Abstractionism

Abstractionism is the theory that the mind obtains some or all of its concepts by abstracting them from concepts it already has, or from experience.^[1] One may, for example, abstract 'green' from a set of experiences which involve green along with other properties. Also, for example, one may abstract a generic concept like 'vegetable' from the already possessed concepts of its instances (carrot, broccoli, onion, etc.). This view was criticized by George Berkeley^[2] and Peter Geach.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Geach, Peter (1957) Mental Acts - Their Contents and Their Objects. Routledge Kegan Paul.
^ Flage, Daniel (1986). "Berkeley on Abstraction". Journal of the History of Philosophy. 24 (4): 483–501. doi:10.1353/hph.1986.0073.

This philosophy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Geach1957-1] Geach, Peter (1957) Mental Acts - Their Contents and Their Objects. Routledge Kegan Paul.

[2] Flage, Daniel (1986). "Berkeley on Abstraction". Journal of the History of Philosophy. 24 (4): 483–501. doi:10.1353/hph.1986.0073.

[1]

[2]