# Actual Freedom – Definitions

# Definitions ## Aberrant; Abeyance; Absolute; Absolvitory; Absurd ## Accusative; Actual; Actualisation; Actualiser ## Acknowledgement-Recognition of ‘my’ Existence ## Ad Hoc; An Admirable State of Affairs; Admiration/ Emulation; Admonition ## Aeriform; Aesthesis/ Anaesthesia; Aetheric/Aether/Etheric Realm Aberrant: aberrant (adj.): 1. deviating from what is considered proper or normal; [e.g.]: “an aberrant behavioural pattern”; 2. deviating from what is typical for a specified thing; [e.g.]: “an aberrant form of a gene”; (n.): one that is aberrant; (n.): aberrance, aberrancy; (adv.): aberrantly. [Latin aberrāns, aberrant-, present participle of aberrāre, to go astray; ab-, away from + errāre, to stray]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Abeyance: ‘abeyance: a state of suspension or temporary disuse; dormant condition liable to revival; a state of suspension/ dormancy/ latency ...’. ~ (Oxford Dictionary). Absolute: absolute (n.): Philosophy 1. A value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or which may be viewed without relation to other things; 1.1 (the absolute) That which exists without being dependent on anything else. [emphasis added]. (www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/absolute). Absoluteness: Absoluteness (n.): ‘that which exists, or is able to be thought of, without relation to other things; an absolute thing’. (Oxford Dictionary). Absoluteness (n.): I am using the word ‘absoluteness’ to refer to the state or condition of being ‘that which exists, or is able to be thought of, without relation to other things; an absolute thing’. ~ (Oxford Dictionary). absolute: • absolute (n.; philosophy): 1. a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or which may be viewed without relation to other things; [e.g.]: “good and evil are presented as absolutes”; 1.1. *(the absolute): that which exists without being dependent on anything else*; 1.2. (the Absolute): ultimate reality; God. [emphasis added]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). (left-clicking the yellow rectangle with the capital ‘U’ opens a new web page). Absolvitory: • absolvitory (adj.): absolutory; absolvatory. [see absolvatory⁽⁰¹⁾]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). ⁽⁰¹⁾absolvatory (adj.): conferring absolution (viz.: ‘the act of absolving or the state of being absolved’; ‘release from guilt, obligation, or punishment’), pardon, or release; having power to absolve. [irregular from absolve + -atory; properly absolutory⁽⁰²⁾]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). ⁽⁰²⁾absolutory (adj.): giving absolution; capable of absolving; as ‘an absolutory sentence’ (John Ayliffe, 1676-1732, “Parergon Luris Canonici Anglicani; or, A Commentary, by Way of Supplement to the Canons and Constitutions of the Church of England”. [from Medieval Latin absolutorious, from Latin absolutus; see absolute; viz.: from Latin absolutus, ‘complete’, ‘unrestricted’, ‘absolute’, pp. of absolvere, ‘loosen from’; see absolve; viz.: from ab, ‘from’ + solvere, ‘loosen’; see solve; viz.: from so, for se-, ‘apart’ + luere, ‘loosen’ = Greek λύειν, ‘loosen’, ‘set free’, ‘release’; and cf. assoil; viz.: from Latin absolvere, ‘absolve’, ‘loosen’, which assoil is thus a doublet]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • absolvitory (adj.): providing absolution; (synonyms): exonerative, forgiving, exculpatory (clearing of guilt or blame); vindicatory (providing justification). ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • absolvitory (adj.): of or pertaining to a dismissal or an acquittal. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • absolvitor (n.; pl. absolvitors; in Scots law): a dismissal of an action; acquittal; (adj.): absolvitory. [etymology: Latin, ‘let him be absolved’, third person singular passive imperative of absolvere, ‘to absolve’; first known use: 1547, in the meaning defined above]. ~ (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Absurd: ‘absurd: out of harmony with reason or propriety; incongruous; inappropriate; unreasonable; ridiculous, silly. (Oxford Dictionary). Accusative: accusative (adj.): denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in inflected languages that is used to *identify the direct object* of a finite verb, of certain prepositions, and for certain other purposes. [emphasis added]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). Actual: The word actual is of a Middle English origin (circa 1275-1325) and comes from the Old French actuel, ‘existing’, from Late Latin āctuālis, ‘active’, ‘relating to acts’, ‘practical’, from Latin āctus, ‘act’, ‘performance’, ‘a doing’, and ācta, plural of āctum, ‘a thing done’, both from neuter past participle of agere, ‘to drive (kine)’, ‘do’, ‘perform’, via the Medieval Latin (600-1300) word actualitas, ‘actuality’, ‘existence’. Actual Caring: SRINATH: ... never mind their etymological root meaning. RICHARD: You may very well “never mind” the root meaning, if you so choose, of the English ‘empathy’, the German ‘Einfühlung’, and the Greek ‘empatheia’, but I do mind it ... and mind it well. You see, the difference between you and me is that I actually care about my fellow human being and will leave no stone unturned, if that be what it takes, to facilitate clarity in communication ... I like my fellow human being and prefer that their self-imposed suffering come to an end, forever, sooner rather than later. Actualisation: Unless a realisation is actualised, meaning that it operates spontaneously each moment again, it remains just that ... a realisation. Actualiser: • actualiser (n.): a person who or thing which actualises (actualise=‘to bring (a plan, ambition, etc) to fruition; make actual or concrete’). ~ (Online Neoteric Dictionary). • actualiser (tr.v.; philosophy): to actualise (=‘to make real; to realise’; see also actuate, actuator; viz.: ‘one who activates’); (n.): actualisation (=‘a making actual or really existent’); (adj.): actualisational (=‘of or relating to actualisation’); (synonym): reactualisation; (antonym): deactualisation. ~ (Word-Sense Online Dictionary). Acknowledgement-Recognition of ‘my’ Existence: • [Richard]: ‘Mr. Renée Descartes acknowledged that ‘cogito ergo sum’ was not a deductive axiom ... he said that the statement ‘I am’ (‘sum’) expresses an immediate intuition – and was not the conclusion of reasoning from ‘I think’ (‘cogito’) – and is thus indubitable because it is intuitive: `’Whatever I know’, he stated, ‘I know intuitively that I am’ (it is in his ‘Objections and Replies’ (1642) that Mr. René Descartes explicitly says that the certainty of ‘I am’ is based upon intuition)’. Actual Freedom Mailing List, No. 18b, 31 July 2002 Ad Hoc: ‘ad hoc (Latin, lit. ‘to this’): for this particular purpose; special(ly); colloq. an improvisation [on the spur of the moment]’. (Oxford Dictionary). An Admirable State of Affairs: • an admirable state of affairs; (n.): 1. a particular situation (a specific set of conditions, events or occurrences) or combination of circumstances, at a given time, of such an exemplary nature as to be admired (viz.: regarded with pleasure, or pleased surprise; esteemed or respected and considered as worthy of high approval; to have a high opinion of; often mixed with wonder or delight); [e.g.]: “We marvelled at how such an admirable state of affairs had come about”; 2. a general situation (the overall state of things and events) of such excellent quality as to be admired; (synonyms): an estimable state of affairs; a commendable situation; a laudable set of circumstances; exemplary, creditable, meritorious, praiseworthy. [admirable, adjective, from admire (French admirer, from Old French amirer, from Latin admīrārī, ‘to wonder at’, from ad- + mīrārī, ‘to wonder’, from mīrus, ‘wonderful’) + -able, adjectival suffix, from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -ābilis, ‘-ibilis’; from -ā- and -i-, thematic vowels + -bilis, adjectival suffix]. ~ (Online Neoteric Dictionary). • state of affairs; (n.): situation, state, circumstances, scenario, equation, plight, status quo; [e.g.]: “This current state of affairs cannot continue for too long”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • state of affairs; (n.): the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time; [e.g.]: “We wondered how such a state of affairs had come about”; (synonyms): situation; [e.g.]: “The present international situation is fraught with danger”; (related words): state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes; [e.g.]: “The current state of knowledge”; “His state of health”; “In a weak financial state lately”); fish bowl, fishbowl, goldfish bowl (a state of affairs in which one has no privacy; [e.g.]: “The president lives in a goldfish bowl each and every day”); rejection (the state of being rejected); exclusion (the state of being excluded); inclusion (the state of being included); picture, scene (a situation treated as an observable object; [e.g.]: “The political picture is favourable”; “The religious scene in England has changed in the last century”); size of it, size (the actual state of affairs; [e.g.]: “She hates me, that’s about the size of it you know”; “And that’s the size of the situation”); square one (the situation in which one begins an endeavour and to which one returns if one’s efforts fail; [e.g.]: “The police are now back at square one after having arrested and released twenty-seven men”; “She has tried to diet but always ends up back at square one each time”); status quo (the existing state of affairs). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). __________ • state of affairs (idiom): a current situation or set of conditions; [e.g.]: “It’s been a sad state of affairs around here since our grandma became sick”; “I’d like to start this meeting by going over the company’s financial state of affairs up to today”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • a state of affairs (idiom): general situation or circumstances; [e.g.]: “We know little about the present state of affairs in China”. ~ (Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary). __________ • admirable (adj.): deserving admiration; (adv.): admirably; (n.): admirableness. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • admirable (adj.): worthy of admiration; inspiring approval or respect; excellent; (n.): admirability; (adv.): admirably. [1590-1600; from Latin]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • admirable (adj.): deserving or inspiring admiration; excellent; (adv.): admirably. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • admirable (adj.): 1. deserving of the highest esteem or admiration; [e.g.]: “The trains ran with admirable precision”; “His health was admirable, his taste impeccable”; (related words): estimable (deserving of respect or high regard; [e.g.]: “An estimable young professor”); 2. inspiring admiration or approval; [e.g.]: “Among her many admirable qualities are generosity and graciousness”; (related words): pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction; [e.g.]: “It was a pleasing piece of news”; “They were pleasing in manner and appearance”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • admirable (adj.): praiseworthy, good, great, fine, capital, noted, choice, champion, prime, select, wonderful, excellent, brilliant, rare, outstanding, valuable, superb, distinguished, superior, sterling, worthy, first-class, notable, sovereign, world-class, exquisite, exemplary, first-rate, superlative, commendable, laudable, meritorious, estimable, tiptop; (informal): brill, A1 or A-one, top-notch; (Brit. informal): cracking; (U.S. slang): chillin’, bitchin’; (slang): dope; [e.g.]: “The film tells its story with admirable economy”; (antonyms): disappointing, commonplace, worthless, mediocre, deplorable, displeasing; (informal): no great shakes; (N.Z. informal): half-pie. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • admirable (adj.): deserving honour, respect, or admiration; (synonyms): commendable, creditable, deserving, estimable, exemplary, honourable, laudable, meritorious, praiseworthy, reputable, respectable, worthy. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • admirable (adj.): 1. fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvellous; [e.g.]: “In man there is nothing admirable but his ignorance and weakness”. (Jeremy Taylor); 2. having qualities to excite wonder united with approbation; deserving the highest praise; most excellent; used of persons or things. ~ (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary). • admirable (adj.): deserving of the highest esteem or admiration; [e.g.]: “The admirable smoothness of the riding also reflected the greatest credit on those who, despite the difficulties caused by the shortage of men and materials, have succeeded in maintaining the track in such first-class order”. (page 213, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, by Cecil J. Allen, in Railway Magazine, July and August, 1946); (derived terms): admirableness, admirably, superadmirable, unadmirable. [etymology: borrowed from Middle French admirable, from Latin admirābilis]. ~ (Word-Sense Online Dictionary). __________ • an admirable Crichton (idiom): one who has success in all endeavors or areas; [e.g.]: “Of course he sold a booming business and then created a new, even more successful one—he’s an admirable Crichton you know”; “[Person A]: ‘Did you hear that she was named valedictorian?’ [Person B: ‘I didn’t, but I can’t say I’m surprised, as she’s been an admirable Crichton ever since grade school’”. [note: the phrase refers to sixteenth-century Scottish nobleman, James Crichton, known for his charm and intelligence, who first came to prominence in Paris in 1577 by challenging French professors to ask him any question on any science or liberal arts subject in Arabic, Dutch, English, French, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Slavonic, Spanish, or Syriac]. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • an admirable Crichton (idiom) a person who excels in all kinds of studies and pursuits, or who is noted for supreme competence; [e.g.]: “I’m optimistic now that our team has this new manager because he’s an admirable Crichton and every team he coaches does well”. [note: the expression “Admirable Crichton” originally referred to an unusually gifted prodigy, the nobleman James Crichton of Clunie (1560-1585), a Scottish polymath noted for his extraordinary accomplishments in languages, the arts, and the sciences before he was murdered at the age of twenty-one. In Sir James Matthew Barrie’s play “The Admirable Crichton” (1902), the eponymous hero is a butler who takes charge when his master’s family is shipwrecked on a desert island]. ~ (Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary). __________ • state of affairs (sociology): the state of affairs is the combination of circumstances applying within a society or group at a particular time. The current state of affairs may be considered acceptable by many observers, but not necessarily by all. The state of affairs may present a challenge, or be complicated, or contain a conflict of interest. The status quo represents the existing state of affairs. Unresolved difficulties or disagreements concerning the state of affairs can provoke a crisis. Dispute resolution is naturally desired, and naturally provided, by forms of inclusive social interaction, such as consensus decision-making, which adapt, but not conveniently, from a family or tribal model to encompass a global scope. Current knowledge and discussion about the state of affairs is communicated through the media. ~ (2024 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia). • state of affairs (philosophy): in philosophy, a state of affairs (also known as a situation) is a way the actual world must be in order to make some given proposition about the actual world true; in other words, a state of affairs is a truth-maker, whereas a proposition is a truth-bearer. Whereas states of affairs either obtain or fail-to-obtain, propositions are either true or false. Some philosophers understand the term “states of affairs” in a more restricted sense as a synonym for “fact”. In this sense, there are no states of affairs that do not obtain. Professor David Armstrong is well known for his defence of a factualism, a position according to which the world is a world of facts and not a world of things⁽*⁾. States of affairs are complex entities: they are built up from or constituted by other entities. Relational states of affairs involve several particulars and a relation connecting them. States of affairs which obtain are also referred to as facts. It is controversial which ontological status should be ascribed to states of affairs which do not obtain. States of affairs have been prominent in twentieth-century ontology as various theories were proposed to describe the world as composed of states of affairs. ~ (2024 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia). ⁽*⁾[Prof. Armstrong]: “The hypothesis of this work is that the world, all that there is, is a world of states of affairs. Others, Ludwig Wittgenstein in particular, have said that the world is a world of facts and not a world of things. These theses are substantially the same, though differently expressed. The general structure of states of affairs will be argued to be this. A state of affairs exists if and only if a particular (at a later point to be dubbed a thin particular) has a property, or, instead, a relation holds between two or more particulars. Each state of affairs, and each constituent of each state of affairs, meaning by their constituents the particulars, properties, relations, and, in the case of higher-order states of affairs, lower-order states of affairs, is a contingent existent. The properties and the relations are universals, not particulars. The relations are all external relations”. ~ (page 01, Introduction to “A World of States of Affairs”, David Armstrong; 1997, Cambridge University Press). __________ Random Literary Samples. • “Multitudes of these barelegged black women are walking past us—carrying bundles or baskets upon their heads, and smoking very long cigars. They are generally short and thick-set, and walk with surprising erectness, and with long, firm steps, carrying the bosom well forward. Their limbs are strong and finely rounded. Whether walking or standing, their poise is *admirable* and might be called graceful, were it not for the absence of real grace of form in such compact, powerful little figures”. [emphasis added]. ~ (page 25, Chapter Eight: “’Ti Canotié (‘The Little Canoe’)”, Part Two: ‘Martinique Sketches’, in “Two Years in the French West Indies”, by Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904); 1890, Harper & Brothers, New York). __________ • “I know not how or to whom to express fully my admiration of Charles Darwin’s book. To him it would seem flattery, to others self-praise; but I do honestly believe that with however much patience I had worked up and experimented on the subject, I could never have approached the completeness of his book—its vast accumulation of evidence, its overwhelming argument, and its *admirable* tone and spirit. I really feel thankful that it has not been left to me to give the theory to the public. Mr. Darwin has created a new science and a new philosophy, and I believe that never has such a complete illustration of a new branch of human knowledge been due to the labours and researches of a single man”. [emphasis added]. ~ (page 59, from a letter to H. W. Bates, December 24, 1860, in “Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). __________ • “It has been recorded how Jerome Cardan, during a journey to Genoa, wrote a Book of Precepts for his children, a task the memory of which afterwards wrung from him a cry of despair. There never was compiled a more *admirable* collection of maxims; but, excellent as they were, it was not enough to write them down on paper; and the young men, if ever they took the trouble to read them, must have smiled as they called to mind the difference between their father’s practices and the precepts he had composed for their guidance”. [emphasis added]. ~ (page 164, “Jerome Cardan; A Biographical Study”, by William George Waters; 1898, Lawrence & Bullen, Ltd., London). __________ • “Charles Peirce’s manuscripts dealing with the ‘normative sciences’ generally distinguish three kinds of fundamental, non-instrumental goodness. For example, Esthetics ‘divides ideally possible states of things into two classes, those that would be admirable and those that would not be admirable, and undertakes to define precisely what it is that constitutes the admirableness of an ideal’ (page 119, “The 1903 Lectures on Pragmatism”; Ed. Patricia Turrisi; 1997, Albany, NY). Ethics carries out a similar investigation of what constitutes the goodness of an ultimate end for conduct. So when we study what constitutes *an admirable state of affairs*, we explore both those things which people do find admirable but also consult our reactions to a wide range of possible objects of experience which are produced by the free play of our imagination. A psychological study of the admirable would tell us what sorts of things we actually do admire; a phenomenological investigation of the admirable would provide a definition which fits all possible objects of experience. We can test our promised analysis of the esthetic good by constructing potential or hypothetical counter-examples and revise our account in the light of our results. The fact that our results do not depend upon contingent features of our environment may make it plausible that the results are universal and necessary rather than contingent”. [emphasis added]. ~ (page 112and page 113\ , “The Pragmatic Maxim: Essays on Peirce and Pragmatism”, by Christopher Hookway; Nov 08, 2012, OUP, Oxford). (left-clicking the yellow rectangles with the capital ‘U’ opens each in a new web page). Admiration: ‘admiration: the action of wondering or marvelling; wonder’. ~ Oxford Dictionary Emulation: ‘emulation: the desire or endeavour to equal or surpass others in some achievement or quality’. (© Oxford Dictionary 1998). Admonition: ‘admonition: authoritative counsel; warning, exhortation; advice’ ~ (Oxford Dictionary). Aeriform: aeriform (adj.): resembling air or having the form of air; air-like, gaseous (=‘existing as or having characteristics of a gas’; [e.g.]: ”steam is water in its gaseous state”); 2. characterised by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air; [e.g.]: “Figures light and aeriform come unlooked for and melt away”. (Thomas Carlyle); (synonyms): aerie, ethereal, aerial, airy; [e.g.]: “aerial fancies”; “an airy apparition”; “physical rather than ethereal forms”; insubstantial, unsubstantial, unreal (=‘lacking material form or substance’; ‘unreal’; [e.g.]: ”as insubstantial as a dream”; “an unsubstantial mirage on the horizon”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). aeriform (physics): having the form or nature of air; [e.g.]: “Neither fire nor air nor any of those we have mentioned is in fact simple, but mixed. The simple bodies are like these, but not the same as them: that which is like fire is fiery, not fire; that which is like air is aeriform; and so on in the other cases”. (Aristotle, “On Generation and Corruption”, translator, Christopher J. F. Williams; 1930-1997). ~ (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms). Aesthesis =Aesthesia: [Dictionary Definitions]: • aesthesis (n.): sensuous perception. ~ (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary). • aesthesis, esthesis (n.): an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation; [e.g.]: “a sensation of touch”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • aesthesia, esthesia (n.): the ability to feel or perceive sensations. [back-formation from anaesthesia]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • aesthesia, esthesia (n.): (physiology) the normal ability to experience sensation, perception, or sensitivity. [C20: back formation from anaesthesia]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). Anaesthesia: ‘anaesthesia [modern Latin from Greek ‘anaisthesia’, from the same word as ‘an-’ (without, lacking, not) + ‘aisthesis’ (sensation) + ‘-ia’ (denoting state and disorder)]: absence of sensation; esp. artificially induced inability to feel pain’. (Oxford Dictionary). As a total ‘absence of sensation’ means an utter dearth of sentience (aka consciousness) there is no sensitivity whatsoever on any level at all ... not even a subliminal awareness. Aetheric; Etheric; Aether; Ether; Etheric Realm: • aetheric (adj.): a variant spelling of etheric. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • ether (n.): 3. the regions of space beyond the earth’s atmosphere; the heavens; 4. the element believed in ancient and medieval civilisations to fill all space above the sphere of the moon and to compose the stars and planets; 5. (physics): an all-pervading, infinitely elastic, massless medium formerly postulated as the medium of propagation of electromagnetic waves; (adj.): etheric. [Middle English, ‘upper air’, from Latin aethēr, from Greek aithēr]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). Greek myth): the upper regions of the atmosphere; clear sky or heaven; 5. a rare word for air; also (for senses 3-5): aether; (adj.): etheric. [C17: from Latin aether, from Greek aithēr, from aithein, ‘to burn’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • ether (n.): 2. upper regions of space; the clear sky; the heavens; 3. the medium supposed by the ancients to fill the upper regions of space; 4. a substance formerly supposed to occupy all space, accounting for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space; (adj.): etheric. [1350-1400; from Latin aethēr, ‘the upper air’, ‘ether’, from Greek aithḗr, akin to aíthein, ‘to glow’, ‘burn’]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • ether (n.): 3. a hypothetical medium formerly believed to permeate all space and to be the medium through which light and other electromagnetic radiation move; the existence of ether was disproved by the American physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley in 1887. ~ (The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary). • ether (n.): the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies; quintessence. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • ether (n.): 3. the regions of space beyond the earth’s atmosphere; the heavens; the element believed in ancient and medieval civilisations to fill all space above the sphere of the moon and to compose the stars and planets; 5. (physics): an all-pervading, infinitely elastic, massless medium formerly postulated as the medium of propagation of electromagnetic waves; (adj.): etheric. ~ (The American Heritage Medical Dictionary). • ether (in physics and astronomy): ether or aether, in physics and astronomy, a hypothetical medium for transmitting light and heat (radiation), filling all unoccupied space; it is also called luminiferous ether; in Newtonian physics all waves are propagated through a medium, e.g., water waves through water, sound waves through air; when James Clerk Maxwell developed his electromagnetic theory of light, Newtonian physicists postulated ether as the medium which transmitted electromagnetic waves; ether was held to be invisible, without odour, and of such a nature that it did not interfere with the motions of bodies through space; the concept was intended to connect the Newtonian mechanistic wave theory with Maxwell’s field theory; however, all attempts to demonstrate its existence, most notably the Michelson-Morley experiment of 1887, produced negative results and stimulated a vigorous debate among physicists which was not ended until the special theory of relativity, proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905, became accepted; the theory of relativity eliminated the need for a light-transmitting medium, so that today the term ether is used only in a historical context. ~ (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia). • ether (also luminiferous ether): a hypothetical all-pervasive medium, which, according to past scientific notions, acted as the carrier of light and of electromagnetic interactions in general; originally the ether was thought to be a mechanical medium similar to an elastic body; accordingly, the propagation of light waves was likened to the propagation of sound in an elastic medium, and electric and magnetic field strengths were identified with mechanical tensions of the ether; the hypothesis of a mechanical ether met with serious difficulties; in particular, it was unable to reconcile the transverse nature of light waves, which requires that the ether be an absolutely rigid body, with the lack of resistance of the ether to the motion of heavenly bodies (it is now clear that this hypothesis is inconsistent simply because the forces of elasticity, tension, and the like are themselves electromagnetic in nature); the difficulties of the mechanical interpretation of the ether led in the late nineteenth century to abandonment of attempts to develop mechanical models of the medium; the only remaining unsolved problem was how the ether took part in the motion of bodies; the difficulties and contradictions that arose in this connection were overcome in the special theory of relativity created by Albert Einstein, which did away completely with the ether problem by simply excluding the ether from theory; from the contemporary viewpoint, a physical vacuum has some properties of an ordinary material medium; however, it should not be confused with the ether, from which it is different in principle simply because the electromagnetic field is an independent physical object which does not require a special carrier. ~ (The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition; 1970-1979). • ether (electromagnetism): the medium postulated to carry electromagnetic waves, similar to the way a gas carries sound waves. ~ (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms). • ether: 3. the hypothetical medium formerly believed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves; 4. (Greek myth): the upper regions of the atmosphere; clear sky or heaven. ~ (Collins Discovery Encyclopedia). RETURN TO DEFINITIONS INDEX RICHARD’S HOME PAGE The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one. Richard's Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997- . All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer and Use Restrictions and Guarantee of Authenticity