Atopy (Greek ατοπία, atopía; Socrates has often been called "átopos")[1] is a concept describing the ineffability of things or emotions that are seldom experienced, that are outstanding and that are original in the strict sense. It is a certain quality (of experience) that can be observed within oneself or within others, differing from the ideal quality that is conceptualized, not experienced.[2]
French literary theorist Roland Barthes discussed and reevaluated the concept of atopy multiple times in his work. In , Barthes defined it as "unclassifiable, of a ceaselessly unforeseen originality", referring to the circumstance, an atopia, in which atopy is intercommunicated in interest and love.[3] Previously, in The Pleasure of the Text, he regarded pleasure itself as atopic,[4] saying that "the pleasure of the text is scandalous: not because it is immoral but because it is atopic."[5]
Icelandic singer Björk credited Barthes' interpretation of atopy as a main inspiration for the lyrics of her 2022 song "Atopos".[6]