The Oxford English Dictionary defines "perseity" as "the quality or condition of existing independendly". This is where the phrase "per se" comes from. Medieval scholastic Duns Scotus translated an Aristotelian Greek word into the Latin "perseitas". From there, it became the English "perseity". Although this word never gained currency, it is the core definition of reality in our culture. --- Source: [[Reference Notes/New Self, New World]]