Solipsism, from Latin roots meaning ‘alone’ and ‘self,’ is one of philosophy’s most mind-bending positions: the idea that only your own mind can be known to exist for sure. Everything else—the outside world, other people, this very article you’re reading—might just be projections within your own consciousness.
This head-spinning concept has captivated thinkers from ancient Greeks to contemporary novelists, making us question what we know about reality, knowledge, and human connection. Let’s dive into some books that explore this rabbit hole of philosophical thinking and what it means for how we see ourselves and others.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
In his doorstop of a novel Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace digs into the soul-crushing implications of solipsistic thinking while trying to build a way out of its lonely maze. Wallace pushes readers beyond mere navel-gazing toward something more meaningful—recognizing others’ pain through genuine empathy. While Sartre famously claimed ‘hell is other people,’ Wallace leans more toward Wittgenstein’s take that ‘Hell isn’t other people. Hell is yourself’. Being trapped inside your own head, Wallace suggests, is the real nightmare—’a hell for one.’ Throughout the novel, characters like Don Gately discover that sharing pain with others can crack through the solipsistic walls we build, creating real connections that break through our isolation.
The Solipsism of Modern Fiction by Harold Kaplan
Harold Kaplan’s deep dive The Solipsism of Modern Fiction looks at how modern literature reflects our philosophical crisis through characters stuck in their own heads—skeptical, self-obsessed, and morally adrift. Kaplan shows how the scientific revolution transformed literature, replacing action-oriented heroes with characters imprisoned in their own consciousness. The book tackles works by literary heavy-hitters like Flaubert, Joyce, Conrad, Faulkner, Lawrence, and Hemingway, examining how they portray individuals stranded in their subjective islands, desperately trying to make sense of a confusing world. Through close readings of novels like Madame Bovary, Light in August, Ulysses, and Lord Jim, Kaplan spotlights the fundamental tension between understanding and action that sits at the heart of the solipsistic dilemma.
God, Suffering and Solipsism by Clement Dore
Clement Dore’s God, Suffering and Solipsism tackles the tricky intersection between religious thought and solipsistic perspectives, particularly how suffering fits into both worlds. Published back in 1989 by Palgrave Macmillan, this philosophical work explores the tension between solipsism’s radical me-centered view and religious traditions that assume there’s a real God out there somewhere. The book offers fascinating insights for anyone wondering how solipsistic thinking messes with traditional religious frameworks, while also considering whether concepts of God might help us escape solipsism’s lonely prison. Dore’s analysis really helps us understand how questions about suffering, isolation, and meaning play out across both philosophical and theological territories.
Solipsisme et Intersubjectivité by Jean-Luc Petit
Jean-Luc Petit’s Solipsisme et Intersubjectivité: Quinze leçons sur Husserl et Wittgenstein breaks down how two philosophical giants tackled the problem of solipsism and how we connect with other minds. Through fifteen detailed lessons, Petit explores how phenomenology and linguistic philosophy offer different but complementary ways to understand consciousness and human connection. Husserl’s phenomenological method starts with the contents of your own consciousness, which risks solipsism but ultimately tries to find paths to genuine connection with others. Meanwhile, Wittgenstein’s famous private language argument challenges solipsism by asking whether purely private experience even makes sense. Though it’s mainly available in French, this 1996 book remains a must-read for anyone serious about twentieth-century philosophy.
Against Solipsism by Aurora Linnea
Aurora Linnea’s more recent book, …Against Solipsism… (2018), offers a fresh take on solipsistic thinking in our digital age. This Portland-published work examines how modern tech both connects us online while potentially making our solipsistic tendencies worse through algorithms that basically just echo our existing views back at us. Linnea’s approach gives us new insights into how social media and other digital tools can both fight against and reinforce solipsistic patterns in our lives today. By looking at solipsism through the lens of our 21st-century experience, the book helps us see how ancient questions about our isolated consciousness take on new forms in our hyperconnected yet strangely disconnected modern world.
Henri Michaux: The Poet of Supreme Solipsism by Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Durrell’s Henri Michaux: The Poet of Supreme Solipsism zooms in on how solipsistic thinking shows up in poetry and creative writing. This 1990 publication from Delos Press digs into the work of experimental French poet Henri Michaux, whose surrealist writings often explore inner consciousness with barely a nod to shared reality. Durrell, a pretty famous novelist himself, brings a writer’s eye to analyzing how Michaux’s poetry creates self-contained universes that make readers question what’s real. If you’re more into the artistic side of solipsism rather than the purely philosophical stuff, this slim but insightful book offers a great way into understanding how solipsistic perspectives can fuel some pretty wild creative work.
Vom Verschwinden des Subjekts by Andrea Birk
Andrea Birk’s Vom Verschwinden des Subjekts: Eine historisch-systematische Untersuchung zur Solipsismusproblematik bei Wittgenstein delivers a thorough historical investigation of how Wittgenstein approached solipsism. Published in 2006 by Mentis, this German-language work traces how Wittgenstein’s thinking evolved from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the Philosophical Investigations, particularly focusing on how his views on solipsism developed throughout his career. Birk explains why Wittgenstein saw solipsism as one of philosophy’s central puzzles and how his famous private language argument basically pulls the rug out from under solipsistic positions. While you’ll need to read German to tackle this one, it provides one of the most comprehensive takes on solipsism within Wittgenstein’s influential philosophical system.