Mikhail Epstein's definitions
amortify verb trans. (Lat. amor, love + Lat. mort, death + suffix ify)
to act both with affection and ruthlessness, to inflict suffering or ruin by love.
to act both with affection and ruthlessness, to inflict suffering or ruin by love.
Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" is the story of four principal characters who consistently attempt to amortify each other and eventually succeed.
by Mikhail Epstein November 15, 2003
Get the amortify mug.Nothing in contemporary life carries meaning for him. He is a deeply relicious person, not simply nostalgic.
Some people think that Eastern Orthodox spirituality is more relicious than truly religious.
Some people think that Eastern Orthodox spirituality is more relicious than truly religious.
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
Get the relicious mug.thanatagogy n (Greek thanatos, death + Greek agein, to lead; cf pedagogy, demagogy, mystagogy) Ð initiation into death, preparation for dying.
Thanatology is the study of death and dying; thanatagogy is a practical branch of this knowledge. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" is the most ancient manual in thanatagogy.
For Plato, philosophy is thebasis of thanatagogy. To study philosophy is nothing but to prepare oneself to die.
For Plato, philosophy is thebasis of thanatagogy. To study philosophy is nothing but to prepare oneself to die.
by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003
Get the thanatagogy mug.an error of reducing higher or more complex processes, such as human behavior and thinking, to its elementary components or material bearers, such as physiological structures or chemical reactions.
Reductive fallacies abound in the popular works of Carl Sagan. For example, he wrote in his best-selling book The Dragons of Eden": "My fundamental premise about the brain is that its workings--what we sometimes call "mind"--are a conse`uence of its anatomy and physiology and nothing more".
by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
Get the reductive fallacy mug.be a master of ceremonies.
Jimmy is every bit as chairy as Andrew, which spells trouble at a small institution like ours.
She is a wonderful person, but maybe just a touch too chairy to share a household with her.
Jimmy is every bit as chairy as Andrew, which spells trouble at a small institution like ours.
She is a wonderful person, but maybe just a touch too chairy to share a household with her.
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
Get the chairy mug.chronomania n (Greek khronos, time + Greek mania, obsession, madness; cf. megalomania, balletomania) - obsession with time and speed; inclination to utilize every moment and to submit one's life to a total time control.
America suffers from chronomania. Faster, faster, faster! Why not to stop and to look in tranquility where we stand and into which future we have been rushing headlong.
Chronomania may become dangerous for your mental health. Try to find a different focus of life, apart from schedules and deadlines.
Chronomania may become dangerous for your mental health. Try to find a different focus of life, apart from schedules and deadlines.
by Mikhail Epstein November 9, 2003
Get the chronomania mug.astralgia, n. (Gr. astro-, star + Gr. algos Ð pain, grief, distress; cf. nostalgia) - a longing for stars and interstellar travels to the remote corners of the universe; homesickness for cosmos.
The film "Gattaca" is about astralgia. The protagonist, Vincent, though deemed genetically flawed and subsequently fated to Á low-level occupation, pursues to the end his dream of space travel.
by Mikhail Epstein November 16, 2003
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