Message-Id: <199310182042.AA26278@eli.CS.YALE.EDU>
Date:         Mon, 18 Oct 1993 16:40:17 -0400
Reply-To: Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Sender: Lojban list <LOJBAN%CUVMB.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.YALE.EDU>
From: Logical Language Group <lojbab@ACCESS.DIGEX.NET>
Subject:      Re: TECH: "philosophy" (was: toldi nunsenva)
To: Erik Rauch <rauch>
In-Reply-To:  <199310160545.AA19723@mullian.ee.mu.OZ.AU> from "Nick Nicholas"               at Oct 16, 93 03:45:44 pm
Status: RO

mi'e .djan. .i la nitcion. cusku di'e

> 'Philosophy' is so slippery a concept, and has had its meaning vary so through
> the ages, that I suspect the most sensible translation is {tadnrfilosofo};
> but if we must have a lujvo, this obviously is too metaphorical to work, and
> I's suggest {junske}, knowledge-science. (It's as good as any.)

I knew I would have to find that TL reference.  The L4/L5 (1975) word
for "philosophy" is (the equivalent of) "pensi zei sakse", think-science.
(Institute Loglan doesn't have an equivalent of "nun-".)

In TL4/4:200, {pycy. cusku di'e}

> This ... word is one of the worst items in the established Loglan
> vocabulary.  Philosophy is not any kind of a science -- even the
> pickwickian sorts that astrology or sociology are -- and hence is not
> the science of thought, in particular.  That title might better go to
> psychology, were it may not fit well, but certainly better than it does
> for philosophy.... Since no canons of the scientific method -- and no
> appeal to evidence of a scientific sort -- is relevant here, the best
> words are surely those from the fields of airy argumentation.  Since
> the subjects are words and/or ideads dealt with in a strange way or
> ideologies ditto ("the analysis of concepts and the criticism of beliefs"
> we used to say) how about something from [ciste ke sidbo darlu]
> (the [ke] is to cover the two phases -- the systematic discussion of
> ideas and the discussion -- admittedly also systematic, in the same sense
> of ideologies -- systematized ideas, more or less.

The resulting lujvo is "ci'erkemsibdau", not much worse than "philosopher".
(This discussion neglects the distinction between "-y" and "-er".)

--
John Cowan              sharing account <lojbab@access.digex.net> for now
                e'osai ko sarji la lojban.