On concepts

From the side of an object a concept can be positive or negative:positive concept signifies one whose object is some entity (v.g life, light, etc); a negative concept signifies one whose object is the absence/privation of an entity. Now since nothingness cant be understood in itself, a negative idea doesnt represent nothingness itself (as per Hegel’s thought), but implies 2 things: 1. an entity, 2. negation of that entity. Hence the concept of death presents life as negated; the concept of darkness presents light as negated. There also exists a positivo-negative concept whose object is a positive entity which, however, on account of its perfection and the imperfection of our intellect, is understood in the manner of a certain negation. Such is the concept of the infinite: the object is most positive, yet its concepts implies a 2fold negation a limit and the negation of that limit.

Simple concept, composite concept:According to a vast majority of modern thinkers, a simple concept signifies one which presents to the mind one simple element, one single note such as being. A composite concept concept is one which presents several notes as man consists of the note of animality and the note of rationality. Now on the contrary, according to the scholastics a simple concept is one that represents one indivisible essence, even if it might consist of several notes and a composite essence being one that represents multiple essence thus the concept of poet includes the essence of man and the accidental form of being a poet. The scholastic manner is to be preferred. For a concept is measured by the essence of which it represents. But an essence can be indivisible even though it consists of several notes: the essence of man is unique and indivisible, yet includes animality and rationality. Ergo a concept is indivisible and simple even if it exhibits several notes so long as those notes are inseperable from one another.

Geometrical and pure concept:Geometrical concept signifies matter or extension such as body, angle, etc; a pure concept presents a thing abstracted from all matter such as God, the soul, truth. Kant distinguishes a pure concept, an empirical concept, and a mixed concept. A pure concept is one that doesnt originate from experience; an empirical concept is one that depends on experience; and a mixed concept is one that participates in both

Concrete and abstract concept:A concrete concept designates simultaneously both the subject and the form by which the subject is affected and denominated; thus the concept man designates simultaneously the form of humanity and the subject affected by humanity. An abstract concept however, designates only the form separated from the subject (v.g humanity, virtue). There are three species of the concrete. If the form of the concrete is intrinsic and essential to the subject (v.g. humanity in man) we have a metaphysical concrete; if the form is intrinsic but not essential (v.g. as virtue in a virtuous person) we have a physical concrete; if the form is neither essential nor intrinsic but only extrinsic (v.g. honor in one who is honored) then we have a logical concrete (as stated by zigliara). Concrete and abstract have a special meaning when applied to numbers. For a concrete number designates a multitude of determinate things (v.g 100 men) an abstract number designates a multitude of things of any kind whatsover (v.g. 100).

First and Second intention concepts:A real/first intention concept is one whose object has being outside the mind; a logical/second intention concept is one whose entire objective being is in the mind and from the mind. Its rightly called a second intention, because just as knowledge of a thing follows upon the entity of the thing, so the state of being in cognition is second with respect to the state of being in reality, which is first

Singular and universal concept:An object expressed by a concept can extend itself to many things or be proper to one. Ergo the division between singular and universal concepts. A singular concept signifies one whose object is restricted and determined that all its determination taken together cant belong to several things; hence it being entirely incommunicable. This object = the individual, of which there is the axiom: “the individual is incommunicable”. It’s so restricted due to possessing certain notes and certain individuating principles whose collection belongs to it alone. The individuating principles are: form, figure, place, lineage, time, homeland, and name; these are the 7 things that no 2 individuals share. Figure designates both the features of the face and the arrangement of the members and parts; form designates either any quality inhering in the figure or the temperament and bodily constitution; lineage designates the parents; name designates the proper personal name.A universal concept = one whose object is communicable to several subjects as how substance is communicated to various things: man is a substance, rock is a substance. The subjects to which the universal is communicated to are called its “inferiors”, and the universal stands as the “superior”: man is inferior with respect to animal; Alex is inferior with respect to man. The universal exceeds its inferiors in extension, but the inferiors exceed in comprehension. The extension of a concept designates the number of subjects to which its applied; comprehension, number of elements or notes of which it consists. The universal extends to more subjects than its inferiors (v.g. animal has more subjects than man since it extends to both rational agents and brutes) but the universal has less notes than its inferiors. Man claims for himself all the notes that’s found in animal, and moreover some not that isnt included in the concept of animal (i.e. rationality); and to alex are ascribed all the elements that are found in man, and moreover individuating principles arent included in the concept of man. Ergo the universal exceeds its inferiors in extension, but the inferiors exceed the universal in comprehension.

Particular and general concept:Do not confuse particular concepts with singular concepts, nor the universal with the general. A particular concept signifies a universal concept with a certain restriction (v.g. some men). A general concept signifies a universal concept without restrictions. So there can be a universal concept that isnt general. The universal is opposed only to the singular; the general is opposed to the particular. Sometimes the term “particular” can designate an individual (depending on the context) and in that case it isnt a universal concept but a singular one (v.g. Some man was created immediately by God) and this is evident that Adam is the object referred to.A particular concept is divided into determinate particulars and indeterminate particulars. The former being one which applies to multiple, yet designates some determinate category of individuals (v.g. some men were chosen by Christ to preach the gospel) and the object referred to here being the 12 apostles. If the concept doesnt designate specifically certain individuals then its called indeterminate (v.g. some men are walking).A general concept is divided into distributive and collective. Distributive when the thing thats being expressed belongs to all and each of the individuals contained under the universal v.g. man” applies to all human individual both taken together and taken separately. A collective concept signifies something thats common to several things taken together but not separately and individually. Whats signified belongs to the whole collection but not to the individual members that make up the collection “army”, “pillar”, “city” arent attributed to any particular soldier nor any particular citizen.Distributive and collective concepts agree in this: that each signifies something common to multiple things and some unity among the many; but they differ greatly in other respects. The distributive concept implies a unity of nature among several individuals hence this nature can be attributed to each particular (v.g. human nature to man); the collective concept on the other hand implies only a unity of order, and since not every individual is an order, the collective concept cant be predicated of the individuals solely just as “army” isnt predicated of each particular soldier. From the distributive to the collective, the inference doesnt hold. The former is further divided into univocal and analogical.

Second division of concepts according to the mode of representation:A clear concept = represents its object in a way that it can easily be discerned from others. A distinct concept expresses its object in a way that we can discern from others and also know very well the notes that constitutes it and differs it from others. It adds something above the clear concept; hence every distinct concept is clear, though not every clear concept is distinct. The obscure concept is opposed to the clear concept its one whose object cant easily be discerned from others. The confused concept is opposed to the distinct concept but not the clear concept. For it often happens that ideas though clear in themselves become confused on account of a deficiency of distinctness.Distinct concept are divided into complete and incomplete. Complete concept signifies the concept of the whole representing all notes distinctly; an incomplete concept is one either not representing all notes or not representing all of them distinctly. Complete concepts are further divided into adequate and inadequate concepts. Now not all authors define these in the same way, some confuse the adequate with the complete. According to others an adequate is one that equals the object in a way that it exhibits all that is in it or can be in it, and exhausts its intelligibility; if it doesnt achieve this, it will be inadequate. An adequate concept is further called apprehensive or comprehensive. An apprehensive concept is one which exhausts the intelligibility of the object extensively that is with respect to all the objects to which its applied; a comprehensive concept is one which exhausts the intelligibility of the object both extensively and intensively that is one which clearly and distinctly represents all the degrees of perfection that are or can be in the thing, and all things that have or can have a relation to the thing itself. Only God has this kind of concept.

third source of division of concepts from the comparison of ideas among themselves:Identical concepts are those which consists of the same notes as “plato” and “the son of ariston”; otherwise they’re diverse. They can however be identical in one respect and diverse in another as “rational animal” and “irrational animal” are identical with respect to the note of animality, diverse in other respects. Some authors distinguish an intrinsic identity and diversity, which affects concepts, and an extrinsic or objective one, found in things. But this isnt correct; for a concept is essentially measured by its formal object hence if the formal object is identical or diverse, the concept is necessarily identical or diverse: intrinsic and objective diversity are therefore the same.Associated or pertinent concepts are those of which one has a necessary connection with the other either necessarily including it (father and son) or necessarily excluding it (light and dark). If however one doesnt necessarily evoke the other theyre called disparate or impertinent. The connection in associated concepts can be objective arising from the objects themselves and is threefold: 1. similarity, 2. opposition (life and death), 3. causality (fire and smoke). Or it can be subjective depending on the condition of the knowing subject and is also threefold: 1. simultaneity because these concepts were had at the same time, 2. similarity of the conditions under which they were had; 3. similarity or dissimilarity of the effects or impressions they produced.Compatible or sociable concepts are those which can belong to the same subject simultaneously and be conjoined into one concept as justice and mercy. Repugnant or incompatible concepts are those of which one directly or indirectly, partially or wholly, implies the negation of the other as life and death, virtue and vice. This repugnance is called opposition, which is fourfold: contradictory, privative, contrary and relative. Of these we shall speak in the post predicaments.

fourth division of concepts by reason of origin or in relation to the mind:An intuitive concept is one by which a thing is known through a species received immediately from the thing itself; an abstractive concept is one by which a thing is known through a species not received from the thing itself, but from another in which the thing itself is represented. To understand these, let us recall what was said about cognition. For cognition to occur the object must be present to the knower; now it can be present either according to its essence as God is present to the mind of the Blessed or through its own proper species, that is, one emitted by itself: thus the eye sees a book through the very species which the book transmitted; or finally it can be present through the species received from another thing thus I know peter through the species emitted by a mirror in which his image is reflected. In the first and second cases there is intuitive cognition. For intuitive cognition, therefore, the presence of the thing through its essence is not required; presence through its own proper species suffices: thus external vision is called intuitive cognition, even though the object is not present in the eye through its essence. Conversely, every intuitive cognition is called vision, while abstractive cognition is called specular.