different between nescient vs nescience

English

Noun

nescient (plural nescients)

1. An ignorant person.
2. One who holds that only material phenomena can be known and knowledge of spiritual matters (the unmeasurable) or ultimate causes is impossible.

Adjective

nescient (comparative more nescient, superlative most nescient)

1. ignorant, unlearned
2. unbelieving

Related terms

• nescience

Latin

Verb

nescient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of nesci?

English

Etymology

From Latin nescientia, from the present participle of nescire.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?n?s??ns/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n???ns/

Noun

nescience (countable and uncountable, plural nesciences)

1. The absence of knowledge, especially of orthodox beliefs.
   • 1911, Ralph Barton Perry, "Notes on the Philosophy of Henri Bergson," The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, vol. 8, no. 26, p. 720,

     To lapse from knowledge into nescience is always possible—there is no law of God or man forbidding it.

   • 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:

     Algernon, in a condition of masculine nescience, lets himself become engaged to a woman of whom he knows nothing.

2. (philosophy) The doctrine that nothing is actually knowable.
   • 1895, J. G. Schurman, "Agnosticism," The Philosophical Review, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 244,

     The theory of nescience is but the obverse of the fact of science.

Related terms

• nescient

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “nescience”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?.sj??s/

Noun

nescience f (plural nesciences)

1. nescience