Definitions Idiopathy is generally a medical term, but its usage here harkens back to its Greek roots. “Idio-” is from the Greek ídios (ἴδιος), meaning something private or entirely one’s own. “-Pathy” is from the Greek pátheia (πάθεια) meaning “feeling” or “suffering” which in turn derives from pathos (πάθος), meaning a condition or state (generally of suffering).
Category: Philosophy
The semiotics of abortion
Abortion has been a bitterly contentious subject for decades if not millennia. The recently concocted controversy re Planned Parenthood’s practice of selling harvested fetal tissue to medical researchers has brought the subject front and center once more. And, while I’m not particularly interested in the current hokum, I would like to share my thoughts on why this […]
Love, sex, hate, murder
Ever wonder how common/acceptable certain words have been in English writing over the past couple centuries? Google Ngram Viewer can give you a rough idea. For this first installment, I look at two correlative concepts–love and hate–and their epitomic activities–sex and murder–since 1800. Whether the below chart represents their relative popularity over the past couple centuries or […]