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February 28, 2006
Word of the Day - Weltanschauung
Weltanschauung |?velt än sh oue ng
noun ( pl. -schauungen )
a particular philosophy or view of life; the worldview of an individual or group.
ORIGIN German, from Welt ‘world’ + Anschauung ‘perception.’
"David Halberstam once observed in The Powers That Be that Murrow was "one of those rare legendary figures who was as good as his myth." Murrow was apparently driven by the democratic precepts of modern liberalism and the more embracing Weltanschauung of the American Protestant tradition. In Alexander Kendrick's Prime-Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow, for example, Murrow's brother, Dewey, described the intense religious and moral tutelage of his mother and father: "they branded us with their own consciences." Murrow's imagination and the long-term effects of his early home life impelled him to integrate his parents' ethical guidelines into his own personality to such an extensive degree that Edward R. Murrow became the virtual fulfillment of his industry's public service aspirations."
Posted by elise on February 28, 2006 to Words
| Comments (2)
Comments
Hiya,
I may be wrong, but to me "Anschauung" and "perception" don't quite equate.
The first is more neutral, whereas perceive implies a certain level of 'digestion' during the state of observing.
Posted by: jo at March 16, 2006 5:22 AM
Being a native German, I can assure you that the US-English meaning of "Weltanschauung" is grossly overstated. "World View" would be a much closer approximation to what it means to a native German.
Posted by: Why at April 26, 2006 12:55 PM
