more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
Locke seemed to think the having abstract general ideas is what puts the widest difference in point of understanding betwixt man and beast.
Gist of Idea
For Locke, abstract ideas are our main superiority of understanding over animals
Source
report of John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694]) by George Berkeley - The Principles of Human Knowledge Intro §11
Book Ref
Berkeley,George: 'The Principles of Human Knowledge etc.', ed/tr. Warnock,G.J. [Fontana 1962], p.51
A Reaction
I currently favour meta-thought (thought about thought) as the distinction of homo sapiens, but maybe abstraction is an aspect of that, because you have to pick out common factors amongst a variety of experiences.
| 6712 | For Locke, abstract ideas are our main superiority of understanding over animals [Locke, by Berkeley] |
| 23656 | The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions [Reid] |
| 6393 | A creature doesn't think unless it interprets another's speech [Davidson] |
| 18537 | Linguistic thought is just as imagistic as non-linguistic thought [Heil] |
| 18538 | Non-conscious thought may be unlike conscious thought [Heil] |
| 17768 | Perception reveals what animals think, but humans can disengage thought from perception [Bayne] |
| 17769 | Some people centre space on themselves; others centre space on the earth [Bayne] |