Solipsism
The doctrine that I alone exist. The self can know only its feelings and changes. There is only subjective reality.
Solipsism is of importance to philosophy and psychology. Rene Descartes (1596-1650), the French mathematician, physicist and “father of modern philosophy”, made solipsism a central issue in philosophy. Since solipsism has to do with how we learn and know, it concerns cognitive psychology.
The word “solipsism” is a composite of the Latin “solus” (“alone”) and “ipse” (“self”) = the self alone.
Read Also:
- Solitude, fear of
“autos” (self) and “phobos” (fear). “Autos” has given us many English words such as “automatic” and “automotive” (self-moving) and “autonomy” (self-governing). And “phobos” has bequeathed us a vast number of phobias such as “claustrophobia” (fear of closed places) and “acrophobia” (fear of heights).
- Somatic
1. Relating to the body. a. As distinguished from the mind (the psyche). b. From the Greek word somatikos meaning body.
- Somatic cell
Any cell in the body other than an egg or sperm.
- Somatic cell nuclear transfer
The transfer of the nucleus from a somatic cell into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed.
- Somatization
The normal, unconscious process by which psychological distress is expressed as physical symptoms. For example, a person with clinical depression may complain of stomach pains that prove to have no physical cause. Counseling can be helpful to overcome somatization.