facticity

English

WOTD – 26 May 2019

Etymology

fact +‎ -icity, possibly modelled on German Faktizität[1] which first appeared in the writings of the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fækˈtɪsɪti/
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /fækˈtɪsɪti/, [-ɾi]
Hyphenation: fact‧i‧ci‧ty

Noun

facticity (usually uncountable, plural facticities)

(uncountable) The quality or state of being a fact.
(uncountable, specifically, philosophy) In existentialism, the state of being in the world without any knowable reason for such existence, or of being in a particular state of affairs which one has no control over.
Synonym: thrownness
(countable) A fact that is not changeable or that is assumed to be true without further evaluation.
Synonym: given

Related terms

Terms related to facticity

Translations

quality or state of being a fact

Estonian: faktilisus
French: facticité (fr) f
Italian: fatticità f

Spanish: facticidad f
Swedish: fakticitet (sv)

state of being in the world without any knowable reason for such existence, or of being in a particular state of affairs which one has no control over

Estonian: faktilisus
French: facticité (fr) f
German: Faktizität (de) f
Icelandic: staðvera
Italian: fatticità f

Norwegian: faktisitet
Portuguese: facticidade f
Spanish: facticidad f
Swedish: fakticitet (sv)

fact that is not changeable or that is assumed to be true without further evaluation

References

“facticity, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2014; “facticity” (US) / “facticity” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.