Search

[German Version] I. Philosophy Wisdom is the knowledge that philosophy aspires to. It is an element of the Greek word for philosophy, which combines the verb φιλέω/ philéō, “love, aspire to,” with the noun σοφία/ sophía. Initially σοφία had no particular philosophical significance. The word denoted expert skill in the practice of an art or craft. Aristotle, who was responsible for developing the word’s specifically philosophical sense, introduced σοφία by calling it “the perfection of an art” (ἀρετὴ τέχνης/ aretḗtéchnēs; Eth. Nic. 1141a 12). The designation of philosophical ins…

1. Religious History 1.1. Variety of Terms and Views The word “soul” (cf. Ger. Seele) embraces the meanings of many other words with a history of their own. These meanings differ not only in ancient cultures but also among themselves. They stand for various human experiences, of which we no longer know whether they were as numerous as the terms used—but do know that historically they represent basic realities of existence. A common feature of these realities is that they are regarded as essentially different from the materials of which we and nature and our world are composed. We may divide …

[English Version] I. Philosophisch W. ist das von der Philosophie angestrebte Wissen. Dem verdankt die Philos. im Griech. ihren Namen, der aus dem Verb ϕιλε´ω/philéō, »lieben«, »erstreben«, und σοϕι´α/sophía gebildet ist. Dabei hat σοϕι´α zunächst gar keine spezifisch philos. Bedeutung. Das Wort bez. die ausgebildete Fähigkeit, ein Handwerk oder eine Kunst auszuüben. Noch Aristoteles, der für die Ausarbeitung der spezifisch philos. Bedeutung maßgeblich ist, führt die σοϕι´α ein, indem er sie »die Vollkommenheit der Kunst« nennt (α᾿ρετη` τε´χn̆ης/aretē´ téchnēs; e.N. 114…