In 'A Classification of Academic Philosophers' under the 'Contemplations' series five types of academic philosophers were classified, namely the non-philosophers, the pseudo-philosophers, the sub-philosophers, the true philosophers and the supra-philosophers. The true philosopher was there depicted as one who truly loves wisdom and sincerely seeks it out without dogmatically clinging to one philosophy.1 This seems in contradiction with the definition of the true philosopher as given in 'True Philosophy' under the same series. For there the true philosopher was defined as one who has realized buddhi and the Christ-principle, putting him on the same level as the Buddha and the Christ.2 This definition of the true philosopher seems much more to correspond with the description of the supra-philosopher as one who has realized wisdom and embodies both wisdom and love.
It must however be understood that the first contemplation was conducted within the borders of the academic etymology of 'philosophy' while the latter contemplation was conducted from an own etymosophy of 'philosophy'. Where philosophy is etymologically understood as love for wisdom, and a philosopher subsequently as a lover of wisdom, there the true philosopher should be understood as one who truly loves wisdom and seeks it out. However where philosophy is etymosophically understood as love-wisdom, being the intuitive principle in man, there the true philosopher should be understood as one who has realized that love-wisdom principle. The etymosophical true philosopher thus corresponds with the etymological supra-philosopher. That is also why it is stated that the supra-philosopher is not likely to be found at academic universities. Etymology is academic while etymosophy is contemplative.3 And since contemplation is a more fundamental activity for gaining knowledge than academic research,4 making etymosophy more reliable than etymology, should the definition of a philosopher as 'one who has realized love-wisdom' also be taken as more fundamental than the definition that holds a philosopher to be 'one who loves and seeks out wisdom'. In the latter case we have only to do with the academic true philosopher, while in the former case we have to do with the contemplative true philosopher, who by grace of contemplation being more fundamental than academic research then should be considered as the truest philosopher.
The philosopher who loves wisdom and seeks it out can on his own level be considered as being a true philosopher, however the truest philosopher is the one who has realized his faculty of intuition.