idea

idea
(Gk., eidos, visible form) A notion stretching all the way from one pole, where it denotes a subjective, internal presence in the mind, somehow thought of as representing something about the world, to the other pole, where it represents an eternal, timeless unchanging form or concept: the concept of the number series or of justice, for example, thought of as independent objects of enquiry and perhaps of knowledge. These two poles are not distinct meanings of the term, although they give rise to many problems of interpretation, but between them they define a space of philosophical problems. On the one hand, ideas are that with which we think, or in Locke's terms, whatever the mind may be employed about in thinking. Looked at that way they seem to be inherently transient, fleeting, and unstable private presences. On the other hand, ideas provide the way in which objective knowledge can be expressed. They are the essential components of understanding, and any intelligible proposition that 184 is true must be capable of being understood. Plato's theory of forms is a celebration of the objective and timeless existence of ideas as concepts, and in his hands ideas are reified to the point where they make up the only real world, of separate and perfect models of which the empirical world is only a poor cousin. This doctrine, notable in the Timaeus, opened the way for the Neoplatonic notion of ideas as the thoughts of God. The concept gradually lost this other-worldly aspect, until after Descartes ideas become assimilated to whatever it is that lies in the mind of any thinking being.
Together with a general bias towards the sensory, so that what lies in the mind may be thought of as something like images, and a belief that thinking is well explained as the manipulation of images, this was developed by Locke, Berkeley, and Hume into a full-scale view of the understanding as the domain of images, although they were all aware of anomalies that were later regarded as fatal to this doctrine (see abstraction ). The defects in the account were exposed by Kant, who realized that the understanding needs to be thought of more in terms of rules and organizing principles than of any kind of copy of what is given in experience. Kant also recognized the danger of the opposite extreme (that of Leibniz ) of failing to connect the elements of understanding with those of experience at all (Critique of Pure Reason, A270).
It has become more common to think of ideas, or concepts, as dependent upon social and especially linguistic structures, rather than the self-standing creations of an individual mind, but the tension between the objective and the subjective aspect of the matter lingers on, for instance in debates about the possibility of objective knowledge, of indeterminacy in translation, and of identity between the thoughts people entertain at one time and those that they entertain at another.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Idea — • The word was originally Greek, but passed without change into Latin. It seems first to have meant form, shape, or appearance, whence, by an easy transition, it acquired the connotation of nature, or kind Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • idea — sustantivo femenino 1. Representación mental de una cosa: Tienes una idea equivocada de la amistad. 2. Conjunto de conocimientos sobre una persona o sobre una cosa: Tengo una idea confusa de lo que ocurrió aquella noche. 3. Intención: Tenemos la… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • idea — (Del lat. idĕa, y este del gr. ἰδέα, forma, apariencia). 1. f. Primero y más obvio de los actos del entendimiento, que se limita al simple conocimiento de algo. 2. Imagen o representación que del objeto percibido queda en la mente. Su idea no se… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Idea — I*de a, n.; pl. {Ideas}. [L. idea, Gr. ?, fr. ? to see; akin to E. wit: cf. F. id[ e]e. See {Wit}.] 1. The transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • idea — idea, concept, conception, thought, notion, impression mean what exists in the mind as a representation of something that it apprehends or comprehends or as a formulation of an opinion, a plan, or a design. Idea is the most comprehensive and… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • idea — /i dɛa/ s.f. [dal gr. idéa, propr. aspetto, forma, apparenza ]. 1. a. (filos.) [rappresentazione mentale di un ente reale o astratto: i. di Dio, dell universo ; i. del bello ] ▶◀ concetto, immagine, nozione. ‖ archetipo, ideale, modello.… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • idea — contenido mental, producto de las punciones intelectuales que puede estar formada de conceptos o imágenes Diccionario ilustrado de Términos Médicos.. Alvaro Galiano. 2010. idea Cualquier pensamiento, concepto …   Diccionario médico

  • idea — idea, no tener idea expr. no saber. ❙ «No tengo ni la menor idea.» Jesús Ferrero, Lady Pepa. 2. ► puta, ► no tener ni puta idea. 3. ► zorra, ► no tener ni zorra (idea). 4. tener mala idea expr. mala intención. ❙ «...se llevaron el tesoro… …   Diccionario del Argot "El Sohez"

  • idea — (n.) late 14c., archetype of a thing in the mind of God; Platonic idea, from L. idea idea, and in Platonic philosophy archetype, from Gk. idea ideal prototype, lit. the look of a thing (as opposed to the reality); form; kind, sort, nature, from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Idea — Студийный альбом Bee Gees Дата выпуска Сентябрь 1968 Записан IBC Studios, 8 января 12 июля 1968 Жанры …   Википедия

  • idea — idea,   Abkürzung für Informationsdienst der Evangelischen Allianz, evangelische Nachrichtenagentur, die sich in ihrem theologisch publizistischen Selbstverständnis einem biblischen Standort verpflichtet weiß; gegründet 1970; Sitz der… …   Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”