An idea is a concept or mental impression. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images. Many philosophers consider ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being. The capacity to create and understand the meaning of ideas is considered to be an essential and defining feature of human beings. In a popular sense, an idea arises in a reflex, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious reflection, for example, when we talk about the idea of a person or a place.
Read more about Idea: Innate and Adventitious Ideas, In Anthropology and The Social Sciences
Other articles related to "ideas, idea":
... Euclid's philosophy was a synthesis of Eleatic and Socratic ideas ... Mixing these two ideas, Euclid claimed that good is the knowledge of this being ... He identified the Eleatic idea of "The One" with the Socratic "Form of the Good," which he called "Reason," "God," "Mind," "Wisdom," etc ...
... "I got the idea for Netflix after my company was acquired," said Hastings ... you wanted." Hastings said that when he founded Netflix, he had no idea whether or not customers would use the service ... "Netflix was originally a single rental service, but the subscription model was one of a few ideas we had—so there was no Aha! moment ...
... something other than the calyx, there arises musically, as the very idea and delicate, the one absent from every bouquet.' In the everyday use of language, words are the vehicles of ideas ... Only in this way can the idea arise ... The absence of the thing is made good by the presence of the idea ...
... that assist corporations and individuals in keeping ideas from escaping to the general public ...
... Associationism is the idea that mental processes operate by the association of one state with its successor states ... The idea is first recorded in Plato and Aristotle, especially with regard to the succession of memories ... and the "Associationist School", see Association of Ideas ...
Famous quotes containing the word idea:
“To keep up even a worthwhile tradition means vitiating the idea behind it which must necessarily be in a constant state of evolution: it is mad to try to express new feelings in a “mummified” form.”
—Alfred Jarry (1873–1907)
“... the idea of a classless society is ... a disastrous mirage which cannot be maintained without tyranny of the few over the many. It is even more pernicious culturally than politically, not because the monolithic state forces the party line upon its intellectuals and artists, but because it has no social patterns to reflect.”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)
“One theme links together these new proposals for family policy—the idea that the family is exceedingly durable. Changes in structure and function and individual roles are not to be confused with the collapse of the family. Families remain more important in the lives of children than other institutions. Family ties are stronger and more vital than many of us imagine in the perennial atmosphere of crisis surrounding the subject.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)