Pregiven
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 That which is actual, as opposed to our concepts or apprehension of the world. uncountable
"However, mining an analytic vein above that of Kant's work, Husserl distinguishes clearly between the pregiven to human experience and what is given to the human consciousness that gives the pregiven form, making it pass from the "hidden" to the "apparent," to the given."
- 1 Existing in the world, as opposed to arising from human apprehension.
"For example, when a red spot on a sheet of paper strongly stimulates me, the whiteness of the paper as well as the red spot are pregiven and both of them undergo the structurization of “figure-ground.”"
- 2 Naturally occurring, as opposed to being socially constructed.
"The geographical cohesion of state space is never pregiven but is the product of specific programs and initiatives that directly or indirectly impact state spatial structures and the geographies of state policy."
- 3 Provided beforehand; present at the start.
"For Schmitt, such a conception is contradictory, since he believes that in democracy such a will has to be pregiven at the outset and cannot be the product of discussion."
Example
More examples"For example, when a red spot on a sheet of paper strongly stimulates me, the whiteness of the paper as well as the red spot are pregiven and both of them undergo the structurization of “figure-ground.”"
Etymology
From pre- + given. The philosophical sense is a calque of the German term Vorgegeben.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.