--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a…" description: "\"A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a dictionary of philosophy that you use to look up obscure thinkers or recondite terms. It is a collection of brief..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/ian-hacking-9085_dictionary_a-philosophical-dictionary-is-not-a-dict_2801731.jpg" --- # A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a dictionary of… ![“A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a dictionary of philosophy that you use to look up obscure thinkers or recondite terms. It is a collection of brief and pithy essays on diverse topics, informed by one vision, and usually arranged in alphabetical order.” quote by Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/ian-hacking-9085_dictionary_a-philosophical-dictionary-is-not-a-dict_2801731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/ian-hacking-9085_dictionary_a-philosophical-dictionary-is-not-a-dict_2801731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/ian-hacking-9085_dictionary_a-philosophical-dictionary-is-not-a-dict_2801731.jpg) > “A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a dictionary of philosophy that you use to look up obscure thinkers or recondite terms. It is a collection of brief and pithy essays on diverse topics, informed by one vision, and usually arranged in alphabetical order.” [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A philosophical dictionary offers concise, unified essays, not just definitions of obscure terms. **In simple terms:** Essays, not just definitions. Key Takeaway Seek unified insight. Themes philosophy education clarity Mood analytical educational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying philosophy - teaching - writing - research Key Concepts lexicography critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does a unified view aid understanding? - When might depth be sacrificed? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary/) [Dictionary Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary-philosophy-3454999/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscure/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophical Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-dictionary-3455000/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-use-2196721/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/why-does-philosophy-use-concepts-and-why-does-faith-use-symbols-if/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [ “\[Thales\] was reproached for his poverty, which was supposed to show that philosophy is of no use. According to the story, he knew by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/thales-was-reproached-for-his-poverty-which-was-supposed-to-show-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [My philosophy is: there is no use of trying to be kind to those who are always rude to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/my-philosophy-is-there-is-no-use-of-trying-to-be-kind-to-those-who/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“Philosophy, as we use the word, is a fight against the fascination which forms of expression exert upon us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-as-we-use-the-word-is-a-fight-against-the-fascination/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Without poetry, religion becomes obscure, false, and malignant; without philosophy, licentious in all wantonness, and lascivious to the point of self-castration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/without-poetry-religion-becomes-obscure-false-and-malignant-without/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Weird itself, even in the dictionary, is just something that is different and unexplainable. A weirdo is someone who follows their heart. Im definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/weird-itself-even-in-the-dictionary-is-just-something-that-is/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [“We have control on every word of the dictionary except for the 2:; "Death" and "Heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-tak/we-have-control-on-every-word-of-the-dictionary-except-for-the-2/) [Nikita Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-tak/) > [Everybody talks about being a role model. But if you look up the word 'role' in a dictionary, it describes playing a part. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/everybody-talks-about-being-a-role-model-but-if-you-look-up-the-word/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I've been in 'Who's Who' and I know what's what, but it'll be the first time I ever made the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-in-who-s-who-and-i-know-what-s-what-but-it-ll-be-the-first/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [“Every dictionary contains a world. I open a book of thieves’ slang from Queen Anne’s reign and they have a hundred words for swords,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/every-dictionary-contains-a-world-i-open-a-book-of-thieves-slang-from/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [What's a depression? The dictionary says a depression is a dent. And what's a dent? Everybody knows a dent is a hole. And what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-durante/what-s-a-depression-the-dictionary-says-a-depression-is-a-dent-and/) [Jimmy Durante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-durante/) > [The only place where compensation comes before service is in the dictionary or anywhere the government meddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/the-only-place-where-compensation-comes-before-service-is-in-the/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) ## More by Ian Hacking > [The best reaction to a paradox is to invent a genuinely new and deep idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/the-best-reaction-to-a-paradox-is-to-invent-a-genuinely-new-and-deep/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One of the things Kuhn said about normal science is that people 'expect' things to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-of-the-things-kuhn-said-about-normal-science-is-that-people/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Probability fractions arise from our knowledge and from our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/probability-fractions-arise-from-our-knowledge-and-from-our-ignorance/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One ought to begin an analysis of power from the ground up, at the level of tiny local events where battles are unwittingly enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-ought-to-begin-an-analysis-of-power-from-the-ground-up-at-the/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is possible to argue that our present conception of revolution was staked out more securely in science than in political action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-possible-to-argue-that-our-present-conception-of-revolution-was/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Why should there be the method of science? There is not just one way to build a house, or even to grow tomatoes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/why-should-there-be-the-method-of-science-there-is-not-just-one-way/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Opinion is the companion of probability within the medieval epistemology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/opinion-is-the-companion-of-probability-within-the-medieval/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Risk analysis can cater to any sort of hazard, but their profession owes its existence to a relatively narrow band of possible dangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/risk-analysis-can-cater-to-any-sort-of-hazard-but-their-profession/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is so hard to make important decisions that we have a great urge to reduce them to rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-so-hard-to-make-important-decisions-that-we-have-a-great-urge/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [In each case you settle on an act. Doing nothing at all counts as an act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/in-each-case-you-settle-on-an-act-doing-nothing-at-all-counts-as-an/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [I think it's unfortunate when people say that there is just one true story of science. For one thing, there are many different sciences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/i-think-it-s-unfortunate-when-people-say-that-there-is-just-one-true/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [As a political metaphor, a revolution could, in that sense, mean only a return to better times, or to the true constitution: a ridding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/as-a-political-metaphor-a-revolution-could-in-that-sense-mean-only-a/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [“Labels such as ‘‘the culture wars,’’ ‘‘the science wars,’’ or ‘‘the Freud wars’’ are now widely used to refer to some of the disagreements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/labels-such-as-the-culture-wars-the-science-wars-or-the-freud-wars/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [There are two ways in which a science develops; in response to problems which is itself creates, and in response to problems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/there-are-two-ways-in-which-a-science-develops-in-response-to/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [From any vocabulary of ideas we can build other ideas by formal combinations of signs. But not any set of ideas will be instructive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/from-any-vocabulary-of-ideas-we-can-build-other-ideas-by-formal/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) [Explore all 75 Ian Hacking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## More Dictionary quotes > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The only place where compensation comes before service is in the dictionary or anywhere the government meddles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/the-only-place-where-compensation-comes-before-service-is-in-the/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [What's a depression? The dictionary says a depression is a dent. And what's a dent? Everybody knows a dent is a hole. And what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-durante/what-s-a-depression-the-dictionary-says-a-depression-is-a-dent-and/) [Jimmy Durante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-durante/) > [Cults use our vocabulary, but they don't use our dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/cults-use-our-vocabulary-but-they-don-t-use-our-dictionary/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Every dictionary contains a world. I open a book of thieves’ slang from Queen Anne’s reign and they have a hundred words for swords,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/every-dictionary-contains-a-world-i-open-a-book-of-thieves-slang-from/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [I've been in 'Who's Who' and I know what's what, but it'll be the first time I ever made the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-in-who-s-who-and-i-know-what-s-what-but-it-ll-be-the-first/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Everybody talks about being a role model. But if you look up the word 'role' in a dictionary, it describes playing a part. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/everybody-talks-about-being-a-role-model-but-if-you-look-up-the-word/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“We have control on every word of the dictionary except for the 2:; "Death" and "Heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-tak/we-have-control-on-every-word-of-the-dictionary-except-for-the-2/) [Nikita Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-tak/) > [Weird itself, even in the dictionary, is just something that is different and unexplainable. A weirdo is someone who follows their heart. Im definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/weird-itself-even-in-the-dictionary-is-just-something-that-is/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [I'm not sure what to call 'Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.' Nonfiction? Movie/toy fiction? But it is any Lego/'Star Wars' kid's dream. Call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/i-m-not-sure-what-to-call-lego-star-wars-the-visual-dictionary/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [“A dictionary is a ship that crosses the sea of words,” said Araki, with a sense that he was laying bare his innermost soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shion-miura/a-dictionary-is-a-ship-that-crosses-the-sea-of-words-said-araki-with/) [Shion Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shion-miura/) > [There is a word Kristos in the Greek dictionary, and this word is supposed to be borrowed from the Sanskrit word "Krishna," and Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/there-is-a-word-kristos-in-the-greek-dictionary-and-this-word-is/) [A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhupada/) > [If you look in the dictionary under 'perfectionist,' you see Henry Selick correcting the definition of perfectionist in the dictionary. I mean, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/if-you-look-in-the-dictionary-under-perfectionist-you-see-henry/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I'm pretty sure that if you looked up the word "nuts" in the dictionary, you'll find my picture. Just another fun feature of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-m-pretty-sure-that-if-you-looked-up-the-word-nuts-in-the-dictionary/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) [Browse all 550 Dictionary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A 'philosophical dictionary' is not a dictionary of philosophy that you use to look up obscure thinkers or recondite terms. 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