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I think it should be "philosopher", but I am not sure.

Does philosophy encompass all subject matter?

Is there a word that describes someone who studies all subjects?

So, if a scientist studies science, and a theologian studies religion, is there a word for someone who studies both?

A sample sentence might be:

The '_____' is constantly learning, because the universe is infinite.

Here is an analogy:

Science is to Scientist as Everything is to '_____'.

Edit:

The word is likely to end with -ist or -er. The word should describe a person who specifically studies everything. My made up word would be: "everythingologist".

takintoolong
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    Philomath, polymath, pansophist, etc. – vickyace Apr 08 '17 at 18:20
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    A less formal and precise equivalent of "polymath" is "renaissance man" (or woman). – BoldBen Apr 08 '17 at 18:35
  • I am looking for a word that means "someone who studies everything". This person would likely ALSO be a philomath, polymath, pansophist, and a reaissance man. This word would likely end with -ist, or -er. Thank you for the edit, that looks better. – takintoolong Apr 08 '17 at 18:39
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    A polymath is someone who studies and is an expert in a vast range of topics. No one is capable of studying all topics. – Hot Licks Apr 08 '17 at 18:44
  • Ok, so maybe there is not a specific word, but the suggestions here have given me some more options, thank you. – takintoolong Apr 08 '17 at 18:48
  • What @vickyace said. There is also dilettante, which is a less serious studier of lots of things: wide but typically not deep study/interest. – Drew Apr 08 '17 at 20:42
  • I’m thinking *overambitious* or *drastically oversubscribed*... ;-) – Jim Apr 09 '17 at 02:38

1 Answers1

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Funny you should ask that.

Philosophy meant "love of wisdom" in the original Greek. It encompassed many entities that today are viewed as separate disciplines. Certainly the famous line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet would indicate that back in Shakespeare's time philosophy still included natural sciences, though not necessarily art and literature:

There are more things in heav'n and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamed of in your philosophy.

Later on, fields besides natural sciences became separate disciplines, such as theology and philosophy in the modern sense of the word.

I'm afraid there is no precise word that would describe a person who actually studies (i.e. has a working familiarity with) every possible discipline out there.

a pansophist

is a person who claims or pretends to have studied everything

a polymath

is someone who is versed in more than one, though not necessarily all, disciplines.

Ricky
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