Yes, A. and I are both big Harry Potter fans. Yesterday, as A. started reading the first Harry Potter book for about the 6th or 7th time, I again asked myself the question I had asked myself ever since I learned that in Britain the first Harry Potter book is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, while in America, it is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone... Why the difference?
A. made some snide comment about Americans not knowing what a philosopher was. I chuckled and agreed that might be a possibility, but was not happy with the answer. So, as a reference librarian, I did what reference librarians always do when confronted with such a question... I did some research!
The first thing I decided is that I needed a proper definition of "philosopher" or perhaps "philosopher's stone" as that was obviously where the answer lay...
According to The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a philosopher is 1.) a reflective thinker: SCHOLAR 2.) a student or specialist in philosophy 3.) one whose philosophical perspective enables him to meet trouble calmly.
(I must say, I just about busted a gut when I read the last definition... I think it is hilarious! But I digress...)
OK, so much for the American definition of "philosopher" helping me out... I then decided I needed a British definition, but alas, I don't have a British English dictionary. However, I knew where I needed to turn... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)! In case you are unaware, the OED is the biggest, baddest, English dictionary ever produced. It has a history dating back over a hundred years, is over 20 volumes, and is accepted as the definitive source of the English language. Unfortunately, it is also only available online via subscription. However, there is also a site that is called AskOxford.com, which allows you to search The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, so I decided it would have to do.
According to it, a philosopher is "[noun] a person engaged or learned in philosophy." (Boy, that wasn't very helpful either.) But there was also an entry for the philosopher's stone, which is "[noun] a mythical substance supposed to change any metal into gold or silver." Of course, I already knew that much since I too have read Harry Potter 5 or 6 times.
I felt a little discouraged. I still didn't have an answer to my question. So, I decided on another approach. I would look for information on Harry Potter and that particular book. But there are so many Harry Potter sites out there, I barely knew where to begin. Upon browsing through my Google list I spied one entitled, "The Harry Potter Lexicon." I thought it sounded very promising and it turned out to be just what I needed. I also have to plug this site. It has to be one of the best Harry Potter sites I have ever seen.
According to the HP Lexicon, Scholastic (the HP publisher in the States) changed the title because they thought that no American kid would buy a book with the word "philosopher" in the title. (click here for the complete information)
So I guess A. wasn't that far off after all when he deduced that no American kid would know what a philosopher was. They might know, but I guess for American kids, the term philosopher doesn't conjure up the kind of image Scholastic thought would sell books!
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