Homunculus
This is literally a small human being. This was originally thought to actually exist in sperm cells – so every sperm cell contained a tiny human, which…grew, I guess.
From there, the definition spread a little. Today, it’s often used as a representative of the self when discussing the human brain (see example below).
It’s also used as an analogy/metaphor, but inconsistently. Some examples taken from periodicals (some of which mystify me):
- A homunculus wouldn’t crush your Beetle, but it could do some serious damage under the hood.
- Furthermore, homunculus indicates certain body parts like large lips, hands, feet and genitals, moving Redha to create dances that are not only sensual but also sexual and erotic.
- ‘Doomed star’ Eta Carinae’s first-ever 3-D nebulae model created Being a “homunculus of print,” however, he concedes that he will spend most of his adult life as an editor and scholar, a professor and poet, and like most writers who live beyond their thirties he will become an elegist,
Why I Looked It Up
From Nudge:
As Stephen Jay Gould once observed, “I know [the right answer], yet a little homunculus in my head continues to jump up and down, shouting at me […]”
Gould’s homunculus is the Automatic System in action.