Unh, Thag Use Big Word…

and nine-tenths of the population probably has no clue what Thag meant. I have come across the word solipsism or one of its variants three times in one day. That’s not exactly a common word among the general population, yet the first two times I met it, I nodded politely and read on. The third time, however, I was a bit annoyed. What was with these authors, anyway, using words that I couldn’t immediately define and illustrate? So I did what less than ten percent of readers ever do — I looked it up.

Solipsism, in a nutshell, is the idea that the self is the only verifiable reality. It is often used  — with only slight imprecision — to mean egotism. But solipsism is more than the mere narcissism that “egotism” suggests to the untutored. (Narcissism and egotism are actually two different things, though the words are often used as synonyms.) Solipsism says, essentially, that the only thing one can truly claim objective, observational proof of is oneself. You cannot rationally, objectively prove that I exist. What if I am a phantasm conjured by your imagination to give you opportunity to interact or to provide confirmation of your decisions?

Solipsistic writing, then, would be a written creation that claims that its creator is the only real thing in existence. Egotistic writing, on the other hand, would claim that its creator was the only important or worthy thing in existence. And narcissistic writing would reflect the writer’s consuming self-love.

Hope that clarifies things for any others who were attacked by four-syllable words at every meal today. And I hope it nudges writers to provide some sort of definition for the uncommon words that they choose to use — at least the first time that they use them — since most readers are disinclined to break the flow of their reading by grabbing the dictionary.

Tags: definition, meaning, usage