PowerPoint Presentation Berkeley vs Abstraction

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BERKELEYS CRITQUE OF THE DOCTRINE OF ABSTRACT
IDEAS
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Berkeley versus Locke on Abstract Ideas
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Three Kinds of Abstract Ideas

• 1. Separated Single Qualities
• An idea is an abstract1 idea if, and only if, it
  is an idea that contains some single particular
  quality and no other particular qualities that
  would normally accompany that feature in an idea
  of some particular thing. (section 7)

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Three Kinds of Abstract Ideas

• Abstract ideas of this first kind are formed by
  taking a complex idea of some particular and
  removing all other ideas except some simple idea
  of some one quality.
• Such an idea will contain some single quality
  that is a determinate form of some determinable
  quality.

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Three Kinds of Abstract Ideas

• 2. Determinable Simple Qualities
• An idea is an abstract2 idea if, and only if, it
  is an idea that contains only some single quality
  that is common to all ideas of qualities of the
  same kind. (section 8)
• These ideas are formed by discerning what is
  common to a number of abstract ideas of the
  first type.

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Three Kinds of Abstract Ideas

• The determinable feature COLOR is what is common
  to the determinables RED, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN
  etc. SCARLET is a determinate shade of the
  determinable color RED.
• i. Thus, one can form an abstract2 idea, COLOR,
  of the feature that all colors have in common.
• ii. In addition one can form an abstract2 idea,
  RED, of the feature that all shades of red have
  in common.

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Three Kinds of Abstract Ideas

• 3. The Complex of Qualities Common to Particular
  Things of Some Kind
• 1. An idea is an abstact3 idea if, and only if,
  it is a complex idea of all the abstract2 ideas
  possessed by all things that are members of a
  particular kind. (section 9)
• 2. So, an abstract idea of this type will be an
  idea of something that is a member of a kind, for
  example, HORSE. It will be an idea of a horse,
  but not of any particular horse, such as
  Secretariat. An idea of a particular horse will
  be determinate in ways that abstract3 ideas are
  not.

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LARGE
SOLID-HOOFED
DOMESTICATED
MAMMEL
HORSE
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Berkeleys Objections toAbstract Ideas

• Ojections to Abstract1 Ideas.
• 1. They are not perceivable.
• 2. No separate conception, because of no separate
  existence.
• I cannot conceive of qualities separated from
  other qualities of certain kinds, if they cannot
  exist separated from qualities of that kind.

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Berkeleys Objections toAbstract Ideas

• One can only conceive of what is at least
  logically possible.
• 1. If it is possible to conceive of ideas of one
  kind separated from ideas of another, then it is
  possible that ideas of first kind exist separated
  from ideas of the second.
• 2. It is not possible for ideas of any kind to
  exist separated from ideas of all other kinds.
• 3. Therefore, it is not possible to conceive of
  ideas of any kind separated from ideas of all
  other kinds.

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Berkeleys Objections toAbstract Ideas

• Objections to Abstract2 Ideas.
• 1. All experience of qualities is particular,
  i.e., is of a determinate instance of a
  determinable attribute.
• 2. The notion is self-contradictory. (section 13)
• 3. The notion relies on abstract1 ideas which are
  impossible.

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Berkeleys Objections toAbstract Ideas

• Objection to Abstract3 Ideas.
• 1. The notion is self-contradictory.
• 2. The notion relies on abstract2 ideas which are
  impossible.

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Berkeleys Objections toAbstract Ideas

• General Objection to Abstract Ideas of Any Type
• They are unnecessary
• a. to communication, or (section 14)
• b. knowledge. (section 15)

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Concepts are General Ideas

• General ideas can do all the explanatory work
  that abstract ideas are posited for.
• General ideas are particular ideas used as
  general symbols.
• Example The use of particular figures in
  geometrical proofs