Concepts and Terms

What is a concept?
- comes from the Latin infinitive form of the verb “concepire” means to conceive.
- a mental image which is created by the process of thinking on the process of conceiving an
object.
o It is a representation of an object by the intellect through which a student comprehends
a thing.
o It is attained through the process of abstraction.

ABSTRACTION
- comes from the Latin infinitive form of verb “abstrahere” which means to separate or to move
away.
- a mental act by which the process of thinking studies the physical characteristics with regard to
its color, size, material, etc., in order to think of the purpose of an object.

ATTENTION
- a mental act by which the process of thinking fixes its consideration upon one particular object
after having sense it.
o EXAMPLE: if you are driving a car, you need a full attention of driving a car. As a student,
you basically pay attention to your professor because a good professor must be a good
student, first.

MENTAL REFLEX ACTIVITY

- also called reflection.
- a mental act of having aware of an act itself so that it looks things objectively, having differences
between the two given arguments.
o EXAMPLE: face of the man and face of a cat.

COMPARISON
- a mental act by which the process of thinking notices his similarities and differences in the
objects having the same essence or with the same genuses or classes.
o EXAMPLE: Angela and Monkey (they are both the same in essence but Angela is a
rational animal and monkey is a brute.)

Types of Concept (Four types of concept with different classification):

1. Concept based on Intention
a. First Intention
o a concept by which you know things in the process of thinking independently.

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  EXAMPLE: All of us know that the dog has four legs. Definitely the concept of
the “dog” is taken as an animal with four legs. It is therefore understood that
the dog is according to what it is in reality; regardless of what we think about it.

b. Second Intention
o a concept by which we conceive a thing in reality in so far as the process of thinking
understands.
o it is not regardless of what it is in reality but how it is in our process of thinking.
 EXAMPLE: The Los Angles, California is the city of angels. Here, Los Angeles,
California is understood to be the place of the city of Angels in so far as the
mind says it.

2. Concept based on Subject and Form

o Also called as essence and quiddity metaphysically.
o The subject is the one who is spoken of, therefore it has or which is looked upon as
having a perfection or attribute embodied in it.
o Form is that which an object exist as it is.
 EXAMPLE:
SUBJECT – glass’ness has quiddity, the glass’ness
– book’ness has quiddity, the book’ness

FORM – dog has an animality that makes dog animal or real animal

3. Concept based on Substance and Accidents

o Substance comes from the Latin word “SUBSTANTIA” means the existence in itself
without requiring another being as a subject of its inherence.
o It is the existence of the form and not mere modifications of the subject which they
inhere to.
o Two (2) classifications:
 ABSOLUTE CONCEPT
 denotes the meaning of a complete substance endowed with its
independent reality.
 when it signifies something to the mind, Absolute concept becomes an
Abstract concept.
o EXAMPLE:
The absolute concept of a MOON is its brilliance;
The absolute concept of a DOG is its animality.

 CONNOTATIVE CONCEPT
 represents form without the subject

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  in English grammar, it tells something about the adjectives that being
modified to the subject.
 in Logic, it signifies the object as an accident existing in the substance.
o EXAMPLE: The wise man found Jesus in the manger. The word
wise is used as a modifier that modifies to the subject man.

4. Concept based on Existence and Possession

o tells something about assertive or denial; positive or negative.
 POSITIVE CONCEPT
 signifies the possession or the existence of something.
 EXAMPLE: beautiful, happy, or love, etc.

 NEGATIVE CONCEPT
 denotes the non-existence or non-possession of something.
 EXAMPLE: non-beautiful, non-happy, non-love, etc.

TERM
What is a term?
- an external sign of a concept and last element of a proposition.
- a term is oral if it is uttered and written if it is drafted.

Five Types of Terms:

1. Terms according to the kinds of concept
a. First Intention and Second Intention (refer to the explanation of concept from the
topic above)
b. Abstract and Concrete Terms
 Abstract – a term which pertains to the abstract quality in form only, thus it
cannot be perceived by the senses.
 EXAMPLE: Frugalness of a man
Faithfulness of a woman

 Concrete – a term which pertains to the expressions of a form and a subject,

thus it can be perceived by the senses.
 EXAMPLE: Strawberry jam: You can taste, see and touch.
Jay-Em is tall, dark and handsome – Jay-Em embodies
the abstract quality of being handsome. You can see his
height and color of the skin.

c. Absolute and Connotative Terms

 Absolute – pertains to the definition of a complete subject which is based on
independent reality.

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  EXAMPLE: Every lily is a flower
Man is a rational animal. Man is a social being.

 Connotative – pertains to the object as an accident manifested in a substance. It

expresses a form only.
 EXAMPLE: Singer
Teacher
Table
Chair
Book

d. Positive and Negative Terms

 Positive – pertains to the possession or existence of something
 EXAMPLE: knowledge, vibrancy, wisdom

 Negative – pertains to the non-possession or non-existence of something.

 EXAMPLE: ignorance, passive, arrogance

2. Terms as last element of the proposition

a. Subject
b. Predicate

3. Terms as a sign of a concept

a. The Significant Term – when it stands for his own existence. In English grammar, the
significant terms are the subject and the predicate.

b. The Non-Significant Term – when it does not stand for his existence like the
demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns, the indefinite article “THE” and
the definite articles “A or AN” used as modifiers

4. Terms as to incompatibility with other term

a. Contradictory – a term which is mutually exclusive. The two terms are in contrast with
one another without the possibility of a middle term.
EXAMPLE: Legal-illegal, valid-invalid, correct-incorrect

b. Contrary – a term that is opposing to one another, similar to opposition but there is the
possibility of a middle term.
EXAMPLE: small-large, hot-cold, ebony-ivory

c. Correlative – a term that is mutually related to each other. To the extent of being
dependent to one another.

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 EXAMPLE: bride-groom, master-slave, teacher-student

d. Privative – these are terms that expresses one is perfect, the other is lacking.
EXAMPLE: Wealth-poverty, sight-blindness, hearing-deaf

5. Terms as to definiteness of meaning

a. Univocal – comes from the Latin word “unus” which means one infinitive verb of the
Latin word “Vocare” means to call, in short, to call one. A term with exactly the same
meaning at least in two occurrences.
EXAMPLE: Peter cultivates that plant.
Plant is an ice factory.

b. Equivocal – a term maybe considered, if it exhibits difference in meaning whenever it is

used in two occasions.
EXAMPLE: His lover gave him a ring.
The bell rings.

c. Analogous – terms that express partly the same and partly different.
EXAMPLE: Peter stands in one foot at the foot of the cross.

Properties of Terms:
1. Comprehension
o comes from the Latin word “comprendere” which means to understand.
o the totality of all essential characteristics belonging to the given term.

2. Extension
o terms that denote individual things or particulars that express the totality of all the
individual things or particular things for which the essential characteristics belonging to
a term can be applied.

o Classification of terms according to Extension:

 Universal
 a term which applied to each member of a given class.

 Singular
 a term which applied only one specific object, individual or a group.

 Particular

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  a term which applied to an indeterminately designated portion of its
absolute extension.
 by the term “indeterminately”, we predicate a thing that is not
absolutely qualified.

3. Supposition
o comes from the Latin word “sub” which means under and Latin infinitive form of the
verb “ponere” means to put. Therefore, it is to put under.
o a property of a term that acquires from its use in the proposition.
o Two kinds of supposition:
 Formal Supposition
 uses the word for its real meaning.

 Material Supposition
 uses a word for itself alone.