Thought-Culture; Or, Practical Mental Training

by William Walker Atkinson

The student will see that the process of Classification is two-fold. The first is by Analysis, in which the Genus is divided into Species by reason of differences. The second is by Synthesis, in which individuals are grouped into Species, and Species into the Genus, by reason of resemblances. Moreover, in building up general classes, which is known as Generalization, we must first analyze the individual in order to ascertain its qualities, attributes and properties, and then synthesize the individual with other individuals possessing like qualities, properties or attributes.

Brooks says of Generalization: "The mind now takes the materials that have been furnished and fashioned by comparison and analysis and unites them into one single mental product, giving us the general notion or concept. The mind, as it were, brings together these several attributes into a bunch or package and then ties a mental string around it, as we would bunch a lot of roses or cigars.... Generalization is an ascending process. The broader concept is regarded as higher than the narrower concept; a concept is considered as higher than percept; a general idea stands above a particular idea. We thus go up from particulars to generals; from percepts to concepts; from lower concepts to higher concepts. Beginning down with particular objects, we rise from them to the general idea of their class. Having formed a number of lower classes, we compare them as we did individuals and generalize them into higher classes. We perform the same process with these higher classes and thus proceed until we are at last arrested in the highest class, that of Being. Having reached the pinnacle of Generalization, we may descend the ladder by reversing the process through which we ascend."

A Concept, then, is seen to be a general idea. It is a general thought that embraces all the individuals of its own class and has in it all that is common to its own class, while it resembles no particular individual of its class in all respects. Thus, a concept of animal contains within itself the minor concepts of all animals and the animal-quality of all animals—yet it differs from the percept of any one particular animal and the minor concepts of minor classes of animals. Consequently a concept or general idea cannot be imaged or mentally pictured. We may picture a percept of any particular thing, but we cannot picture a general idea or concept because the latter does not partake of the particular qualities of any of its class, but embraces all the general qualities of the class. Try to picture the general idea, or concept, of Man. You will find that any attempt to do so will result in the production of merely a man—some particular man. If you give the picture dark hair, it will fail to include the light-haired men; if you give it white skin, it will slight the darker-skinned races. If you picture a stout man, the thin ones are neglected. And so on in every feature. It is impossible to form a correct general class picture unless we include every individual in it. The best we can do is to form a sort of composite image, which at the best is in the nature of a symbol representative of the class—an ideal image to make easier the idea of the general class or term.

From the above we may see the fundamental differences between a Percept and a Concept. The Percept is the mental image of a real object—a particular thing. The Concept is merely a general idea, or general notion, of the common attributes of a class of objects or things. A Percept arises directly from sense-impressions, while a Concept is, in a sense, a pure thought—an abstract thing—a mental creation—an ideal.

A Concrete Concept is a concept embodying the common qualities of a class of objects, as for instance, the concrete concept of lion, in which the general class qualities of all lions are embodied. An Abstract Concept is a concept embodying merely some one quality generally diffused, as for instance, the quality of fierceness in the general class of lions. Rose is a concrete concept; red, or redness, is an abstract concept. It will aid you in remembering this distinction to memorize Jevons' rule: "A Concrete Term is the name of a Thing; an Abstract Term is the name of a Quality of a Thing."

A Concrete Concept, including all the particular individuals of a class, must also contain all the common qualities of those individuals. Thus, such a concept is composed of the ideas of the particular individuals and of their common qualities, in combination and union. From this arises the distinctive terms known as the content, extension and intension of concepts, respectively.

The content of a concept is all that it includes—its full meaning. The extension of a concept depends upon its quantity aspect—it is its property of including numbers of individual objects within its content. The intension of a concept depends upon its quality aspect—it is its property of including class or common qualities, properties or attributes within its content.

Thus, the extension of the concept horse covers all individual horses; while its intension includes all qualities, attributes, and properties common to all horses—class qualities possessed by all horses in common, and which qualities, etc., make the particular animals horses, as distinguished from other animals.

It follows that the larger the number of particular objects in a class, the smaller must be the number of general class qualities—qualities common to all in the class. And, that the larger the number of common class qualities, the smaller must be the number of individuals in the class. As the logicians express it, "the greater the extension, the less the intension; the greater the intension, the less the extension." Thus, animal is narrow in intension, but very broad in extension; for while there are many animals there are but very few qualities common to all animals. And, horse is narrower in extension, but broader in intension; for while there are comparatively few horses, the qualities common to all horses are greater.

The cultivation of the faculty of Generalization, or Conception, of course, depends largely upon exercise and material, as does the cultivation of every mental faculty, as we have seen. But there are certain rules, methods and ideas which may be used to advantage in developing this faculty in the direction of clear and capable work. This faculty is developed by all of the general processes of thought, for it forms an important part of all thought. But the logical processes known as Analysis and Synthesis give to this faculty exercise and employment particularly adapted to its development and cultivation. Let us briefly consider these processes.