solipsism
- The philosophical view that only one's own mind is certain to exist and that the external world and other minds cannot be known or proven to be real.
- More broadly, a self-centered worldview or the tendency to regard oneself as the only thing that truly matters.
In a sentence
- The philosopher argued that Descartes's method of radical doubt risks collapsing into solipsism.
- Critics accused the memoir of a kind of solipsism, as if nothing existed beyond the author's own feelings.
Usage note. In strict philosophical usage, solipsism is an epistemological position about the limits of knowledge; in everyday use it loosely describes extreme self-centeredness, so clarify which sense you intend.
Where it comes from
English solipsism · entered English 1880s
Coined in the late 19th century from Latin 'solus,' meaning 'alone,' and 'ipse,' meaning 'self,' with the suffix '-ism.' The term was introduced into English philosophical discourse around the 1880s as a label for an extreme skeptical position.