| 释义 |
▪ I. philosophy, n.|fɪˈlɒsəfɪ|
Forms: 3 philosofie, 4 -fye, 4–6 -sophye, 4–7 -sophie, 5–6 -sophi, 6–7 phylosophy(e, -sophie, 6– philosophy. β. 4 filosofie, -zofe, 5 -sofi, -sophi, sofye, 5–6 filo-, fylosophye.
[ME. a. OF. filosofie (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), philosophie (13th c.) = Pr., Pg. philosophia, Sp. filosofia, It. filosofia (also Du. filozofie, Ger. philosophie, Da., Sw. filosofi), ad. L. philosophia, a. Gr. ϕιλοσοϕία, n. of condition f. ϕιλόσοϕ-ος philosopher: see philosoph.]
1. a. (In the original and widest sense.) The love, study, or pursuit of wisdom, or of knowledge of things and their causes, whether theoretical or practical.
The definition of Cicero, De Officiis ii. ii. §5, was considered authoritative: Nec quicquam aliud est philosophia, si interpretari velis, praeter studium sapientiae; sapientia autem est rerum divinarum et humanarum causarumque quibus eae res continentur scientia. Cf. quot. 1586.
1340Ayenb. 126 Vor filozofé is ase moche worþ ase loue of wysdome. Ibid. 251 Þet is þe heȝeste wyt of man, wel to knawe his sseppere and him louie mid al his herte. Vor wyþoute þise filosofie alle oþre wyttes ys folye. Ibid. 164 Filozofie. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 175 With philosophres speke of philosophie. 1483Cath. Angl., Filosophi, philosophia. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 38 Philosophie is a love or desire of wisedome: or otherwise, it is a profession, studie, and exercise of that wisedome, which is the knowledge of divine and humane things. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 804 Aristotle and Theophrastus, with the Peripateticks,..divide Philosophie in this maner; namely, into Contemplative and Active. 1607–12Bacon Ess., Atheism (Arb.) 330 Certainely a litle Philosophie inclineth to Atheisme, but depth in Philosophie bringeth Men about to Religion. 1669Gale Crt. Gentiles i. i. x. 50 Al human wisdome may be reduced to these two Heads of Philologie, and Philosophie. 1775Harris Philos. Arrangem. Wks. (1841) 247 Philosophy, taking its name from the love of wisdom, and having for its end the investigation of truth, has an equal regard both to practice and speculation.
†b. Sometimes used especially of practical wisdom. Obs. Cf. 9.
From the time of the post-Aristotelian philosophy of the Stoics and Epicureans this had become a usual employment of the Gr. and L. word.
1557North Gueuara's Diall Pr. iii. l. 332 The chiefe of all philosophy consisteth to serve God, and not to offend men. 1679Penn Addr. Prot. i. viii. (1692) 37 Famous for her Virtue and Philosophy, when that word was understood not of vain Disputing but of Pious Living. 1750Phil. Trans. XLVI. 750 The original meaning of the Word Philosophy was rightly applied to moral Wisdom.
2. That more advanced knowledge or study, to which, in the mediæval universities, the seven liberal arts were recognized as introductory; it included the three branches of natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy, commonly called the three philosophies. Hence the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
1387–8T. Usk Test. Love iii. i. (Skeat) l. 54 Philosophie is knowinge of deuinly and manly thinges ioyned with studie of good liuing... The firste spece of Philosophye is naturel... The seconde spece is morall, whiche in order of liuing maners techeth..Prudence, Justice, Temperaunce, and strength... The thirde spece tourneth in to reason of vnderstanding, al thinges to be said soth and discussed, and that in two thinges is deuided: one is art, another is rhetorique. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 115 Doctours of decree..That shoulde þe seuene ars conne..Bote þei faille in fylosophye. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. v. §2 Out of which several inquiries there do arise three knowledges, divine philosophy, natural philosophy, and human philosophy, or humanitie. 1895Rashdall Univ. of Europe in Mid. Ages II. 452 At Oxford..importance was attached to keeping up the theory that a University Arts course included the Trivium and Quadrivium of the earlier Middle Ages, as well as the ‘three Philosophies’ introduced by the rediscovery of Aristotle in the thirteenth century.
3. a. (= natural philosophy.) The knowledge or study of nature, or of natural objects and phenomena; ‘natural knowledge’: now usually called science. Now rare or Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2748 Þe clerkes sede þat it is in philosofie yfounde, Þat þer beþ in þe eyr an hey ver fram þe grounde, As a maner gostes wiȝtes as it be. 1471Ripley Comp. Alch. v. xxv. in Ashm. Theat. Chem. Brit. (1652) 154 No Multeplyers but Phylosophers callyd wyll they be, Whych naturall Phylosophye dyd never rede nor see. 1681Ray Corr. (1848) 130, I hope you [the naturalist Dr. Sloane] persist in your resolution of making your discoveries and observations public, for..the advancement of real philosophy. 1728Pemberton Newton's Philos. 2 It is..to be wished, that the whole of his [Newton's] improvements in philosophy might be universally known. 1784Cowper Task i. 712 Where finds Philosophy her eagle eye [telescope], With which she gazes at yon burning disk Undazzled? 1813–26(title) Annals of Philosophy; or Magazine of Chemistry, Mineralogy, Mechanics, Natural History, Agriculture and Arts.
†b. spec. (In early use) Magical or occult science; magic; alchemy. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 505, I wol yow teche pleynly the manere How I kan werken in Philosophie. a1550Freiris Berwik 406 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 298 Ane man of gret science,..Hes brocht ws heir throw his knawlege in filosophie.
4. (= moral philosophy.) The knowledge or study of the principles of human action or conduct; ethics.
c1400Rom. Rose 5664 In Boece of Consolacioun, Where it is maked mencioun Of our countree pleyn at the eye, By teching of philosophye. 1481Caxton Myrr. iii. xii. 160 After cam Boece..And compiled..plente of fair volumes aourned of hye and noble philosophye. 1556G. Colville (title) The boke of Boecius, called the comforte of philosophye, or wysedome. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. iii. 55 Ile giue thee Armour to keepe off that word, Aduersities sweete milke, Philosophie, To comfort thee, though thou art banished. 1634Milton Comus 476 How charming is divine Philosophy! a1751Bolingbroke Stud. & Use Hist. ii. (1777) 25 History is Philosophy teaching by example. 1816Shelley Alastor 71 The fountains of divine philosophy Fled not his thirsting lips.
5. (= metaphysical philosophy.) That department of knowledge or study which deals with ultimate reality, or with the most general causes and principles of things. (Now the most usual sense.)
1794J. Hutton Philos. Light, etc. 121 Now, philosophy is that general knowledge by which the works of nature are understood in seeing the wisdom of design. 1852Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. 622 The Philosophical Society of Cambridge ought not, however, to be so entitled, if we take the word Philosophy in the meaning attached to it every⁓where out of Britain. 1857Fleming Vocab. Philos. 381 Underlying all our inquiries into any of these departments [God, nature, or man], there is a first philosophy, which seeks to ascertain the grounds or principles of knowledge, and the causes of all things. Hence philosophy has been defined to be the science of causes and principles. It is the investigation of those principles on which all knowledge and all being ultimately rest. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. §37 Philosophy is completely unified knowledge. 1865J. Grote Explor. Philos. xi, Philosophy, by which I mean the study of thought and feeling..as we understand, think, feel them of ourselves and from within. 1880J. Caird Philos. Relig. 2 Whatever is real is rational, and with all that is rational philosophy claims to deal... So far from resting in what is finite and relative, the peculiar domain of philosophy is absolute truth. 1887Edin. Rev. Jan. 95 That philosophy only means psychology and morals, or in the last resort metaphysics, is an idea slowly developed through the eighteenth century, owing to the victorious advances of science. 1891G. T. Ladd Introd. Philos. i. 27 Philosophy—we define to be—the progressive rational system of the principles presupposed and ascertained by the particular sciences, in their relation to ultimate Reality. 1902H. Sidgwick Philos. 10, I regard Philosophy then..as the study which ‘takes all knowledge for its province’.
6. a. Sometimes used especially of knowledge obtained by natural reason, in contrast with revealed knowledge.
(Cf. Ger. Weltweisheit opp. to Gottesweisheit.)
1388Wyclif Col. ii. 8 That no man disseyue ȝou bi filosofie [1382 philosofye] and veyn fallace, aftir the tradicioun of men, aftir the elementis of the world and not aftir Crist. c1449Pecock Repr. i. i. 7 Se ȝe that no man bigile ȝou bi philosophi and veyn falsnes. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. vi. §1 Concerning Divine Philosophie, or Naturall Theologie, It is that knowledge..concerning God, which may be obtained by the contemplation of his Creatures. 1640Quarles Enchirid. iv. xci, Let Phylosophy not be asham'd to be confuted. 1850Tennyson In Mem. liii, Hold thou the good: define it well: For fear divine Philosophy Should push beyond her mark, and be Procuress to the Lords of Hell.
†b. spec. of the sceptical or rationalistic views current in France and elsewhere in the 18th c. Obs.
1749Smollett Gil Blas iv. viii, Our mistress is also a little tainted with philosophy. 1790H. More Relig. Fash. World (1791) 16 Philosophy..(as Unbelief..has lately been pleased to call itself) will not do nearly so much mischief to the present age, as its great apostles intended. 1795Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 308 He is certainly a man of parts; but one who has dealt too much in the philosophy of France.
7. With of: The study of the general principles of some particular branch of knowledge, experience, or activity; also, less properly, of those of any subject or phenomenon.
1713Steele Englishman No. 7. 48 What Beau knows the Philosophy of the Perfume which emboldens him to appear amongst the Ladies? 1791Burke Let. to Member Fr. Nat. Assembly Wks. VI. 32 The great professor..of the philosophy of vanity [Rousseau]. 1800Med. Jrnl. III. 385 The different problems which ought to be solved by a Philosophy of Nature. 1823Scott Let. 5 Oct. (1935) VIII. 104, I would defer to the very last what is always taught first namely the philosophy as it has been termd [sic] of history. 1835Ure (title) The Philosophy of Manufactures: or, an Exposition of the Scientific, Moral, and Commercial Economy of the Factory System. 1835J. S. Mill in London Rev. I. i. 106 The evidence of history..leaves the philosophy of society in exactly the state in which physical science was, before the method of experiment was introduced. 1843― Logic I. i. v. 119 The notion..seems to me one of the most fatal errors ever introduced into the philosophy of Logic. 1847J. D. Morell Hist. View Philos. (ed. 2) II. v. 15 We have already shown in the case of Reid, that the philosophy of perception was well commenced, but not fully completed. 1852Westm. Rev. Oct. 435 (heading) The philosophy of style. 1853Lytton My Novel IV. xxxv. 283 Levy is a man who has admitted the fiercer passions into his philosophy of life. 1863W. Phillips Speeches v. 87, I believe I understand the philosophy of reform. 1865J. S. Mill Auguste Comte 54 The philosophy of science consists of two principal parts; the methods of investigation, and the requisites of proof. 1878Lecky Eng. in 18th C. II. v. 73 To trace the causes, whether for good or ill, that have made nations what they are is the true philosophy of history. 1880J. Caird Philos. Relig. 1 A philosophy of religion starts with the presupposition that religion and religious ideas can be taken out of the domain of feeling or practical experience and made objects of scientific reflection. 1890W. James Princ. Psychol. I. xiv. 585 We see in the philosophy of desire and pleasure, that such nascent excitements..may become potent mental stimuli and determinants of desire. 1896W. Caldwell Schopenhauer's Syst. iii. 162 A philosophy of life must make some broad assertion about reality as a whole. 1919G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House p. xxvii, It is impossible to estimate what proportion of us..grasped the war and its political antecedents as a whole in the light of any philosophy of history or knowledge of what war is. 1940F. J. E. Woodbridge Essay on Nature i. 53 Expressions like ‘philosophy of science’, ‘philosophy of history’, ‘philosophy of government’, ‘philosophy of law’, ‘philosophy of religion’, and so forth creep into the language, indicating that after scientists, historians, statesmen, jurists, priests, and the rest have said all they have to say, there is still need of a special kind of knowledge to inform us what it is all about. 1957G. Ryle in C. A. Mace Brit. Philos. in Mid-Cent. 243 We do systematically construe ‘name’ on the model of ‘proper name’. The assumption of the truth of this equation has been responsible for a large number of radical absurdities in philosophy in general and the philosophy of logic in particular. 1960H. L. Bond Lit. Art E. Gibbon vii. 138 Gibbon's well-defined manner of speaking and the details of his style reflect..his whole philosophy of life. 1966J. J. Katz Philos. Lang. i. 4 Philosophy of language is an area in the philosophical investigation of conceptual knowledge, rather than one of the several branches of contemporary philosophy such as philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of art, and so forth. 1976Hiroshima Stud. Eng. Lang. & Lit. XXI. 60 This is a study of D. H. Lawrence's The Man Who Loved Islands with a view to locating the spot it occupies in a series of works descriptive of his unique philosophy of life. 1977P. A. French et al. (title) Studies in the philosophy of language.
8. (With a and pl.) A particular system of ideas relating to the general scheme of the universe; a philosophical system or theory. Also, more generally, a set of opinions, ideas, or principles; a basic theory; a view or outlook.
1390Gower Conf. III. 48 Of Tholome thastronomie, Of Plato the Philosophie. 1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 10 Mi chefist propositions against Aristotles philosophi. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. v. 167 There are more things in Heauen and Earth, Horatio, Then are dream't of in our Philosophy. 1674Grew Disc. Mixture §1, I shall endeavour to conform to the Phylosophy, which this Society doth profess; which is, Reasoning grounded upon Experiment, and the Common Notions of Sense. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 237 The Indian philosophy resembles that of the earlier rather than of the later Greeks. a1866J. Grote Exam. Utilit. Philos. xvi. (1870) 249 The special doctrines of other philosophies. 1898G. B. Shaw Plays Unpleasant p. xix, It is quite possible for a piece to enjoy the most sensational success on the basis of a complete misunderstanding of its philosophy. 1899O. Wilde Ideal Husband i. 12 Mrs. Cheveley. I don't know that women are always rewarded for being charming. I think they are usually punished for it! Certainly, more women grow old nowadays through the faithfulness of their admirers than through anything else! At least that is the only way I can account for the terribly haggard look of most of your pretty women in London! Sir Robert Chittern. What an appalling philosophy that sounds! 1901G. B. Shaw Three Plays for Puritans p. xxxii, It is the philosophy, the outlook on life, that changes, not the craft of the playwright. Ibid., Such men must rewrite all the old plays in terms of their own philosophy. 1903― Man & Superman p. v, Here is your play!.. Its profits, like its labor, belong to me: its morals, its manners, its philosophy, its influence on the young, are for you to justify. Ibid. iii. 126 Yes, Juan: we know the libertine's philosophy. Always ignore the consequences to the woman. 1922Joyce Ulysses 629 You have every bit as much right to live by your pen in pursuit of your philosophy as the peasant has. 1946E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh (1947) i. 45 You pretend a bitter, cynic philosophy, but in your heart you are the kindest man among us. 1959Economist 12 Sept. 836/1 Rival policies—or at least rival philosophies, for they barely reached the stage of practical policies—were very much in the centre of public attention. 1962G. Cooper in Into Orbit 30 The entire philosophy had to be revised once we got involved with manned flights. 1973B.S.I. News Dec. 32/2 Philosophy of control assignment on keyboards... Outlines the general philosophy for the positioning of areas for control keys, in relation to ‘graphic’ areas, of..keyboards for office machines. 1975J. Plamenatz K. Marx's Philos. of Man i. 4 It is not surprising, then, that these ideas, derived from philosophies alien to them, should be less interesting to Marxists and students of Marxism outside the West. Even if they have similar ideas in their native philosophies, they are ideas differently expressed, and so such similarities as there may be go unrecognized.
9. a. The system which a person forms for the conduct of life. b. The mental attitude or habit of a philosopher; serenity under disturbing influences or circumstances; resignation; calmness of temper.
1771Chesterfield Lett., to Bp. Waterford 12 Aug., Philosophy, and confidence in the mercy of my Creator, mutually assist me in bearing my share of physical ills. 1774J. Adams in Fam. Lett. 12 May, My own infirmities, the account of the return of yours, and the public news coming altogether have put my utmost philosophy to the trial. 1832Lytton Eugene A. i. v, Philosophy has become another name for mental quietude. 1877Sparrow Serm. ii. 26 And as to philosophy, alas! it may answer some of the lighter purposes of life, but can never pillow the soul in death.
10. attrib. and Comb., as philosophy-dreamer, philosophy-hater; † philosophy-game: see philosopher 5 b.
1621Burton Anat. Mel. ii. i. iv. 348 The like I may say of Cl. Bruxers Phylosophy game. a1628F. Grevil Sidney (1652) 18 To turn the barren Philosophy precepts into pregnant Images of life. 1653Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 19 This Gentleman..is desirous to have the place of Philosophy Professor at Breda. 1670Cotton Espernon ii. v. 236 Proceeding to publick Lectures, he became Philosophy Reader. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 159 Here, methinks, the ridicule turns more against the philosophy-haters than the virtuosi or philosophers. 1796–1803Coleridge Let. in Sotheby's Catal. 20 Nov. (1899) 17 Your philosophy dreamers from Toth, the Egyptian, to Taylor the English Pagan.
Hence † phiˈlosophyship Obs., a mock title for a philosopher.
1798C. Smith Yng. Philos. III. 13 Is your philosophyship disinterested enough to give a letter of recommendation to your elder brother? Ibid. IV. 47, [I], of whose libertinism his philosophyship has such terrible ideas.
▪ II. † philosophy, v. Obs.
Also 4 philosofien.
[f. prec. n.: cf. obs. F. philosophier (15–16th c. in Godef.).]
intr. = philosophize v. 1.
1382Wyclif Bible Pref. Ep. vi. 67 Other..among ȝong wymmen philosofien of holi lettres [1388 talken as filosoferes of hooly lettris among ȝonge wymmen]. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xv. xxxiii. (1886) 383 Salomon did philosophie about all things. a1614Donne βιαθανατος ii. §2 (1644) 46 Ambrose Philosophying divinely in a contemplation of Bees. 1654R. Flecknoe Ten Years Trav. 134 You see..how I Philosophy on every thing.
Hence † phiˈlosophying vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1577tr. Bullinger's Decades 1113 Those townes by reason of y⊇ Philosophying [L. philosophantibus; edd. 1587–92 Philosophing] Leuites, were called Leuitical. 1591Sparry tr. Cattan's Geomancie Ep. Ded. A ij, By the philosophying upon the compilation, lines, and proportion of the handes. 1648H. Gresby tr. Balzac's Prince 250 A most perfect manner of Philosophying. |