Aristotle › Greek Lexicon › φιλόσοφος

φιλόσοφος

philosophos

lover of wisdom

Appears 36 times across Aristotle's works.

Frequency by work

Click a work to list every occurrence by Bekker number — each links into the reader.

Dictionary (LSJ)

φιλόσοφος, ὁ, A. lover of wisdom; Pythagoras called himself φιλόσοφος, not σοφός, Cic Tusc. 5.3.9, D.L. Prooem. 12; τὸν φ. σοφίας φήσομεν ἐπιθυμητὴν εἶναι πάσης Pl. R. 475b, cf. Isoc. 15.271; ὁ ὡς ἀληθῶς φ. Pl. Phd. 64e sq.; φ. φύσει, τὴν φύσιν, Id. R. 376c; φ. τῇ ψυχῇ, opp. φιλόπονος τῷ σώματι, Isoc. 1.40: used of all men of education and learning, joined with φιλομαθής and φιλόλογος, Pl. R. 376c, 582e; opp. σοφιστής, X. Cyn. 13.6,9; later, academician, of the members of the Museum at Alexandria, OGI 712 (ii A. D.), etc. 2. philosopher, i. e. one who speculates on truth and reality, οἱ ἀληθινοὶ φ., defined as οἱ τῆς ἀληθείας φιλοθεάμονες, Pl. R. 475e; ὁ φιλόσοφος, of Aristotle, Plu. 2.115b; ὁ σκηνικὸς φ., of Euripides, Ath. 13.561a; as the butt of Com., Philem. 71.1, Bato 5.11, Anaxipp. 4, Phoenicid. 4.16. II. as Adj., loving knowledge, philosophic, ἄνδρες Heraclit. 35; ἀνήρ Pl. Phd. 64d; τὸ φ. γένος Id. R. 501e; φ. φύσις ib.494a; ψυχή ib.486b; διάνοια ib.527b; πειθώ Phld. Rh. 1.269 S.; σύνεσις ib.p.211S. (Comp.); οἱ φιλοσοφώτατοι Pl. R. 498a, cf. IG 5(1).598 (Sparta). 2. of arguments, sciences, etc., scientific, philosophic, λόγοι Pl. Phdr. 257b; λόγοι -ώτεροι, of instructive speeches, Isoc. 12.271; -ώτερον ποίησις ἱστορίας Arist. Po. 1451b5; τὸ φ., opp. τὸ θυμοειδές, as an element of the soul, Pl. R. 411e, but = φιλοσοφία, Plu. 2.355b. 3. ingenious, Ar. Ec. 571 (hex.). III. Adv. -φως, διακεῖσθαι πρός τι Isoc. 15.277; φ. ἔχειν περί τινος Pl. Phd. 91a, cf. Cic. Att. 13.20.4, etc.; opp. ῥητορικῶς, Phld. Rh. 2.134S.; Comp. -ωτέρως Arist. Sens. 436a20; -ώτερον Cic. Att. 7.8.3. [Ar. l. c. has the penult. long, nowhere else found in poetry.]

Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)

Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of φιλόσοφος — with the passages he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated, interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide. Digitisation in progress; this entry is not yet available.
‹ All lexicon entries