pataphysics

American  

[pat-uh-fiz-iks] / ˌpæt əˈfɪz ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. a supposed branch of philosophy or science that studies imaginary phenomena beyond the realm of metaphysics; the science of imaginary solutions.

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Example Sentences

His series, called Best Before End, memorialises the freewheeling decline of the west, which, to paraphrase Alfred Jarry, the founding father of pataphysics, is best conceived of as a downhill bicycle race sponsored by a major-brand energy drink, in which all of the pursuit riders have the red head of the Minotaur.

From The Guardian

His egg-shaped P�re Ubu of monstrous honesty, the grotesque Dr. Faustroll with his science of 'Pataphysics and his Caesar-Antichrist are the collective grandparents of the theaters of cruelty and the absurd.

From Time Magazine Archive