Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Does Anyone Know...

Rate this topic


RadCap

Recommended Posts

...the greek word for "producer" - as in one who produces or is productive?

I know that such a word supposedly exists, because Plato divided up his "ideal" society into "Producers" "Auxilary" and "Guardians". Yet when I try greek or Ancient Greek online dictionaries etc they do not come back with a match for the word.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...the greek word for "producer" - as in one who produces or is productive?

I know that such a word supposedly exists, because Plato divided up his "ideal" society into "Producers" "Auxilary" and "Guardians".  Yet when I try greek or Ancient Greek online dictionaries etc they do not come back with a match for the word.

I don't have a simple answer. To the best of my knowledge, Plato did not actually use any particular word for "producer." If you've seen that word in relation to Plato, it was probably a result of some extra interpretation.

Ergates, from the Greek for work, is one possiblity, but it might suggest something more physical than you're looking for. If you want to get away from the physical, you might consider demiourgos, which in later philosophy turns into Plato's Demiurge. Because of that connotation, it might suggest more of a power, which might be what you're looking for--on the other hand, I think it might suggest a skilled artisan in particular, rather than just a producer.

Lastly, you could go with poietes, from which we get our word for poetry. It can be translated roughly as "maker." It usually refers to makers of art, but can also be used more generally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...the greek word for "producer" - as in one who produces or is productive?

I do not really know Greek, but in John Herman Randall's wonderful book on Aristotle, Randall speaks about "there are for Aristotle the sciences of production or poiesis, which deal with how to make things." He also refers to "a poietes, a 'maker'."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks you both for the answers.

While I would love to use a form of Demiurge (and had considered it previously), I am afraid it might be too confusing. In one sense, it comes close to they type of character I am trying to name. But Plato's Demiurge in some respects is the opposite of the character as well. And especially because of who he is going to be interacting with, the usage of that name would likely lead to wrong assumptions drawn about the character.

And, while Ergates might have been interesting (as E.R. Gates perhaps), the word is apparently to close to just 'worker' or 'laborer'. It looks like 'Poietes' is probably the best version - a maker, doer, author, performer.

Unless of course anyone knows of words in other languages which mean 'producer' or 'productive' or 'productivity' which you think might work as a name instead. Perhaps something more solid sounding - more masculine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks you both for the answers.

While I would love to use a form of Demiurge (and had considered it previously), I am afraid it might be too confusing.  In one sense, it comes close to they type of character I am trying to name.  But Plato's Demiurge in some respects is the opposite of the character as well.  And especially because of who he is going to be interacting with, the usage of that name would likely lead to wrong assumptions drawn about the character. 

And, while Ergates might have been interesting (as E.R. Gates perhaps), the word is apparently to close to just 'worker' or 'laborer'.  It looks like 'Poietes' is probably the best version - a maker, doer, author, performer.

Unless of course anyone knows of words in other languages which mean 'producer' or 'productive' or 'productivity' which you think might work as a name instead.  Perhaps something more solid sounding - more masculine.

i'm greek and if i understood correctly the word you're looking for is "paragogos".however i'm not sure if it is good for a name. http://www.kypros.org/cgi-bin/lexicon

the link above is a good enough lexicon which translates from english to greek and ancient greece

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lol. I had been using that exact one. Or at least trying. The english side is not particularly useful. When I put in producer, it claims it couldnt find anything comparable in greek. Of course when I put in paragogos on the greek side, it listed producer right away.

So unfortunately it is not too helpful to someone who doesn't already know the word they are looking for. ;)

Thank you for Paragogos though. I think you are correct - it may not be that great for a personal name. BUT - I think I may use it for a company name. :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i'm greek and if i understood correctly the word you're looking for is "paragogos".however i'm not sure if it is good for a name. http://www.kypros.org/cgi-bin/lexicon

the link above is a good enough lexicon which translates from english to greek and ancient greece

I think paragogos perhaps means producer in modern, but not in ancient, Greek. At least, the definition in my lexicon doesn't include anything related to producing. Etymologically, it comes from the verb "to lead."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless of course anyone knows of words in other languages which mean 'producer' or 'productive' or 'productivity' which you think might work as a name instead.  Perhaps something more solid sounding - more masculine.

How about something based on the Greek root "tech-" as in "architect" or the Latin Root "fact-" as in "manufacture," "factor," etc.?

Also a combination with other like-sounds: "MoTech" sounds like motivated, technical, and other productive sounding stuff. The hard "K" sounds masculine.

Then there's the Objectivist and entertainer Prodos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. They are all very good and creative. As it turns out, inspiration struck, and I ended up going in a different direction than above. Though I am certain, with 14 books to write, your ideas will come in handy. B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...