We explain the etymology of the concept “philosophy” and the different definitions and discussions about this term according to various philosophers.
Gilles Deleuze argues that the lover of wisdom is the one who wants to possess it.
The word “philosophy” It has its origin in Greek philosophy (φιλοσοφία). Philosophy It is a Greek word whose form is given by the union of –philos (φίλος), which translates as “friend” or “lover,” and –Sophia (σοφία), understood as “wisdom”. Thus, the most common translation of philosophy is “love of wisdom” or “love of knowledge.”
See also: Philosophical knowledge
Discussions about the meaning
The term philosophy It is composed of the roots -philos and –Sophia. The sense around sophia does not arouse much suspicion: it is generally “wisdom.” This is because the philosopher is associated with the figure of the wise man: he does not possess knowledge but seeks it.
Most of the discussions around the meaning of “philosophy” take place around philosa phrase that has its origin in the verb Philein (φιλεῖν), meaning “to love”. While this is not confusing, it is often forgotten that in the Greek world love was understood as Philein It was not an exclusively romantic love, but could be the love of friends. Although this distinction seems to be a matter of taste, it is not a minor issue, since there is a difference between a lover and a friend.
Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995), a contemporary French philosopher, argues that The lover of wisdom is the one who wants to possess itwhile the friend is the one who tries for it but never achieves it. What is philosophy?published together with Félix Guattari (1930-1992) in 1991, Deleuze states that, for the Greeks, the philosopher was not the wise man, since philosophers, understood as the friends of wisdom, did not possess it formally, but were always in search of it.
This way of understanding philosophy etymologically is reflected, for example, in figures such as Socrates (470-399 BC). Apology of Socratesby Plato, he put into the mouth of his teacher the famous phrase “I only know that I know nothing.” This phrase must be understood as the affirmation of someone who, recognizing himself as ignorant, yearns, seek and accompany wisdom as one who seeks the company of a friend.
J.-F. Lyotard (1924-1998), French philosopher, explains in Why philosophize? (1989) that Philosophy takes its origin from desireThere, recovering the origin of the god Eros, born of poverty and abundance, he maintains that the desire for philosophy is precisely that: the double condition of someone who continually searches, longing for that which he seeks, but can never reach it.
Continue with: Aristotelian thought
References
- Deleuze, G., Guattari, F., & Kauf, T. (2001). What is philosophy?. Barcelona: Anagrama.
- Lyotard, JF, & Veiga, JM (1989). Why Philosophize?: Four Lectures. Paidós.
- Greek, DM (1967). Classical Greek-Spanish. Vox