Etymology

thing-in-itself

Today it means: A thing as it is independent of any conceptualization or perception by the human mind, postulated by practical reason but existing in a condition which is in principle unknowable and unexperienceable. Full definition →

German Ding an sich
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. German · calque ofDing an sich
  2. English todaything-in-itself

Literal translation of the German Ding an sich.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.