An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing (as an idea, or abstraction). In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete. Abstract objects are sometimes called abstracta (sing. abstractum) and concrete objects are sometimes called concreta (sing. concretum).
Read more about Abstract Object: In Philosophy, Concrete and Abstract Thinking, Terminology
Famous quotes containing the words abstract and/or object:
“But it thought no bed too narrow—it stood with lips askew
And shook its great head sadly like the abstract Jew.”
—Robert Penn Warren (1905–1989)
“Let’s call something a rigid designator if in every possible world it designates the same object, a non-rigid or accidental designator if that is not the case. Of course we don’t require that the objects exist in all possible worlds.... When we think of a property as essential to an object we usually mean that it is true of that object in any case where it would have existed. A rigid designator of a necessary existent can be called strongly rigid.”
—Saul Kripke (b. 1940)