More on Universals: A Brief Thought
Regarding my last public entry[1], I wonder if anything at all besides human beings can really be said to have any inherent abstract qualities.
Some definitions of "abstract" from Mr. Webster:1 a : disassociated from any specific instance
interesting…2 : possessing a quality apart from an object
This definition would imply that only something with a nonobjective nature could have any abstract qualities.3 b : IMPERSONAL
also interesting…
Of course, the dictionary, as I've said before, is not the be all and end all of definitions, and I picked the ones that matched what I was thinking. Still, I wonder if all abstract qualities are subjective to a human thinker. Does beauty only have meaning in the presence of an observer with abstract capabilities? What does this say about human nature?
As in my last entry[1], I don't really know where I am going with all of this yet….1sub•jec•tive 3 a : characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind
Some definitions of "abstract" from Mr. Webster:1 a : disassociated from any specific instance
interesting…2 : possessing a quality apart from an object
This definition would imply that only something with a nonobjective nature could have any abstract qualities.3 b : IMPERSONAL
also interesting…
Of course, the dictionary, as I've said before, is not the be all and end all of definitions, and I picked the ones that matched what I was thinking. Still, I wonder if all abstract qualities are subjective to a human thinker. Does beauty only have meaning in the presence of an observer with abstract capabilities? What does this say about human nature?
As in my last entry[1], I don't really know where I am going with all of this yet….1sub•jec•tive 3 a : characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of mind