ascetic

by phil on Tuesday Apr 29, 2003 7:20 PM
asceticism

Make sure you know this word.

ascetic. n. "A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion."

I think this definition is getting revised to encompass anybody who abandons the basic, pratical, material necessities of life for things in his head. Many philosophers are like this as they reject the untruths and hypocrisy that pervades much of reality for the sake of higher, logical, truths.

For me, asceticism is more of a genetic trait. You are either born with a predisposition for or against it.