Áritoi y polloì

Los grupos y las instituciones en los fragmentos de Heráclito

Abstract

In the speech of Heraclitus, one of the oldest occidental thinkers, there are certain concepts that determine a tense relationship between the group ideas and those of institution. The used terms are those of áristoi (the best) and pollói (the multitude). The natural groups that enjoy the authors trust are of the "best men" in the polis, of the children and of the gods. In the author's text, these last ones stay in conceptual equivalence with mankind. In that way, Heraclitus considered the group associated to the logos principie and the multitudes, instiutionalized in the State, already live dissociated to this original principie. This fact makes the ethical idea of group in positive and that of institution, in negative. Nevertheless, when referring to the groups that practice forms of the religiosity, like dionisism, orphism or mantic, Heraclitus is not able to assimilate them to the positive groups idea, established in his speech. Therefore, a certain deconstruction effect is activated