In rhetoric, eunoia (Ancient Greek: εὔνοιᾰ, romanized: eúnoia, lit. 'well mind; beautiful thinking')[1] is the good will that speakers cultivate between themselves and their audiences, a condition of receptivity.[2] In Book VIII of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term to refer to the kind and benevolent feelings of good will a spouse has which form the basis for the ethical foundation of human life.[3] Cicero translates εὔνοιᾰ with the Latin word benevolentia.[4]
It is also a rarely used medical term referring to a state of normal mental health.[5] Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes.[1]
In popular culture
edit- Eunoia is a work by poet Christian Bök consisting of five chapters, each one using only one vowel.
- In the science-fiction television series Earth: Final Conflict, Eunoia is the name of the native language of the Taelon race. Christian Bök was a consultant on that series and helped develop the language.
- The debut album of math rock band Invalids.[6]
- In December 2015, the Ministry of Education in Singapore unveiled the name of a new junior College set to open in 2017, Eunoia Junior College. The unfamiliar name generated significant buzz in the Singapore community when it was first announced,[7] including memes referencing Singlish homophones.[8]
- Eunoia Technologies is the name of the firm Christopher Wylie founded after leaving Cambridge Analytica
- In classical music, Eunoia is a piano composition by Juan María Solare in the key of C Major (2021)
- In 2023, South Korean group Billlie released the album The Billage of Perception: Chapter Three featuring the lead single "Eunoia" [9][unreliable source?]
- In 2024, Japanese band Envy_(band) announced the release of their 8th album, 'Eunoia'. [10]
See also
edit- Iouea, a similarly short word with all the vowels.
References
edit- ^ a b "Beautiful vowels". Today (BBC Radio 4). BBC. 30 October 2008.
Eunoia is the shortest word in English containing all five vowels - and it means "beautiful thought". It is also the title of Canadian poet Christian Bok's book of fiction in which each chapter uses only one vowel.
- ^ Garver, Eugene (1994). Aristotle's Rhetoric: An Art of Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780226284255.
- ^ "The Family In Aristotle". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
- ^ Gloria Vivenza, "Classical Roots of Benevolence in Economic Thought," Ancient Economic Thought (Routledge, 1997) pp. 198–199, 204–208 online; Cicero's influence on patristic usage, Carolinne White, Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century (Cambridge University Press, 1992, 2002), pp. 16–17 online, 32, and p. 255, note 13.
- ^ Definition: eunoia from Online Medical Dictionary
- ^ Davis, Pete (2012). "Invalids discography". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ There’s going to be a new junior college called Eunoia; here’s how to pronounce it
- ^ "What kinda weird school name is this la sial?!". Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ Billlie | 'EUNOIA' M/V
- ^ ENVY - EUNOIA
External links
edit
The dictionary definition of eunoia at Wiktionary
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