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Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 17:04:00 -0700 (PDT)
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To: linguaphile@wordsmith.org
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--philosophy
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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.]

Ambigram: http://wordsmith.org/words/philosophy.gif

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.

This week's theme: words with ambigrams.

.............................................................................
The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. -Ralph Waldo Emerson,
writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

Q: Some time ago you featured a quote about foo in AWAD. Could you resend it?
A: You may search the archives at http://wordsmith.org/awad/search.html
   or browse them at http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html All the
   words and quotes since the beginning of AWAD are available there.

Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/philosophy.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/philosophy.ram