not to pick on anyone in particular) and her "When I hear the word art I take out my pocketbook." Is this really a concept? Or is it a slogan? Or what might be called in a Chinese restaurant, "a fortune?"
When we hear one politician call another a Socialist, are we hearing the use of a concept? Or are we hearing a meaningless slogan?
When we hear Tim Geithner say we have a Strong Dollar Policy, are we hearing rigorously applied conceptual analysis - or are we hearing a slogan?
When we use the word dollar, or money do we even take the time to think of what the words mean? Do they even have a meaning?
I know, this all sounds naive, and probably very boring. But consider one more Greek idea (Via Ludwig Wittgenstien): With the loss of meaning comes the loss of use.
The PHANES coin above has survived for 2500 years and is still an object of value, fascination, and contemplation. How much longer do you think the dollar will survive?
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