sybaritic (en)

fond of sensuous luxury or pleasure; self-indulgent (derives from the Greek city Sybaris)

syllogistic (en)

(noun) a deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion (as in “every virtue is laudable; kindness is a virtue; therefore kindness is laudable”) / (noun) a subtle, specious, or crafty argument / (noun) deductive reasoning

sylph (en)

(noun) an elemental being in the theory of Paracelsus that inhabits air / (noun) a slender graceful woman or girl

sylvan (en)

(noun) one that frequents groves or woods / (adjective) living or located in the woods or forest / (adjective) of, relating to, or characteristic of the woods or forest / (adjective) made, shaped, or formed of woods or trees / (adjective) abounding in woods, groves, or trees; wooded

sylvanshine (en)

an optical phenomenon in which dew-covered trees of species whose leaves are wax-covered retroreflect beams of light

symbolic efficiency (en)

an idea that Zizek apparently talks about a lot, which he borrows from Lacan (?): that facts become true only if they are known by the “big Other” (public opinion, social values, etc) in addition to ourselves

symbolic violence (en)

a term used by Slavoj Žižek to refer to a form of objective violence that has to do with language

synaptic (en)

(adjective) of or relating to a synapsis / (adjective) of or relating to a synapse

syncopal (en)

(noun) loss of consciousness resulting from insufficient blood flow to the brain; faint / (noun) the loss of one or more sounds or letters in the interior of a word (as in fo'c'sle for forecastle)

syncopated (en)

(adjective) cut short; abbreviated / (adjective) marked by or exhibiting syncopation

syncretism (en)

the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion

syndical (en)

of or relating to a union of persons engaged in a particular trade

synecdoche (en)

a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage)

synoptic (en)

(adjective) affording a general view of a whole / (adjective) manifesting or characterized by comprehensiveness or breadth of view / (adjective) presenting or taking the same or common view

synthetic freedom (en)

freedom that needs to be materially produced (a formal right that without a material capacity is worthless); introduced in Inventing the Future

systemic violence (en)

a term used by Slavoj Žižek to refer to a form of objective violence that underlies our economic and political systems

syzygy (en)

(noun) the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system

szlachta (en)

a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland; gained considerable institutional privileges between 1333 and 1370 during the reign of King Casimir III the Great

tabula rasa (en)

(noun) the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions / (noun) something existing in its original pristine state (philosophy)

talion (en)

(from the Latin talio) a retaliation authorized by law, in which the punishment corresponds in kind and degree to the injury (eye for an eye)

tangelos (en)

a citrus fruit hybrid of tangerine and pomelo or grapefruit

tannic (en)

(adjective) of, resembling, or derived from tan or a tannin / (adjective) containing an abundance of tannins; markedly astringent / (noun) tannin

tarrying (en)

(verb) to delay or be tardy in acting or doing / (verb) to linger in expectation; wait / (verb) to abide or stay in or at a place

tax dumping (en)

aka tax competition (the practice of attracting international business by undercutting other countries' tax rates)

teleological (en)

the philosophical attempt to describe things in terms of their apparent intrinsic purpose, directive principle, or goal, irrespective of human use or opinion