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conceptpre-1521

teotl

Disciplines:
metaphysics
ancient philosophy/aztec philosophy

Summary

The central concept of Aztec (Nahua) metaphysics — teotl is the single, dynamic, sacred force or energy that underlies and constitutes everything that exists, in a state of continuous motion and transformation.

Core Contribution

Teotl is neither monotheistic (a personal God) nor pantheistic (God identical with matter) — it is more like a universal energy that continuously generates and regenerates the cosmos through self-transformation. The apparent duality of the universe (day/night, male/female, life/death) is the interplay of the two aspects of teotl.

Historical Influences

Nahua Thought

Intellectual Lineage

No conceptual lineage found.

Allied Works

Aztec Philosophy

Contemporaries & Peers

No recorded contemporaries.

Minds Influenced

James Maffie

Intellectual Posterity

Aztec Philosophy Indigenous Metaphysics

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teotl

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