The metaphorical and mythical use of the kidney in antiquity

While the Syrians and the Arabs viewed the liver as the center of life, the kidneys, in contrast, held a primary place of importance in Israel. In Heb rew tradition, they were considered to be the most important internal organ s along with the heart. In the Old Testament most frequently the kidneys ar e associated with the most inner stirrings of emotional life. But they are also viewed as the seat of the secret thoughts of the human; they are used as an omen metaphor, as a metaphor for moral discernment, for reflection an d inspiration. This field of tension in metaphoric usage is resolved under the conception of the kidneys as life center. In the Old Testament the kidn eys thus are primarily used as metaphor for the core of the person, for the area of greatest vulnerability. For us today, this metaphorical use of the kidneys has lost its meaning, One reason for its disappearance is certainl y the monopoly of causal-analytic rationality in science of today. The kidn ey has developed from myth to organ, and with this transition a variety of perspectives and ways of looking at knowledge inherent in imaginative thoug ht have been lost. But the metaphor uncovers a deeper level of truth, it re presents another form of reconstruction of reality which needs not necessar ily be subordinate to the scientific rationality. Today as well, these imag inative ideas can provide an approach to an essential level of reality whic h may otherwise remain hidden.