Idea
A fundamental concept in philosophy, debated since antiquity.
The concept of an idea, from the Greek word ἰδέα (idea) meaning 'a form, or a pattern', is the result of thought. In philosophy, ideas can be mental representational images of some object, and many philosophers have considered them a fundamental ontological category of being. The capacity to create and understand ideas is considered an essential and defining feature of human beings.
- etymology
- From Greek ἰδέα, 'form, pattern', from the root of ἰδεῖν, 'to see'
- key_philosophers
- Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, John Locke, David Hume
- related_schools
- Idealism, Empiricism
- modern_relevance
- Split between analytic and continental philosophy
Lore & Background
An argument over the underlying nature of ideas was opened by Plato, who appropriated the Greek word for things that are 'seen' to highlight elements of perception without material reference. Plato advanced the theory that immaterial objects of awareness constitute a realm of deathless forms or ideas from which the material world emanates. Aristotle challenged this, positing that ideas arise as mental composites of remembered observations, a distinction that can be characterized as idealism versus empiricism. René Descartes often used the term idea as an image or representation in the mind, sometimes maintaining that ideas were innate. John Locke defined idea as 'whatsoever is the object of the understanding when a man thinks,' and argued there are no innate principles in the mind, concluding that all ideas are experienced in nature. David Hume limited idea to one of two types of perception, the other being 'impression,' which is more lively; ideas are complex and built upon these basic perceptions.
Reader's Guide
The concept of idea has been central to Western philosophy, with a fundamental schism between idealism and empiricism that has never been resolved. Plato argued that ideas are unchanging, independent entities that are the objects of real knowledge, while Aristotle saw them as mental composites from experience. This antagonism characterizes the dynamism of the argument up to the present, represented today in the split between analytic and continental schools of philosophy. John Locke's empiricist approach defined ideas as objects of understanding derived from sensation or reflection, distinguishing simple and complex ideas. David Hume further refined this by distinguishing impressions (lively perceptions) from ideas (complex derivatives). The persistent contradictions between classical physics and quantum mechanics have been pointed to as a rough analogy for the gap between these two schools of thought.
Did You Know?
- The word 'idea' comes from Greek ἰδέα, meaning 'form, pattern', from the root of ἰδεῖν, 'to see'.
- Plato defined philosophy as the love of formal (as opposed to visual) seeing in the fifth book of his Republic.
- John Locke defined idea as 'whatsoever is the object of the understanding when a man thinks'.
- David Hume distinguished ideas from 'impressions', which are more lively perceptions from hearing, seeing, or feeling.
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