Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

A.Word.A.Day--philosophy

philosophy (fi-LOS-uh-fee) noun

1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline. The investigation of causes and laws underlying reality. A system of philosophical inquiry or demonstration.

2. Inquiry into the nature of things based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.

3. The critique and analysis of fundamental beliefs as they come to be conceptualized and formulated.

4. The synthesis of all learning.

5. All learning except technical precepts and practical arts.

6. All the disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.

7. The science comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.

8. A system of motivating concepts or principles.

9. A basic theory; a viewpoint.

10. The system of values by which one lives.

[Middle English philosophie, from Old French, from Latin philosophia, from Greek, from philosophos, lover of wisdom, philosopher.]

PHILOSOPHY My fondness for ambiguity in language and its graphic representation hurtles me headlong into the hallways of heady philosophy. Like ambiguity, philosophy tends to scare a lot of people, and it does so for the same reason. Maintaining a single point of view on an issue is often the easiest path, but it is not consistent with a philosophical spirit. After all, "philosophy" is derived from Greek words meaning, "the love of wisdom" not "stubborn entrenchment." In fact, if one loves wisdom and searches after truth, then one is required to look at things from more than one point of view. -John Langdon (this week's Guest Wordsmith)

X-Bonus