Topics Existence

Question What is an abstract concept, exactly? Is there any consensus regarding their definition among philosophers? What would be an example of a non-abstract concept then? And why? Thanks for your time (Juan J.).

Accepted:
April 6, 2011

Comments

good question. I might rephrase it slightly: which concepts are concepts of abstract things? then we offer one kind of definition of an abstract thing: a thing which (say) isn't located (or isn't the kind of thing to be located) in any one particular time or space. On this definition many concepts would not be of abstract things, such as the concepts of a chair, or a tree, or a building -- for each of these is the kind of thing, of physical material thing, which does enjoy locations. There may also be "mental things", "minds", which fit this definition, but then that depends on just what your concept of "mind" is! (Some philosophers think the mental is ultimately physical in nature, others not, which might affect how to classify it with respect to the 'abstract.') Then lots of other things would fall into the abstract category: concepts of truth, justice, freedom, many mathematical concepts, for example. Or to get very philosophical here: there is much debate whether we can have concepts of "general" or "universal" things, as opposed to "particular" things. For example, it's one thing to think of a particular tree (say, the oak tree located in your yard); it's another to think of the category of "oak trees", which somehow encompasses every single particular oak tree without being identical to any one particular tree; it's another again to think of "trees in general", which somehow encompasses every single particular tree, oak and non-oak, past present and future ... The concept of the particular tree in your front yard is not abstract, by our definition; that of "tree in general" may well be (since "tree in general" must leave out many of traits which distinguish one kind of tree from another); and that of "oak trees", well that's somewhere in between.

that's a start, anyway!
best,

Question What is an abstract concept, exactly? Is there any consensus regarding their definition among philosophers? What would be an example of a non-abstract concept then? And why? Thanks for your time (Juan J.). Accepted:April 6, 2011

Question What is an abstract concept, exactly? Is there any consensus regarding their definition among philosophers? What would be an example of a non-abstract concept then? And why? Thanks for your time (Juan J.).

Accepted:
April 6, 2011