Glossary

The tyranny of merit is a concept popularized by philosopher Michael Sandel describing how the ideal of meritocracy becomes a destructive force in modern society. It refers to the dual burden of a meritocratic system: it justifies the unequal distribution of wealth and status as morally ea

In political philosophy, the common good refers to the shared facilities, values, and social conditions that benefit all members of a community, transcending individual preferences and private interests. It emphasizes social solidarity, mutual obligation, and the collective responsibility

Meritocratic hubris is the tendency of successful individuals in a meritocratic system to believe that their achievements are entirely self-made, leading to an attitude of moral superiority and entitlement. This mindset overlooks the role of luck, inherited privilege, and social support sy

The "select minority" is a philosophical concept introduced by José Ortega y Gasset to describe individuals—regardless of social class—who hold themselves to rigorous standards of self-demand, intellectual humility, and personal responsibility, actively striving for excellence rather than

The "mass man" is a psychological and cultural archetype conceptualized by Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset to describe an individual who feels entirely average, is content with their mediocrity, demands rights without obligations, and actively seeks to impose conformity on others.

Radical ingratitude is a psychological state identified by José Ortega y Gasset wherein individuals enjoy the material, technological, and political benefits of modern civilization as if they were natural phenomena, completely oblivious to the historical effort, sacrifice, and specialized

Qualia are the subjective, qualitative properties of conscious experiences—the "what it is like" aspect of mental states. Examples of qualia include the specific redness of a rose, the sharpness of a physical pain, the taste of a lemon, or the warmth of a fire. These subjective experiences

Physicalism is the philosophical thesis that everything that exists is ultimately physical, or supervenes on physical entities, properties, and laws. In the philosophy of mind, physicalism asserts that mental states, consciousness, and subjective experiences are entirely identical to, or p

Collective pretence is a social phenomenon where members of a group or society mutually agree to uphold an illusion or narrative that they privately know to be false, in order to maintain social order or navigate a rigid system.

Hyper-normalisation is the collective, performative maintenance of a failing societal system by citizens and leaders who are fully aware of its failures but act as if it is functioning normally due to a lack of perceived alternatives.