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Solipsism

Philosophy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Solipsism is the extreme view that only one’s own mind is sure to exist, casting doubt on external reality and other minds.

Detailed Definition
Poetry dramatizes solipsism through isolated speakers, inward spirals, or existential loneliness. Yet it often transcends it—using language, addressed to a "you," to bridge the gap between self and world, proving connection through form.
Example
Example in poetry:
Emily Dickinson’s reclusive poems often imply a world constructed by her perception alone; Wallace Stevens’s "The Snow Man" suggests reality depends on the perceiver’s emptiness; solipsism haunts Samuel Beckett’s poetic fragments on isolated consciousness; the speaker of Sylvia Plath’s "Daddy" constructs a world dominated by the father’s image; solipsism appears in John Ashbery’s "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror," where self-reference loops endlessly.
Additional Notes
Solipsism doubts other minds exist; poetic solipsism appears in isolated speakers (Plath, Ashbery), inward spirals, or linguistic self-reference; however, the lyric “I” addressing a “you” often implicitly refutes solipsism—students should note how form (e.g., apostrophe) creates intersubjective bridges even in despair.
Also Known As
Egoism (in extreme forms) Subjective Idealism
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