philosophical

Everyday

1. To do with philosophy — thinking deeply about big questions like what is true, right or real. tree →
2. Calm and accepting when something bad happens: «He was philosophical about losing.» tree →

In the lessons

In school: philosophy for children (P4C) asks philosophical questions — «Is it ever OK to lie?» In stories: Rat or Badger may be philosophical, accepting things calmly. Phrase: be philosophical about something.

Examples

• «Do animals think?» is a philosophical question. tree →
• He was philosophical about missing the bus. tree →
• We had a philosophical chat about friendship. tree →
• Badger took the news philosophically. tree →
• The book has a philosophical feel. tree →
• Alice's Cheshire Cat makes philosophical jokes. tree →
• He refused to accept his teacher's philosophical tenets on the mere ground of their traditional authority. tree →

Note

From philosophy. Spelling: ph- at the start and in the middle sounds f: phil-o-SOF-ical.

In Jewish tradition

In the writings about Sefer Yetzirah it describes the book as a work of deep thought about how the world was made.

Interpretation. Scholars call it among the oldest Hebrew works of this kind, though tradition treats it also as a mystical book.

Examples

• The "Sepher Yetzirah," or "Book of Formation," is perhaps the oldest philosophical treatise which is yet extant in the Hebrew language. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• The Pythagorean philosophy is the greatest enigma of all philosophical systems of antiquity. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• On this point endless dis- cussions arose; and it has even been disputed whether they are designed to express theological, philosophical, or physical mysteries. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

From philosophy. Spelling: ph- at the start and in the middle sounds f: phil-o-SOF-ical.