"The New York sociologist Maurice Parmelee was one US visitor who became a convert to the cause. His much-reprinted book Nudism in Modern Life: The New Gymnosophy (1929) developed a theory of nakedness for an Anglophone readership. He claimed that ‘gymnosophy’ – his preferred term, as an ancient Greek word combining nakedness and wisdom – ‘stands for simplicity, temperance and continence in every phase of life. It is useful in the rearing of the young,’ he claimed, ‘in the relations between the sexes, and in promoting a democratic and humane organization of society. Consequently,’ he argued, ‘the implications of gymnosophy extend far beyond the practice of nudity alone, for it connotes a thoroughgoing change in the outlook upon and mode of life.’" From Aeon Magazine, available online at https://aeon.co/, Friday September 23, 2002, Life in the Buff by Annebella Pollen.
Parmelee coined the term 'gymnosophy'. Presumably deriving it from two ancient Greek words, one for nakedness and the other from wisdom. However he made a mistake. Take the word 'philosophy'. It roughly means 'the love of wisdom' which derives from philo and sophy. Except sophy - or Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom and philo is the Greek word of 'loving'. Thus Parmelee's term combines gymnos meaning naked with sophy that actually means wisdom, thus gymnosophy would mean 'naked wisdom' or 'wisdom of nakedness'. To form a word meaning 'the love of nakedness' it would actually be something like philogymnos.
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Gary Jaron's musings.
In my High School Art Department someone had made an ornate sign on hung it on the wall that read: 'Ignore this sign completely.' A paradox couched in sarcasm and irony. This blog is for random musings on anything and everything that comes into my head. Archives
June 2024
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