Pure thought is an English translation of an expression originally attributed to Kant and Hegel. Their usage of the German counterpart revolved around the question of whether pure thought could exist without an object or some material. Today, more popular uses exist. The usage here is that pure thought is simply a process, another term for thought experiment.
Famous quotes containing the words pure and/or thought:
“The best work of artists in any age is the work of innocence liberated by technical knowledge. The laboratory experiments that led to the theory of pure color equipped the impressionists to paint nature as if it had only just been created.”
—Nancy Hale (b. 1908)
“‘I saw you take his kiss!’ ‘’Tis true.’
‘O, modesty!’ ‘’Twas strictly kept:
‘He thought me asleep; at least, I knew
‘He thought I thought he thought I slept.’”
—Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (1823–1896)