Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder

Mother Hen
Translated from the Norwegian by Paulette Moller
Berkley Books: New York, 1996. Trade paperback. 523 pp.
107 words 355 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. academic
    associated with an educational institution
  2. affinity
    a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
  3. agnostic
    a person who claims the existence of God is unknowable
  4. antiquity
    the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe
  5. ascendancy
    the state when one person or group has power over another
  6. ascetic
    someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
  7. attribute
    a quality belonging to or characteristic of an entity
  8. auxiliary
    furnishing added support
  9. bagatelle
    something of little value or significance
  10. capacity
    capability to perform or produce
  11. categorize
    place into or assign to a class
  12. causality
    the relation between reasons and effects
  13. conglomeration
    a sum total of many varied things taken together
  14. constituent
    one of the individual parts making up a composite entity
  15. correlation
    a reciprocal connection between two or more things
  16. cosmic
    pertaining to or characteristic of the universe
  17. cosmopolitan
    composed of people from many parts of the world
  18. cynic
    someone who is critical of the motives of others
  19. degenerate
    a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable
  20. deleterious
    harmful to living things
  21. democracy
    the orientation of those who favor government by the people
  22. demonstrative
    a pronoun that points out an intended referent
  23. destiny
    the ultimate agency predetermining the course of events
  24. determinism
    (philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will
  25. determinist
    anyone who submits to the belief that they are powerless to change their destiny
  26. diligence
    conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task
  27. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
  28. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
  29. disseminator
    someone who spreads the news
  30. dualism
    doctrine that reality consists of two opposing elements
  31. dualist
    an adherent of dualism
  32. dynamics
    mechanics concerned with forces that cause motions of bodies
  33. effrontery
    audacious behavior that you have no right to
  34. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
  35. empiricism
    the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience
  36. engross
    devote fully to
  37. enigma
    something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  38. enlightenment
    education that results in the spread of knowledge
  39. entity
    that which is perceived to have its own distinct existence
  40. enumeration
    the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
  41. ephemeral
    anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day
  42. Epicurean
    of Epicurus or epicureanism
  43. epoch
    a period marked by distinctive character
  44. eternity
    time without end
  45. fatalism
    a doctrine that all events are predetermined in advance
  46. flaxen
    pale yellowish to yellowish brown
  47. flotsam
    the floating wreckage of a ship
  48. flux
    a state of constant change
  49. formulate
    prepare according to instructions
  50. gadfly
    any of various large flies that annoy livestock
  51. geocentric
    having the earth in the middle
  52. graven
    cut into a desired shape
  53. heliocentric
    having the sun as or in the middle
  54. humanism
    doctrine promoting the welfare of mankind
  55. idealism
    belief that the best possible concepts should be pursued
  56. imbue
    spread or diffuse through
  57. immutable
    not subject or susceptible to change or variation
  58. imperative
    requiring attention or action
  59. inertia
    the tendency of something to stay in rest or motion
  60. inherent
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
  61. innate
    present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
  62. intuitive
    spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency
  63. junta
    a group of officers who rule a country after seizing power
  64. kirtle
    a garment resembling a tunic that was worn by men in the Middle Ages
  65. logic
    the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference
  66. materialist
    someone with great regard for material possessions
  67. mechanistic
    explained in terms of physical forces
  68. metaphysical
    pertaining to the philosophical study of being and knowing
  69. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
  70. monism
    the doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element
  71. monism
    the doctrine that reality consists of a single basic substance or element
  72. mysticism
    a religion based on communion with an ultimate reality
  73. Neoplatonism
    a system of philosophical and theological doctrines composed of elements of Platonism and Aristotelianism and oriental mysticism; its most distinctive doctrine holds that the first principle and source of reality transcends being and thought and is naturally unknowable
  74. obliquely
    not in a direct or straightforward manner
  75. oligarchy
    a political system governed by a few people
  76. pantheism
    the belief that God exists in and is the same as all things
  77. pedagogic
    of or relating to pedagogy
  78. pensive
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
  79. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
  80. philosophy
    the rational investigation of existence and knowledge
  81. polity
    the form of government of a social organization
  82. portico
    porch or entrance to a building consisting of a covered area
  83. potentiality
    an aptitude that may be developed
  84. primal
    having existed from the beginning
  85. propagate
    multiply through reproduction
  86. publican
    the keeper of a public house
  87. qualitative
    involving distinguishing attributes
  88. rationalism
    the doctrine that reason is the basis for regulating conduct
  89. rectilinear
    characterized by a straight line or lines
  90. retort
    a quick reply to a question or remark
  91. rhetoric
    study of the technique for using language effectively
  92. schism
    division of a group into opposing factions
  93. semantic
    of or relating to meaning or the study of meaning
  94. sophist
    someone whose reasoning is subtle and often specious
  95. sophistry
    a deliberately invalid argument in the hope of deceiving
  96. squelch
    suppress or crush completely
  97. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
  98. substance
    the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists
  99. subversive
    in opposition to an established system or government
  100. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
  101. tangible
    perceptible by the senses, especially the sense of touch
  102. temperance
    the trait of avoiding excesses
  103. terminology
    a system of words used to name things in a discipline
  104. transmigration
    the passing of a soul into another body after death
  105. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
  106. veritable
    not counterfeit or copied
  107. welter
    a confused multitude of things
Created on Mon Jul 12 16:50:34 EDT 2010 (updated Mon Jul 19 15:44:05 EDT 2010)

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