Word of the Week – February 5, 2022

Haecceity

Noun

Latin, 17th century

The property of being a unique and individual thing.  From the medieval Latin “haecceitas” – “haec,” feminine of “hic,” meaning “this.”

Haecceity is a philosophical concept attributed to Scottish Catholic priest and university professor John Duns Scotus. He defined it as a non-qualitative property of a substance or thing that is responsible for its individuation and identity, such as a particular person’s unique identity. Interestingly, Scotus is also where the term “dunces” originated from. His opponents equated Duns’ followers, who argued against Renaissance humanism, to dullards incapable of scholarship.

Example: I finally realized my haecceity prevents me from being placed in categories designed by others.

3 Comments

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3 responses to “Word of the Week – February 5, 2022

  1. An interesting sounding word! And a good characteristic- individuality

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