abderitism

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The theory that humanity's morality will never advance beyond its present state.

Pronunciation

/ˈæbdəˌɹɪtɪzm̩/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-abderitism.wav

Word forms

abderitism

Etymology

From German Abderitismus, from Abderit (“foolish person”) + -ismus (“-ism”), from Ancient Greek Ἀβδηρῑ́της (Abdērī́tēs, “Abderite”) because of the Abderites’ famed foolishness and stupidity in classical Greece. It is equivalent to Abderite + -ism. The German term was coined by the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) in Der Streit der Fakultäten (The Conflict of the Faculties, 1798).

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