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Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [abstract]

42 questions
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Is topology used outside of cosmology in philosophy?

It seems like topology is used to model spacetime, but outside of cosmology, it seems like topology has absolutely no use in philosophy. Is topology used to create models that relate to abstract and non-physical concepts in philosophy? I was looking…
Sayaman
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Do distinctions and concepts exist?

Before answering the question, keep in mind that I am a second-year Biology student, with a lack of formal study in Philosophy. Original post: I believe, all definitions, words, and concepts (abstract ideas) are arbitrary (here I define arbitrary…
Simon
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Is symmetry real?

Ask almost anyone, and they'll hold up their hands, put them together and say "there you go!" Except, your hands aren't really symmetrical. In fact every "symmetry" I can think of suffers from this 'accuracy' problem, at some physical level of…
christo183
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Why are abstract realms/the abstract realm thought of as being so orderly/restricted?

If the abstract realm(s) are either completely independent of the physical or are ultimate causes, neither of these seem to push the abstract realm toward being so "contained" (say, having certain things and not others). At the very least I'm pretty…
J Kusin
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Can concrete objects have multiple occurrences?

I was reading SEP article on types and tokens, and got interested in the concept of 'occurrence'. We would describe the fact that the number '2' appears multiple times in an expression as an example of 'occurrences' of a number, so a concept can be…
Confused
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Are abstract ideas concepts (sets) or invididuals in an ontology?

In an ontology, concrete concepts such as "Dog" or "Person" stand for sets (classes) of invididual instances. Abstract concepts, such as "love", "hate" or "wisdom" don't have any instances, but if they are empty sets, they are all identical. If they…
Konrad Höffner
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Can abstract concepts be represented by types in mathematics?

I am reading about type theory along with abstraction and am wondering how they relate. Am i right in thinking that an abstract concept (from the result of abstraction) can be represented by a type in type theory?
Richard Bamford
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Why can one abstract (prescind) space from color but not color from space? (from C. S. Peirce's article "On a New List of Categories")

In Peirce's paper New List why is possible to prescind (i.e. abstract) space from color but not color from space? Peirce mentions three types of abstraction, the relevant one being called Prescission (var. precision, precisive abstraction,…
arisbe
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Is there a view that only abstract objects exist, and being an abstract structure is enough for a world to be experienced by its observers?

I am looking for a view that would completely eliminate concrete objects by saying that being an abstract structure is enough for a world to be experienced by it's observers. If it is enough for a structure to be abstract for subjective experience…
nikishev.
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Why do we have an expectation of symmetry?

After all there are some indications that we shouldn't: Who first studied "logical (ir)reversibility"? And even the fundamental nature of symmetry is in question: Is symmetry real? Now we might suppose that there is a residual form of thought…
christo183
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Is space fundamental?

Let's start with a definition of space, like "Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions" If we delve deeper into such definitions, we come across terms like 'points','vectors',etc. And then if we go further into…
Siddharth Chakravarty
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Why do we call logical concepts abstract when logic is specific to the situation?

Things like propositions and predicates, which are specific to certain logics. Example: If only classical logic applied, not everything would be possible. (LEM, etc). Many logicians say classical logic is not universally applicable, and/or are…
J Kusin
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Why is it said Second Order Logic commits oneself to abstract objects but not FOL?

I would like to understand why SOL and FOL differ on being committed to abstract objects. It seems one difference is the existence of classes for SOL. Can classes not be made concrete? It seems like Field succeeded in something like that. I don’t…
J Kusin
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Name for a form of naturalism that allows for abstract objects

Some of the more pressing arguments against materialism involve their inability to account for abstract objects such as meaning or reference. A few definitions before I continue: Abstract object: an object that exists outside of time or space and…
David Gudeman
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Mathematical Universe

I have a beginner question on the type of claims this book or similar theories make. That book claims that universe is math structure. I just want to clarify if I correctly understood his goal: Does this imply that this book or similar theories…
gdan
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