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Full Idea
A universal is not an object of any sense, and therefore cannot be imagined; but it may be distinctly conceived.
Gist of Idea
Universals are not objects of sense and cannot be imagined - but can be conceived
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 5: Abstraction [1785], 6)
Book Ref
Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.245
A Reaction
If you try to imagine whiteness, what size is it, and what substance embodies it? Neither are needed to think of whiteness, so Reid is right. A nice observation.
| 15035 | If universals are not separate, we can isolate them by abstraction [Boethius, by Panaccio] |
| 22132 | Species and genera are individual concepts which naturally signify many individuals [William of Ockham] |
| 23651 | Universals are not objects of sense and cannot be imagined - but can be conceived [Reid] |
| 5408 | If we identify whiteness with a thought, we can never think of it twice; whiteness is the object of a thought [Russell] |
| 18715 | Using 'green' is a commitment to future usage of 'green' [Wittgenstein] |
| 5312 | A child first sees objects as distinct, and later as members of groups [Wilson,EO] |
| 4938 | Prior to language, concepts are universals created by self-mapping of brain activity [Edelman/Tononi] |