What does Philistinism mean?

Definitions for Philistinism
philis·tin·ism

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Philistinism.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. materialism, philistinismnoun

    a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters

Wiktionary

  1. philistinismnoun

    A materialistic attitude accompanied by ignorance of artistic or cultural matters

Wikipedia

  1. Philistinism

    In the fields of philosophy and of aesthetics, the term philistinism describes the attitudes, habits, and characteristics of a person who deprecates art and beauty, spirituality and intellect. As a derogatory term philistine describes a person who is narrow-minded and hostile to the life of the mind, whose materialistic worldview and tastes indicate an indifference to cultural and aesthetic values.The contemporary meaning of philistine derives from Matthew Arnold's adaptation to English of the German word Philister, as applied by university students in their antagonistic relations with the townspeople of Jena, Germany, where a row resulted in several deaths, in 1689. About the riot, Georg Heinrich Götze, the ecclesiastical superintendent, applied the word Philister in his sermon about the social class hostilities between students and townspeople. Götze addressed the town-vs-gown matter with an admonishing sermon, "The Philistines Be Upon Thee", drawn from the Book of Judges (Chapt. 16, Samson vs the Philistines), of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), adopted into the Christian Old Testament.

ChatGPT

  1. philistinism

    Philistinism is an attitude or behavior characterized by a lack of understanding, appreciation, or regard for intellectual, artistic, or cultural values. It often implies contentment with more superficial or material pleasures and can include a disdain for intellectual or artistic pursuits.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Philistinismnoun

    the condition, character, aims, and habits of the class called Philistines. See Philistine, 3

Wikidata

  1. Philistinism

    In the fields of philosophy and æsthetics, the term philistinism describes the social attitude of anti-intellectualism that undervalues and despises art, beauty, spirituality, and intellect; ‘the manners, habits, and character, or mode of thinking of a philistine’. A philistine person is the man or woman who is smugly narrow of mind and of conventional morality whose materialistic views and tastes indicate a lack of and indifference to cultural and æsthetic values. Since the 19th century, the contemporary denotation of philistinism, as the behaviour of ‘ignorant, ill-behaved persons lacking in culture or artistic appreciation, and only concerned with materialistic values’ derives from Matthew Arnold’s adaptation to English of the German word Philister — as applied by university students in their antagonistic relations with the townspeople of Jena, Germany, where, in 1689, a row resulted in several deaths. In the aftermath, the university cleric addressed the town-vs-gown matter with an admonishing sermon ‘The Philistines be upon thee’, drawn from the Book of Judges, of the Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Philistinism

    The name given to that cynicism which sneers at religion. This arose out of the scorn with which the Philistines of Palestine regarded the rites and ceremonies of the Israelites.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce Philistinism?

How to say Philistinism in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Philistinism in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Philistinism in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4


Translations for Philistinism

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • Spießbürgertum, Banausentum, Philisterei, BanausieGerman
  • mieszczaństwoPolish
  • мещанство, филистерствоRussian
  • filistVolapük

Get even more translations for Philistinism »

Translation

Find a translation for the Philistinism definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Philistinism." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Philistinism>.

Discuss these Philistinism definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Philistinism? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    Philistinism

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
    A fudge
    B observe
    C conform
    D carry

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Philistinism: