weltwelt

Weltwelt is a term used in speculative metaphysics and certain strands of science fiction to describe a self-referential or all-encompassing reality. The word appears to be formed from the German Welt (world) repeated, with the repetition signaling totality, self-reference, or a hierarchical nesting of universes—a world within a world.

Definition and scope: In theoretical discussions, weltwelt refers to a level of reality that both contains and is constituted by its own sub-worlds. It is used to discuss ontologies in which worlds are not isolated but interdependent, and where the line between world and representation becomes blurred. The concept is usually employed as a philosophical or narrative device rather than an empirically grounded theory.

Usage: The term appears occasionally in academic essays on metaphysics or in narrative contexts to describe settings with recursive or nested realities. It is not widely standardized, and its precise meaning varies by author or work. In some usages, it functions as a heuristic for thinking about meta-level structures that govern multiple coexisting worlds.

Relation to other concepts: Weltwelt is distinct from Weltanschauung (worldview) and from broader notions of the multiverse or simulation hypotheses. Some writers compare weltwelt to a meta-world or a simulation-ground that models all subordinate worlds. See also: Weltanschauung; multiverse; simulation hypothesis.