Eggcorn Forum

Discussions about eggcorns and related topics

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to if you wish to register.

The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.

Thanks for your understanding.

Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-06-19 12:51:54

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2872

alltrueism << altruism

Those who are bemired by their devotion to Confusionism might want consider the loftier claims of Alltrueism.

“Altruism” and the cognates “altruist” and “altruistic” are based on French terms invented by Auguste Comte. Comte derived the terms from Latin/Italian words for “other.” Altruism is a studied attention to the well-being of other people. As a principle of life it is opposed to egoism.

We find on the web a few references to “alltrueism/alltrueist/alltrueistic,” plus spelling variations with one “l” (“altrue-“) and no “e” (“alltru-“). It’s not clear to me how the embedded “alls” and “trues” permute (if they do) the basic sense of altruism.

Examples:

Part of a personal creed: “I believe in alltrueism ”

Comment on a blog from India: “I support the views…on Individullity and anti-alltrueism...”

Forum response: “I may be altrueistic but I didn’t think we went into Vietnam to colonize it.”

Blog in the form of a diary: “He was a positive altrueist and took us camping and invested time in our development.”


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

Offline

 

#2 2009-06-19 15:07:59

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2752
Website

Re: alltrueism << altruism

kem wrote:

It’s not clear to me how the embedded “alls” and “trues” permute (if they do) the basic sense of altruism.

In otherwards, that’s all true, but so what?


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

Offline

 

#3 2009-06-19 15:25:06

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

Re: alltrueism << altruism

It’s strange that Comte looked to Latin for the word “altruism” since he had a perfectly good version in French: autrui, which means “other people”. There are people who use the word as “autruism”. “Alltrueism” is a completely different analysis of the roots of the word and qualifies as a great eggcorn in my books. I get the sense of being true to others.

Offline

 

#4 2009-06-19 15:52:11

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2752
Website

Re: alltrueism << altruism

That works for me too.
.
But the issue, of course, is whether those who use the word/phrase, thinking it is the standard one, mean that by it.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

Offline

 

#5 2009-06-19 16:30:57

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

Re: alltrueism << altruism

Ah, the rub.

It seems to be that some of the users of “alltrueism” and its variants are in visionary mode a bit, and there is a sense that they want “it all” to be true, or that they don’t want to admit any half-truths.

Here is an visionary pushing for the great potential symbol that is the constellation Orion:


I added a L for love to altruism and made a new word All-truism meaning All true. It suggests that we are all part of the whole humanity
.
I have always liked to help others and was fond of the word altruism. In exploring the root meaning of the word I found out it meant alternative to ruin, as in alt – ruism, alt – rue.
(http://www.bleich4art.com/altruism.html)

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB
PunBB is © 2002–2005 Rickard Andersson
Individual posters retain the copyright to their posts.

RSS feeds: active topicsall new posts