An ivory tower is a state of privileged seclusion from the practicalities of real life. An ivory tower can be a place where people choose to disconnect from the rest of the world to follow of their own interests, usually mental or esoteric ones. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life.[1] The term is often used now to refer to academia or the college and university systems.[2][3]
The term originated from the Biblical Song of Songs (7:4) with a different meaning and was later used as an epithet for Mary.[4]
- ^ Shapin, Steven (2012). "The Ivory Tower: the history of a figure of speech and its cultural uses" (PDF). The British Journal for the History of Science. 45 (1): 1–27. doi:10.1017/S0007087412000118. ISSN 1474-001X. S2CID 145660804.
- ^ Professor X (2011). In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: The Truth About College. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-47620-8.
- ^ Skowronek, Russell; Lewis, Kenneth (2010). Beneath the Ivory Tower: The Archaeology of Academia. University Press of Florida. ISBN 9780813034225.
- ^ "Mary, the Ivory Tower ~ Cardinal Newman - Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman". Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman. 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2018-05-12.