Commentary In a famous passage of his “History of the Peloponnesian War,” the Greek general and historian Thucydides describes the frightful anomie that spread throughout the Hellenic world in the aftermath of the revolution in Corcyra. “To fit in with the change of events,” Thucydides wrote, “words, too, had to change their usual meanings.” Important words like “virtue,” “prudence,” “loyalty,” “cowardice,” and “courage” all underwent a revolution. They came to denote activities and attitudes that were perverted versions of their original meanings. A revolution in the meanings of words generally instigates a revolution in philosophy. Despite what many modern philosophers say, philosophy is not about words. Ultimately philosophy will always be about the realities that language points to but never captures: knowledge, the Good, the ultimate vocation of mankind. Nevertheless, words are philosophy’s primary medium of exchange. And language, like currency, can undergo inflationary and deflationary pressure; it can be …