Abstraction

Noun. Of the many definitions, there are...
1. the act of considering something as a general quality or characteristic, apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances.

2. an impractical idea; something visionary and unrealistic.

3. the act of taking away or separating; withdrawal: The sensation of cold is due to the abstraction of heat from our bodies.

4. secret removal, esp. theft.

5. absent-mindedness; inattention; mental absorption.

6. Fine Arts .

a. the abstract qualities or characteristics of a work of art.

b. a work of art, esp. a nonrepresentational one, stressing formal relationships.

Anthony and I arrived home at about the same time last night, which is unusual. As we were recapping the day, I told my him about the presentation I made in my American Philosophy class, on the subject of abstraction. It was a 5 minute presentation, just hitting the highlights of the concept of abstraction as it relates to philosophy, specifically empiricism and pragmatism, about the views of thinkers like Locke (pro-abstraction), Berkeley and Hume (the latter two anti-abstraction.) Just to clarify: Locke thought that it was possible for humans to have truly abstract ideas. Berkeley and Hume were not opposed to the concept of abstract thought, they simply believed that our minds are simply not capable of it.

The dear husband put it best: "All art, all thought, for that matter, is abstraction." And I think he is right. Words, sentences, everything we construct in our minds, is naught but an imperfect representation of the things observed by our various senses or produced at a higher level of consciousness. We grasp at words, hoping they convey everything we want them too. They seldom do.

Wish I had thought to say that in my presentation.