Trevor asked:

In the obituary of a very distant relative of mine, the following sentence occurs: “It is as an author of
valuable books on theology and azilosophy-philosophy that Dr. Miall Edwards will live long in the
memory of Welsh ministers and studious laymen.”

Question: What is 'azilosophy'? I have searched the Net, the complete edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary(including the Supplement). Nothing.

The deceased was Dr. David Miall Edwards, a liberal, non-conformist Welsh theologian, who died
1941. Was 'azilosophy' a mis-hearing by the newspaper reporter? If so, what was the word he
misheard, please?

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I don't think that there is any such word as 'azilosophy'; I haven't been able to find it either, so it is
likely that your reporter just got it wrong. The individual in question was a liberal theologian you say:
an appropriate word that springs to my mind is 'axiology'. The Encarta dictionary defines 'axiology' as
the 'study of the nature, types, and governing criteria of values and value judgements.' It comes from
the Greek 'axia' meaning 'value'. Axiological considerations about the universe are sometimes
discussed in theology along with 'nomological' considerations: what is the relationship between the
values Christians feel about the world, and the world's law-governed deterministic nature.

Adam Gatward