Definitions by mikhail epstein
noocracy
noocracy n Greek noos, mind, and Greek -kratia, power or rule Ð a system of world government based of the integrated mind of civilization and its transpersonal decisions; syntellect as a ruling principle of the future society.
As the thinking matter increases its mass in nature and geo- and biosphere grow into noosphere, the future of the humanity can be envisioned as noocracy--that is the power of the collective brain rather than separate individuals representing certain social groups or society as whole.
noocracy by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
domestican
domestican n Latin domesticus, belonging to the household, from domus, house - someone who preaches the values of domestic life, worships the deities of hearth and home.
He is a sort of a monk, though his monastery is his own house. In a word, he is a domestican.
A typical domestican hates public spaces. Hu prefers hus kitchen and living room to all attractions in the world.
domestican by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
Paleonoic era
Paleonoic era adj Greek palaios, ancient + Greek noos, mind; cf. Paleozoic era, from Greek zoe, life Ð the current epoch of ancient mind, of the first intelligent machines; the era that in the history of consciousness takes place similar to that of Paleozoic era in the history of life.
Looking at ourselves from the perspective of a distant future, we appear to be people of Paleonoic era when the first non-biological forms of mind were just emerging, when the forces of thinking just got released from the prison of cranium in creating computers and other increasingly more self-organising forms of artificial intelligence.
Paleonoic era by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
protologism
protologism n Greek protos, first, original + Greek logos, word; cf. prototype, neologism - a newly created word which has not yet gained any wide acceptance. It is a prototype or a hypothetical projection of a new lexical unit before it may become current in writing or speech. The word "protologism" proposed here and now is itself an example of protologism.
In contrast to protologisms, neologisms are words that have already been in public usage by authors other than their inventors. As soon as a protologism finds its way into newspapers and websites, journals and books, it becomes a neologism.
protologism by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
reductive fallacy
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".
reductive fallacy by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003
infinition
infinition (definition + infinitity) Ð an infinite process of defining something that cannot be fully or precisely defined; an endless list of possible definitions.
Certain fluid concepts in their emergent state are subject to in-finition--infinite dispersal of their meaning--rather than to definition. To infine is to suggest the infinity of possible definitions of a certain term or concept and therefore to problematize its meaning and the possibility or the benefit of defining it. If definition circumscribes a specific conceptual area, then infinition releases the concept from restricting demarcations and places it in an indeterminate zone.
infinition by Mikhail Epstein November 6, 2003