What is "philosophaster"

Philosophaster \Phi*los"o*phas`ter\, n. [L., a bad philosopher, fr. philosophus: cf. OF. philosophastre.] A pretender to philosophy. [Obs.]
--Dr. H. More.

n. a pretender to philosophy; a petty or charlatan philosopher.

Philosophaster is a Latin satirical comedy by Robert Burton. He began writing the play in 1606 and completed it by 1615. It was performed by students in the Hall of Christ Church, Oxford on 16 February 1618 ( New Style). The play was not published in Burton's life-time and it remained in manuscript till 1862 when it was edited by William Edward Buckley and published by the Roxburghe Club. It was first translated into English by Paul Jordan-Smith and published by Stanford University Press, California in 1931.

Since the play is about someone who pretends to be a philosopher, the term itself has been used in more recent times to refer to a pretender to philosophy.