Hermit - Hermits in philosophy

A hermit ἐρημίτης (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying "desert", "uninhabited", hence "desert-dweller") is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society. Originally the term was applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament (i.e. the 40 years wandering in the desert that ...

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Friedrich Nietzsche, in his influential work Thus Spoke Zarathustra, created the character of the hermit Zarathustra (named after the Zoroastrian prophet Zarathushtra), who emerges from seclusion to extol his philosophy to the rest of humanity. Diogenes the Cynic, an ancient Greek philosopher, led an ascetic life in a barrel. According to legend, when Alexander the Great came to him one day and offered to grant him a wish, Diogenes asked Alexander to step out of his sunlight. This article incorporates text from ...

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Hermit, Hermit - Hermits in religion, Hermit - Non-religious hermits, Hermit - Hermits in philosophy

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From a religious point of view, the solitary life is a form of asceticism, wherein the hermit renounces wordly concerns and pleasures in order to come closer to the deity or deities they worship or revere. This practice appears in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. In ascetic hermitism, the hermit seeks solitude for meditation, contemplation, and prayer without the distractions of contact with human society, sex, or the need to maintain socially acceptable standards of cleanliness or dress. The ascetic discipline can also include ...

See also:

Hermit, Hermit - Hermits in religion, Hermit - Non-religious hermits, Hermit - Hermits in philosophy

Read more here: » Hermit: Encyclopedia II - Hermit - Hermits in religion