Philosophy that doesn't dress up the path through life (8)
I believe the answer is:
naturism
'life' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'philosophy that doesn't dress up the path' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'philosophy' could be 'ism' (synonyms) and 'ism' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'through' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for naturism that I've seen before include "assuming nothing!" , "Group nudity" , "Practice of going around naked" , "outdoor pursuit" , "letting it all hang out!" .)