philo

Noun

philosophy (countable and uncountable, plural philosophies)

1. (uncountable) An academic discipline that seeks truth through reasoning rather than empiricism, often attempting to provide explanations relating to general concepts such as existence and rationality.
   • Philosophy is often divided into five major branches: logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics.
2. (countable) A view or outlook regarding fundamental principles underlying some domain.
   • a philosophy of government; a philosophy of education

   Synonyms:

   worldview, ethos

3. (countable) A general principle (usually moral).
   • As a matter of fact the Enlightment culture was based on a philosophy inspired to an ethical laicism whose aim was to create a better society based on principles such as solidarity, equality of rights and duties, and full freedom.2012, Francesca Valensise, From Building Fabric to City Form: Reconstruction in Calabria at end of Eighteenth Century, Gangemi Editore spa, →ISBN, page 8
4. (countable) A comprehensive system of belief.

   Synonyms:

   doctrine, ideology

5. (archaic, uncountable, originally) The love of wisdom.
6. (dated, uncountable) A calm and thoughtful demeanor; calmness of temper.

See all 9 meanings of philosophy

Noun

philosopher (plural philosophers)

1. (originally) A lover of wisdom.

   Antonyms:

   misosopher

2. A student of philosophy.
3. A scholar or expert engaged in or contributing to philosophical inquiry.
   • Not much later—perhaps only two or three weeks later he has discovered meaning in them; he knows that they say "The cat sat on the hat." How this happens no one really knows, despite the efforts of philosophers and psychologists over two and a half millennia to study the phenomenon.1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 25
4. (archaic) A person who applies the principles of philosophy to the conduct of their life, as by acting calmly and rationally in the face of inevitable change.
   • Then certaine Philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoikes, encountred him1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 17:18
5. (archaic) A student, scholar, or expert in any branch of knowledge, especially those branches studied prior to being considered part of pure science.
6. (obsolete) An alchemist.
   • Then thus conclude I, since that God of heaven
     Will not that these philosophers neven
     How that a man shall come unto this stone,
     I rede as for the best to let it gon.1813, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The Canon's Yeoman's Tale