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Friday November 20, 2009

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solipsism [SOL-ip-siz-uhm]

noun

1. The philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist.

• Mr. Parry says he was not a fan of social-media platforms such as Twitter at first. He wrote on his blog, "I thought it represented the apex of what concerns me about internet technology: solipsism and sound-bite communication.
  Karen Goldberg Goff, "Colleges tweet skills on art of Twittering", Washington Times, Sep 30, 2009
• At about the same time, John Lennon wrote Imagine, calling for an end to war -- but even he never purported to be the Messiah. Liverpool versus Los Angeles; grounded feet versus solipsism from Hollywood.
  Phillip Hodson, "Even Lennon didn't think he was the Messiah", The Times, Aug 28, 2009
• Then there is Lee Siegel's ''Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob,'' which inveighs against the Internet for encouraging solipsism, debased discourse and arrant commercialization. Mr. Siegel, one might remember, was suspended by The New Republic for using a fake online persona in order to trash critics of his blog (''you couldn't tie Siegel's shoelaces'') and to praise himself (''brave, brilliant'').
  Patricia Cohen, "Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?", New York Times, Feb 14, 2008

Origin of the Word

Solipsism, approximately 1874, derives from Latin solus "alone" + ipse "self."