Call it by its name 👞
nomen est omen
In his classic lecture “What Is a Thing?”, German philosopher Martin Heidegger recounts a story about a famous Sophist1 who left Athens to lecture and educate the sons of kings in the courts of various Greek cities and colonies. Upon his return, he finds Socrates still standing in the Agora, teaching the crowd about how “a shoe is a shoe.” The Sophist confronts Socrates, asking why he is still trying to define what a shoe is. Socrates responds: “And you, my friend, go around lecturing that a shoe is not a shoe.” (I lost my copy so I’m quoting from memory).
Not to sound tautological but a shoe is a shoe 👞. And a genocide is a genocide. And الكندرة Netanyahu is an infanticidal genocidal war criminal and Palestine is not his “God given right”.
I trust the West will return to its roots and find the courage to call things by their true names. It has been almost one year since South Africa raised the issue, and the inaction on the world stage could devolve into chaos, setting a dangerous precedent for others to commit even more heinous crimes.
Side note: Today is World Philosophy day, so I would like to remind fellow readers that 2 of Jordan’s PMs, and most beloved PMs, were students of philosophy.
Have a pleasant weekend!
What is the difference between the Sophist and the Philosopher in Ancient Greece? Etymologically, a sophist is a "wise man," while a philosopher is usually translated as a “lover of wisdom.” However, Plato famously mocks sophists, describing them as pretenders to knowledge—adept at twisting words, ambitious to impress, and eager to climb the social ladder. In contrast, a true philosopher, according to Plato, does not pretend to know anything they do not.
Let’s delve deeper into the etymology of philosopher. The term is composed of two parts: the prefix philo- and sophos. There is no debate that sophos means wisdom. However, the interpretation of philo has long been misunderstood (as with Philadelphia).
Consider the name Philip, which combines philo and hippos (horse). Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, was not a "lover" of horses in the romantic sense, but rather a person who possessed and valued them highly.
Similarly, in Arabic, the word for “friend” can also imply possession, as in “من صاحب هذه المركبة؟” (Who is the owner of this vehicle?). By this logic, philo in philosopher can be understood as "friend" or "owner." Philosophers, therefore, were not merely lovers of wisdom but its true possessors and stewards, distinguishing them from the sophists, who were seen as impostors.
Well, what are the roots which the West is believed to return to, in this post?