Alternately: "apanthropinization"
æpænˌθɹəʊpɪnaɪˈzeɪʃən (phonetically: uh-pan-throw-pin-eye-zay-shun)
Etymology:
This word comes from C. Grant B. Allen in volume 5 of the quarterly review journal Mind. Ap from ancient Greek which means "off" or "away, anthropin (ism) meaning human-centered consideration, and isation which is a noun suffix that denotes the action of the suffixed verb.Definition (as given by the Oxford English Dictionary's second edition, published in 1989):
The broadening of the ambit of one's preoccupations and concerns away from a narrow focus on those things most palpably human and most closely pertinent to humanity.Notable examples of those who exhibit apanthropinisation include:
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| Henry David Thoreau |
"I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
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| Jerome David Salinger |
“If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did.”
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| Bill Watterson |
"Reality continues to ruin my life"
Perhaps this word has dropped out of use because of the way technology evolved to ease the way humans interact with each other. It's hard to step in any direction (in "developed" countries) without being within the realm of contact with others, via whatever iDevice, cellular telephone, et cetera. Human interaction has become all but unavoidable in our modern life.
