Complete abstraction. Abstract. See what "Abstraction" is in other dictionaries

Abstraction

(from lat. abstractio - distraction) - one of the main operations of thinking, consisting in the fact that, isolating any signs of the object under study, it is distracted from the rest. The result of this process is the construction of a mental product (concepts, models, theories, classifications, etc.), which is also denoted by the term "A.".

Brief psychological dictionary. - Rostov-on-Don: PHOENIX. L.A. Karpenko, A.V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. 1998 .

Abstraction

The cognitive process is one of the basic operations of thinking; consists in highlighting certain features of the studied integral object and abstracting from the rest. The result - the construction of a mental product: concepts, models, theories, etc. - is also called abstraction. Abstraction primarily appears in the direct sensory-figurative reflection of the environment, when some of its properties become guidelines for perception and action, while others are ignored.

Abstraction serves as the basis for the processes of generalization and concept formation. It is a necessary condition for categorization. It forms generalized images of reality, which make it possible to single out the connections and relations of objects that are significant for a certain activity. When discarded essential features abstraction becomes superficial and of little substance; here, empty reasonings and concepts divorced from reality are called abstract. True to reality, abstraction consists in such a simplification of the indivisible variety of phenomena, which makes thought more capacious - thanks to its focus on what is essential for a given cognitive situation. The criterion of truth and productivity of abstraction is practice. Empirical and theoretical levels of thinking correspond to formal and meaningful abstraction.

Dictionary of practical psychologist. - M.: AST, Harvest. S. Yu. Golovin. 1998 .

Abstraction Etymology.

Comes from lat. abstractio - distraction.

Category.

cognitive process.

Specificity.

In a holistic object, its individual properties are distinguished.

Kinds:

Formal abstraction correspond to the theoretical level of thinking;

Context.

Abstraction serves as the basis for the processes of generalization and concept formation.

Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000 .

ABSTRACTION

(from lat. abstractio- distraction) - one of the main processes mental activity a person, allowing you to mentally isolate and turn into an independent object of consideration individual properties, sides, elements or state of an object. Sometimes A. is understood only as the result of this process. abstraction, i.e., already isolated and independent, in a "pure form" the considered property of the object. The ability to A. allows a person to mentally focus on such a property, the stable selection of which serves as a condition for solving the corresponding problem. tasks(in this regard, A. is closely connected with the process attention).

A. underlies processes generalizations and education concepts. Empirical and theoretical levels thinking correspond to formal and substantive A.

Formal A. consists in isolating such properties of an object that do not exist in themselves and independently of it. Such a separation and an isolated expression of its result is possible only in the mental plane (in A.). Thus, the geometric form of the body does not really exist in itself and cannot be separated from the body. But thanks to formal A., it is mentally distinguished, fixed, for example. with the help of a drawing, and independently considered in their own special properties. One of the main functions of such an analysis is to single out the general properties of a certain set of objects and to fix these properties of a c.-l. sign(most often verbal or drawing). A. of this kind is called generalizing. The complex of abstract properties (formal general) becomes a representative of the corresponding class of objects and makes it possible to distinguish this class from all others (for example, to distinguish all rectangular bodies from bodies of other shapes). This complex, fixed to.-l. sign, becomes his value. On the basis of a system of interrelated meanings, empirical thinking builds various classifications, catalogs and determinants that allow a person to cover the sensory diversity of objects in an abbreviated form in accordance with their common properties. The meanings of everyday language words and special word-terms, created on the basis of formal alphabet, are carriers of such abbreviations.

“Abstract” as a result of A. means, therefore, something singled out, one-sided, simple, which has acquired relative independence within a complex system. It is opposed by the "concrete" as something integral, interconnected, multifaceted and complex. The developed thinking of a person initially forms various A., and then on their basis by specification reproduces this integrity (mental concrete). Such thinking is both abstract (carried out in the form of A.) and concrete (moves towards the concrete and reproduces it). This unity of opposite moments is the dialectic of theoretical thinking.

In psychology, the features of formal, or empirical, A., most often found in Everyday life and in educational practice. She is the basis assimilation children knowledge describing objects by their external properties. This type of A. serves as a prerequisite for proper theoretical thinking, which also relies on meaningful A. Until now, the psychological characteristics of this type of A. and the patterns of its development in children have been poorly studied.

Psychological and pedagogical literature rightly notes the need to increase the level of abstractness of schoolchildren's thinking in order to fully assimilate modern scientific knowledge. As special studies show, in children it is necessary, if possible, to begin early to form the ability for accurate isolation and long-term mental retention of c.-l. essential properties and relations of objects for the purpose of their further study "in its pure form". Particularly promising is the education in students of the ability to form meaningful A. and to operate with them. In the process of learning, it is possible to form such a level and such types of A. that correspond to the basic requirements of modern scientific thinking. Cm. Developmental learning.

Big psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

See what "abstraction" is in other dictionaries:

ABSTRACTION- (from lat. abstractio distraction, separation) the process of mental abstraction of some properties and relations of things and phenomena from others. A. identification highlights a common property of objects by establishing an equivalence or equality relationship between them ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

ABSTRACTION- (lat. abstractio, from lat. abs from, and trahere to attract). The abstraction of some attribute from the object in connection with which it exists, and thinking about this attribute as an independent object, for example, illness, lethargy. Dictionary of foreign words, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

abstraction- and, well. abstraction f, lat. abstractio distraction. 1370. Ray 1998. 1. Philosophy. Distraction from the concrete, generalization; abstract concept. Sl. 18. As for our metaphysical subtleties, to abstractions and to categories, then my strengths ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Abstraction- Abstraction ♦ Abstraction "In science there is only the general," said Aristotle, "and in existence, only the singular." Therefore, any science is abstract by definition, because it considers the generality of laws, relations or concepts, and not ... ... Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville

ABSTRACTION- (from Lat. abstractio distraction) (abstract) form of knowledge based on the mental selection of the essential properties and relationships of the subject and abstraction from others, its private properties and relationships; general Concept as a result of the process of abstraction; ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

abstraction- 1. abstract concept, abstraction; abstract (outdated) 2. abstraction, distraction, speculation (book) Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011. abstraction n. distraction... Synonym dictionary

Abstraction- (from lat. abstractio distraction) a cognitive process in which the isolation of its individual properties from a holistic object takes place. Abstraction serves as the basis for the processes of generalization and concept formation. Empirical and theoretical levels ... ... Psychological Dictionary

ABSTRACTION- ABSTRACTION, abstraction, female. (lat. abstractio). 1. Mental separation of some properties and features of an object from the object itself (scientific). || Abstract concept (book). 2. An obscure, vague expression of thought (colloquial neod.). He got…… Dictionary Ushakov

abstraction- ABSTRACTION (from Latin abstractio highlighting, distraction or separation) is a theoretical method of research that allows you to abstract from some of the properties of the phenomena being studied that are not essential in a certain respect and highlight the properties that are essential and ... ... Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

abstraction- ABSTRACTION, abstraction, distraction, book. speculation ABSTRACT, metaphysical, abstract, theoretical, bookish. speculative, bookish transcendence, book speculation ABSTRACT, metaphysical, ... ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech

) - mental distraction, isolation from certain aspects, properties or relationships of objects or phenomena to highlight essential features.

The word "Abstraction" is used in two senses:

Abstraction process, same as abstraction»
Abstraction - « abstract concept», « abstract”, the result of abstraction.

An abstract concept is a mental construct that is a concept or an idea that can personify certain objects or phenomena of the real world, but at the same time abstracted from their specific incarnations. Abstract constructions may not have direct analogues in the physical world, which is typical, for example, for mathematics (in general, probably the most abstract science).

The need for abstraction is determined by the situation when the differences between the nature of the intellectual problem and the being of the object in its concreteness become apparent. In such a situation, a person uses, for example, the possibility of perceiving and describing a mountain as a geometric shape, and a moving person as a certain set of mechanical levers.

Some types of abstraction, by types of non-essential:

general abstraction- gives a generalized picture of the phenomenon, abstracted from particular deviations. As a result of such abstraction, a common property of the objects or phenomena under study is singled out. This type of abstraction is considered the main one in mathematics and mathematical logic.
idealization- replacement of a real empirical phenomenon with an idealized scheme, abstracted from real shortcomings. As a result, the concepts of idealized (ideal) objects are formed (“ideal gas”, “absolutely black body”, “straight line”, “spherical horse in a vacuum” (from a joke about idealization), etc.)
isolating abstraction- isolation of the phenomenon under study from a certain integrity, distraction from options that are not of interest.
abstraction of actual infinity- a distraction from the fundamental impossibility to fix each element of an infinite set, that is, infinite sets are considered as finite.
constructivization- distraction from the uncertainty of the boundaries of real objects, their "roughening".

By goals:

formal abstraction- isolation of properties important for theoretical analysis;
meaningful abstraction- isolation of properties of practical importance.

The concept of "abstract" is opposed to the concrete (concrete thinking - abstract thinking).

See the epistemological law "Ascent from the abstract to the concrete".

Abstract thinking implies operating with abstractions (“man in general”, “number three”, “tree”, etc.), which can be considered a more developed level of mental activity compared to concrete thinking, which always deals with specific objects and processes ( "brother Vasya", "three bananas", "oak in the yard", etc.). The ability for abstract thinking is one of the distinguishing features of a person, which, apparently, was formed simultaneously with language skills and largely due to language (for example, one could not even mentally operate with the number "three in general" without having a specific language sign for it - “three”, because in the world around us such an abstract, unattached concept simply does not exist: it is always “three people”, “three trees”, “three bananas”, etc.).

In software engineering, abstraction refers to an algorithm and method of simplifying and separating details to focus on some concepts at the same time.

How emotions affect abstract thinking and why mathematics is incredibly precise. How the cerebral cortex is arranged, why its capabilities are limited and how emotions, complementing the work of the cortex, allow a person to make scientific discoveries, A. G. Sverdlik. Mathematics, unlike other disciplines, is universal and extremely accurate. It creates the logical structure of all natural sciences. "The incomprehensible efficiency of mathematics", as in its time...
How emotions affect abstract thinking and why mathematics is incredibly accurate How the cerebral cortex is arranged, why its capabilities are limited, and how emotions, complementing the work of the cortex, allow a person to make scientific discoveries, Sverdlik A. Mathematics, unlike other disciplines, is universal and extremely accurate. It creates the logical structure of all natural sciences. "The incomprehensible efficiency of mathematics", as in its time...

1) Abstraction- (from Latin abstractio - distraction) - 1) the process of abstraction from some characteristics (properties, relations) of the objects and phenomena being studied, from real carriers of the characteristics of interest to us; 2) the result of this distraction, which is some abstract object. Abstracting from some characteristics of the objects under study, we simultaneously single out those characteristics that interest us in this case and make them the subject of our consideration. When you are looking for a book to enjoy reading, you are not interested in its cover, the quality of the paper on which it is printed, its format, etc., you only care about one thing: that the book is interesting. But if you are looking for a book to give as a gift, you are much less interested in its contents and you pay more attention to it. appearance. Depending on what exactly interests us in this case, we will abstract from different characteristics and, thanks to this, get different abstract objects.

2) Abstraction- - the process of abstraction from any properties, connections of an object in order to highlight its general, specific or universal properties, their consideration "in its pure form" in the course of solving theoretical and practical problems, understanding spiritual problems. A. is also the result of the process of abstraction, acting, for example, in the form of a general concept. So, the concept of "nature" is the result of A., in which human thinking has generalized all the objects that oppose human practice. A. arises in a situation where the difference in the nature of the task and the concrete being of the object is quite clearly realized. Then the lake can be considered chemical composition its waters, the hill as a geometric shape, the runner as a system of levers. In European philosophy and logic, A. is interpreted mainly as a way of mentally dissecting an object, producing abstract concepts, which, in turn, are built into more and more general pictures of reality. But in principle, A. also presupposes the possibility of highlighting specific connections and forms of existence of an object, i.e., such A. indicates the type of tasks that closely connect the goals of a person with the features of the objects being mastered. Such tasks have become a reality in ecology and, in fact, in all cases of human interaction with self-organizing systems. Until the middle of the XIX century. A. in philosophy was considered as a logical operation that is part of abstract thinking, ensuring its reproduction, replenishing it with new concepts. But, interpreted more broadly, A. can be represented as a human ability associated with the dismemberment and synthesis of objects in various forms. human activity and their cooperations. V. E. Kemerov

3) Abstraction- - (from lat. absractio - distraction) - one of the forms of representation of individual aspects of a thing in the human mind, which consists in the mental abstraction of individual properties and relations of things and the isolation, isolation of any property or relationship. Abstraction exists only in the mind of man, his imagination. As a result of abstraction, the human mind created categories - words. The most general categories, for example: the Universe, matter, time, movement, law, space, development, etc. - are the subject of consideration of such a science as philosophy. association block. In addition to abstractions, superabstractions are also possible - an illusory world that does not reflect any properties, any things and their relationships - fantasies, musical chords (words), plots and scenarios repeated in various works of literature, painting and music, that is, non-formalized information, thinking errors, as well as pseudo-philosophical fabrications and verbiage, which are not so easy to distinguish from the world of words.

4) Abstraction- (from lat. - distraction): one of the main mental operations, with the help of which a person learns the world. Mentally, he is distracted from direct sensory perception and singles out only some of its moments. These moments of the preserved part of perception, ideas about the subject, are used in the course of further mental operations. Using abstraction, the researcher is distracted from the random, non-principal in the subject and highlights it. essential characteristics. Concepts are formed with the help of abstractions. Concepts reflect the essential characteristics of the world. So, in order to define the concept of "man", one must abstract from its non-essential features (for example, skin color, hair, height, the presence of limbs, the ability to speak various languages, etc.). It is necessary to single out the essence of man, what makes a man a man and distinguishes him from animals - his mind, his spirituality.

5) Abstraction- - the formation of images of reality through abstraction, by using only part of the information contained in the original data, and adding to this information new information that does not follow from the original data.

6) Abstraction- (lat. abstractio - distraction, removal - introduced by Boethius as a translation of the Greek term used by Aristotle) - one of the most important operations of thinking. The thought of a person distracts something from the immediately given perceived representation and saves this fragment for the implementation of subsequent phases of the thought process. The inessential is eliminated from the corresponding representation, and in this way certain grounds for its true essence are revealed. The results of A. - images of reality - are traditionally referred to by the same term. To distinguish between the result of A. and the A. process itself, the latter is sometimes called abstraction. A. involves the rejection of fixing the individual, random in favor of isolating the general, which is necessary in order to ensure true knowledge of the world. The need for A. is set by the research situation, when the differences between the nature of the intellectual problem and the existence of the object in its concreteness become obvious (the possibility of perceiving and describing the mountain as geometric shape, and a moving person - as a certain set of mechanical levers). In European philosophy and logic, A. is interpreted, as a rule, as a method of gradual mental division of an object, producing concepts, which, in turn, form more and more general images of reality. (Important within the boundaries of the methodology of science is the problem of the relationship between A. "first", "second", etc. orders, as well as the possibilities of their reduction). In the A. procedure, two hypostases of the process of cognition are obvious: the first reflects the focus of attention on what exactly is singled out; the second - on what exactly the distraction is carried out from. The emphasis on one or the other side of this process (with their complementarity) often leads to polar conclusions regarding the role of A.: either they are considered as a significant source of data on the world, or as a procedure leading to their distortion and impoverishment. (Clarification of which of the properties of an object or phenomenon are "foreign" for them - in fact main question operations with A). The concept of "interval A." expresses the presence of degrees of freedom in the procedures of abstraction from certain properties of objects. Mathematics has the most developed system of mathematics. In order to more successfully implement their projects, A. are also used to highlight such specific features of objects, without taking into account which the effective transforming activity of people is impossible. (Ecological programs and all cases of human interaction with self-organizing systems, when reflection on an object changes the object itself). A.A. Gritsanov

7) Abstraction- (from lat. abstractio distraction) - in a broad sense - one of the main. operations of thinking, in which thought abstracts something from the directly given perceived representation and retains for itself a certain part in order to use it at subsequent stages of thinking; for example: from the idea of a person as a whole, the insignificant is omitted to determine the basis of his essence. Abstraction in the narrow sense means the process of thinking, in which we abstract from the individual, random, insignificant and single out the general, necessary, essential in order to achieve scientific objective knowledge. Abstraction is a means of concept formation.

8) Abstraction- (from the Latin term abstractio - abstraction, introduced by Boethius as a translation of the Greek term used by Aristotle) - one of the sides, forms of knowledge, which consists in mental abstraction from a number of properties of objects and relations between them and isolation, singling out to -l properties or relationships . Sometimes these abstract properties and relationships are thought of as related to known classes of objects (“metal”, “atom”, “ natural number”). In other cases, they are thought of in isolation from those objects with which they are in fact inextricably linked (“beauty”, “morality”, - “cost”, “usefulness”). In the process of A. one has to be distracted from some of the subjective capabilities of a person. For example, it is impossible to “count” the entire natural series of numbers, but nevertheless, abstracting from such a possibility, the A. of actual (i.e., “counted”, “completed”) infinity is created. The process of A. is a necessary condition for the formation of the most diverse concepts. Moreover, any cognition in general is connected with processes A. Without them, it is impossible to reveal the essence, to penetrate into the depths of the subject. The division of the subject and the allocation of essential aspects in it, their comprehensive analysis in a “pure” form - all this is the result of the abstracting activity of thinking. About the significance of A for cognition, Lenin wrote: “Thinking, ascending from the concrete to the abstract, does not depart - if it is correct ... - from the truth, but approaches it. The abstraction of matter, the law of nature, the abstraction of value, etc., in a word, all scientific (correct, serious, not absurd) abstractions reflect nature more deeply, or rather, more fully” (T. 29, p. 152). Practice serves as a criterion for the extent to which A. introduced into science are truly scientific. A scientific interpretation of the A process and its results is provided by dialectical materialism. Idealism often speculated on the difficulties associated with the abstracting activity of thinking. In this regard, Lenin warned that the possibility of idealism was already present in the most elementary A. The transformation of the products of A. - concepts, ideas - into the essence and fundamental principle of the world is characteristic of idealist philosophy. Modern positivist nominalism denies the need for abstractions in science high levels depriving it of the most important means of reflecting reality, its potential heuristic possibilities. In dialectical logic, the concept of A. is also used in the sense of one-sided, undeveloped, in contrast to the concrete (abstract and concrete).

Abstraction

(from Latin abstractio - distraction) - 1) the process of abstraction from some characteristics (properties, relations) of the objects and phenomena being studied, from real carriers of the characteristics of interest to us; 2) the result of this distraction, which is some abstract object. Abstracting from some characteristics of the objects under study, we simultaneously single out those characteristics that interest us in this case and make them the subject of our consideration. When you are looking for a book to enjoy reading, you are not interested in its cover, the quality of the paper on which it is printed, its format, etc., you only care about one thing: that the book is interesting. But if you are looking for a book to give as a gift, you are much less interested in its contents and pay more attention to its appearance. Depending on what exactly interests us in this case, we will abstract from different characteristics and, thanks to this, get different abstract objects.

The process of abstraction from any properties, connections of an object in order to highlight its general, specific or universal properties, their consideration "in its pure form" in the course of solving theoretical and practical problems, understanding spiritual problems. A. is also the result of the process of abstraction, acting, for example, in the form of a general concept. So, the concept of "nature" is the result of A., in which human thinking has generalized all the objects that oppose human practice. A. arises in a situation where the difference in the nature of the task and the concrete being of the object is quite clearly realized. Then the lake can be considered by the chemical composition of its water, the hill as a geometric shape, the runner as a system of levers. In European philosophy and logic, A. is interpreted mainly as a way of mentally dissecting an object, producing abstract concepts, which, in turn, are built into more and more general pictures of reality. But in principle, A. also presupposes the possibility of highlighting specific connections and forms of existence of an object, i.e., such A. indicates the type of tasks that closely connect the goals of a person with the features of the objects being mastered. Such tasks have become a reality in ecology and, in fact, in all cases of human interaction with self-organizing systems. Until the middle of the XIX century. A. in philosophy was considered as a logical operation that is part of abstract thinking, ensuring its reproduction, replenishing it with new concepts. But, interpreted more broadly, A. can be represented as a human ability associated with the division and synthesis of objects in various forms of human activity and their cooperation. V. E. Kemerov

- (from lat. absractio - distraction) - one of the forms of representation of individual aspects of a thing in the human mind, which consists in the mental abstraction of individual properties and relations of things and the isolation, isolation of any property or relationship. Abstraction exists only in the mind of man, his imagination. As a result of abstraction, the human mind created categories - words. The most general categories, for example: the Universe, matter, time, movement, law, space, development, etc. - are the subject of consideration of such a science as philosophy. association block. In addition to abstractions, superabstractions are also possible - an illusory world that does not reflect any properties, any things and their relationships - fantasies, musical chords (words), plots and scenarios repeated in various works of literature, painting and music, that is, non-formalized information, thinking errors, as well as pseudo-philosophical fabrications and verbiage, which are not so easy to distinguish from the world of words.

(from lat.-distraction): one of the main mental operations, with the help of which a person learns the world around him. Mentally, he is distracted from direct sensory perception and singles out only some of its moments. These moments of the preserved part of perception, ideas about the subject, are used in the course of further mental operations. Using abstraction, the researcher is distracted from the random, non-principal in the subject and highlights its essential characteristics. Concepts are formed with the help of abstractions. Concepts reflect the essential characteristics of the world. So, in order to define the concept of "man", one must abstract from its non-essential features (for example, skin color, hair, height, the presence of limbs, the ability to speak various languages, etc.). It is necessary to single out the essence of man, what makes a man a man and distinguishes him from animals - his mind, his spirituality.

The formation of images of reality through abstraction, by using only part of the information contained in the original data, and adding to this information new information that does not follow from the original data.

(lat. abstractio - distraction, removal - introduced by Boethius as a translation of the Greek term used by Aristotle) - one of the most important operations of thinking. The thought of a person distracts something from the immediately given perceived representation and saves this fragment for the implementation of subsequent phases of the thought process. The inessential is eliminated from the corresponding representation, and in this way certain grounds for its true essence are revealed. The results of A. - images of reality - are traditionally referred to by the same term. To distinguish between the result of A. and the A. process itself, the latter is sometimes called abstraction. A. involves the rejection of fixing the individual, random in favor of isolating the general, which is necessary in order to ensure true knowledge of the world. The need for A. is set by the research situation, when the differences between the nature of the intellectual problem and the existence of the object in its concreteness become obvious (the possibility of perceiving and describing a mountain as a geometric shape, and a moving person as a certain set of mechanical levers). In European philosophy and logic, A. is interpreted, as a rule, as a method of gradual mental division of an object, producing concepts, which, in turn, form more and more general images of reality. (Important within the boundaries of the methodology of science is the problem of the relationship between A. "first", "second", etc. orders, as well as the possibilities of their reduction). In the A. procedure, two hypostases of the process of cognition are obvious: the first reflects the focus of attention on what exactly is singled out; the second - on what exactly the distraction is carried out from. The emphasis on one or the other side of this process (with their complementarity) often leads to polar conclusions regarding the role of A.: either they are considered as a significant source of data on the world, or as a procedure leading to their distortion and impoverishment. (Clarification of exactly which of the properties of an object or phenomenon are "foreign" for them is, in fact, the main issue of operating with A). The concept of "interval A." expresses the presence of degrees of freedom in the procedures of abstraction from certain properties of objects. Mathematics has the most developed system of mathematics. In order to more successfully implement their projects, A. are also used to highlight such specific features of objects, without taking into account which the effective transforming activity of people is impossible. (Ecological programs and all cases of human interaction with self-organizing systems, when reflection on an object changes the object itself). A.A. Gritsanov

(from lat. abstractio distraction) - in a broad sense - one of the main. operations of thinking, in which thought abstracts something from the directly given perceived representation and retains for itself a certain part in order to use it at subsequent stages of thinking; for example: from the idea of a person as a whole, the insignificant is omitted to determine the basis of his essence. Abstraction in the narrow sense means the process of thinking, in which we abstract from the individual, random, insignificant and single out the general, necessary, essential in order to achieve scientific objective knowledge. Abstraction is a means of concept formation.

(from the Latin term abstractio - abstraction, introduced by Boethius as a translation of the Greek term used by Aristotle) - one of the sides, forms of knowledge, which consists in mental abstraction from a number of properties of objects and relations between them and isolation, singling out to -l properties or relations. Sometimes these abstract properties and relationships are thought of as related to known classes of objects (“metal”, “atom”, “natural number”). In other cases, they are thought of in isolation from those objects with which they are in fact inextricably linked (“beauty”, “morality”, - “cost”, “usefulness”). In the process of A. one has to be distracted from some of the subjective capabilities of a person. For example, it is impossible to “count” the entire natural series of numbers, but nevertheless, abstracting from such a possibility, the A. of actual (i.e., “counted”, “completed”) infinity is created. The process of A. is a necessary condition for the formation of the most diverse concepts. Moreover, any cognition in general is connected with processes A. Without them, it is impossible to reveal the essence, to penetrate into the depths of the subject. The division of the subject and the allocation of essential aspects in it, their comprehensive analysis in a “pure” form - all this is the result of the abstracting activity of thinking. About the significance of A for cognition, Lenin wrote: “Thinking, ascending from the concrete to the abstract, does not depart - if it is correct ... - from the truth, but approaches it. The abstraction of matter, the law of nature, the abstraction of value, etc., in a word, all scientific (correct, serious, not absurd) abstractions reflect nature more deeply, or rather, more fully” (T. 29, p. 152). Practice serves as a criterion for the extent to which A. introduced into science are truly scientific. A scientific interpretation of the A process and its results is provided by dialectical materialism. Idealism often speculated on the difficulties associated with the abstracting activity of thinking. In this regard, Lenin warned that the possibility of idealism was already present in the most elementary A. The transformation of the products of A. - concepts, ideas - into the essence and fundamental principle of the world is characteristic of idealist philosophy. Modern positivist nominalism denies the need for high-level abstractions for science, depriving it of the most important means of reflecting reality, its potential heuristic possibilities. In dialectical logic, the concept of A. is also used in the sense of one-sided, undeveloped, in contrast to the concrete (abstract and concrete).

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Abstraction is the formation of images of reality through abstraction, by using only part of the information contained in the original data, and adding to this information new information that does not follow from the original data.

Amo word "abstraction" in Latin means "distraction". This term was first proposed by Aristotle. So what is abstraction? Aristotle believed that this is a subjective method of thinking, one-sided knowledge and study of reality. By the way, this philosopher argued that it is abstraction that creates science. After all, science and philosophy are generalized concepts that are impossible without abstract thinking. Unfortunately, the theory of the famous philosopher did not gain recognition.

In the next few centuries, philosophers and scientists believed that abstraction is a so-called universal. After religion and theology were replaced by real science, relying only on the results of research, this concept took on a different meaning. It was believed that abstraction is just a mental feature of a person whose mind could not otherwise know the inseparable nature of things.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists differed on the subject of abstract thinking. Some consider this to be only a feature of consciousness, while others argue that this form of knowledge is of great importance in the life of every person.

ABSTRACTION

(from lat. abstractio - distraction, separation) - mental abstraction of some properties and relations of things and phenomena from others.
A. identification highlights the property of objects by establishing an equivalence or equality relationship between them, i.e. identifies objects with respect to this property. Such A. is based on the axiom of convolution, according to which each property (predicate) corresponds to a certain object, and vice versa: for example, the property “to be a voter” corresponds to a set of citizens who have the right to vote. Isolating A. highlights the properties inherent in real objects as independent abstract objects, for example, "whiteness", "kindness", "evenness".
In concrete sciences, especially in mathematics, their own specific techniques of A are used. In set-theoretic mathematics, A. of actual infinity is widely used, in which they abstract from the fundamental impossibility of constructing, describing and identifying any element of an infinite set, due to which it is likened to a finite set. In constructive mathematics, one turns to the analysis of potential feasibility, which allows abstraction from the possibility of the actual feasibility of constructing mathematical objects.
For A. to be fruitful, reflecting the essential aspects of reality, it is necessary to investigate which properties are most important for cognition, which other properties can be abstracted from as secondary and relatively independent. In each case, these issues are resolved within the framework of a specific scientific study.

Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .

ABSTRACTION

(from lat. abstractio - distraction), the formation of images of reality (representations, concepts, judgments) through distraction and replenishment, i.e. by using (or assimilation) only a part of the set of relevant data and the addition of new information to this part that does not follow from these data. The results of A. - images of reality - are usually denoted by the same term "A." By distraction they simplify, and by completion they complicate reality, and the basis of both acts can be very general principles and even theories. For example, the first empirical concepts about the figures of bodies in the observed space are created inductively (cm. Induction), abstracting from all the properties of the observed bodies, except for their shape and size. Geometric these concepts are reported at the expense of their logic. reconstruction, replenishing the selected empiric. theoretical properties. continuity properties, unlimited length, parallelism, etc., i.e. all the properties that are necessary to express pure geometry, true (theorem).

In the process of distraction, two ways of acting are possible: to consider something as a kind of self-sufficient reality (i.e. highlight it main, general properties, connections and relationships) or exclude something from his natures. connections, out of context, deprive the foundations and T. n. Both actions are complementary, both are necessary prerequisites for the study of reality, although the emphasis on one or the other of them often determines noznavat. to A.: either, in the first case, it is considered as comprehension of the objective essence of phenomena, or, in the second, they point to A., its one-sidedness, poverty, but in comparison with concrete reality (hence - "" in the odious meaning of superficial, speculative, formal, etc.). However, these modes of action are not sufficient in themselves to understand how to get the right, scientific A. In order to determine what needs to be emphasized and what to omit in order to formulate correct statements about the reality under study, it is necessary to consider the goals, means and objective A. and, in particular, to clarify the premises under which the properties included in A., can be considered virtually independent of other properties that are extraneous to A. Finding out which of the properties in question are extraneous is essentially ch. question A. It partly coincides with the question of beings, properties in strictly scientific its staging i.e. about those definable properties of an object that are capable of fully representing (replace) it in the definition epistemological situations - in model A., which is practical. confirmation of the objective correctness of the premises of A.

Distraction from outsiders in the process of A. simplifies the task of cognition. However scientific A. involves not only the ability to simplify the situation, distraction from extraneous information, but also the discretion in the results of the distraction of the information necessary for general method solving many similar problems, predicting the consequences of experiments, predicting theoretical. and practical activities and T. p. Result scientific A. is a generalized image in which a certain. contextual is combined with information completeness, justifying A. for a wide class of typical. circumstances - the scope of A. If such a domain cannot be found, A. remains semantically empty. If this area is too small, A. may lose scientific law. Normal is local A. when it is limited by the interval a b c t p a k c and i, i.e. information about the properties of possible.models of this. A., extracted from A. This is, in particular, the case main A. theories, the task of which determines simultaneously all the general properties of the possible models of this theory, regardless of their ontological. status and individual characteristics, although the usual understanding of A. theory, including its axioms, postulates and others principles, like , goes in a different way - interpretation in obviously given models. Typical - understanding the solutions of ordinary differentials. equations or equations in partial derivatives as laws of nature by preliminarily choosing "boundary" conditions.

Questions about the essential and the extraneous, about the generality and interval of A. are often solved simultaneously. For example, the laws of motion for an area electromagnetic phenomena"translates" the factor of finiteness of the speed of material interactions from an extraneous (for classical mechanics) into a significant (for relativistic mechanics), which at the same time refines the limits of applicability of A. classic. mechanics, in particular the interval of its epistemological. accuracy. At the same time, it turns out that the relationship between A. and experience is determined not only by the nature of A.'s models, but also by metric. organization of experience supplying these models. The extrapolation of A. to new models is often accompanied by an improvement in measurement techniques, and an increase in the accuracy of measurements sooner or later leads to the limits of extrapolation.

A., applied to the direct. feelings, data called A. first order. A. from A. of the first order gives A. of the second order and T. e. Cognize. can have A. of any order, but A., the results of which can be comprehended on material models, deserve special trust. Such A. called real, the rest - ideal (idealizations). The most important task scientific methodology is the comprehension of A. high order through A. of a lower order or the replacement of ideal A. with real ones. Sometimes this can be achieved by changing the formalism of a theory in which this or that ideal atomicity or non-beings is used, by changing its semantics.

The dialectic of abstract and concrete is a typical case of dialectic. unity, mutual transition of opposites.

In certain cases, "abstractness" turns out to be a sign of a false understanding, its isolation from life, from practice. In other cases, "abstract" reflects the nature of the subject itself. For example, abstract labor is derived by Marx from an understanding of the real process of reducing various kinds labor to a homogeneous society. labor, to a simple expenditure of labor power: “This reduction seems to be an abstraction, however, this is such an abstraction that occurs daily in the social process of production” (K. Marx, see K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 13, p. 17).

E. Ilyenkov. Moscow.

Historical overview of the river. In the development of the problem of A. and its role in cognition huge contribution made ancient Indian, ancient Chinese and ancient Greek. thinkers. In ancient Greek philosophy this problem on the idealistic. basis began to develop Socrates and Plato. Aristotle paid special attention to this issue. Aristotle wrote: “What is called abstraction, [the mind] thinks how it would think snubness: either as snubness in the form of an inseparable property, or as curvature, if someone really [it] thought, would think without a body, which is inherent in curvature; so [mind], thinking mathematical subjects, takes in abstraction, [although they are] inseparable [from bodies]" ("On the Soul", III 7, 431 at 15, Russian translation, M., 1937). In the Middle Ages, the question of A. returns Boethius; Abelard relies on him, who wrote that matter and exist together, but our spirit has the power to either take matter by itself, then form, then combine them together. Locke and the materialists.) Bacon's merit was the development of methods of abstraction causation between phenomena. Locke explores the process of A. in connection with the process of formation of general concepts. Eliminate, for example, from the "complex idea of Peter and Jacob, Marya and Anna that which was unique in each person, .. and keep only what they all have in common" and get the general idea of "man" (see J. Locke, Experience about the human mind, M., 1898, pp. 405-406). Similarly, the A. process was described by Condillac ("Treatise on sensations", M., 1935, ch. 1), Helvetius ("On a man ...", M., 1938, section 8, ch. 19), Diderot (Favorite philosophic work, M., 1941, pp. 45–46). The materialist understanding of A. was opposed, on the one hand, by the philosophers of the objective idealist trend (Descartes, Leibniz), who put forward their doctrine of innate knowledge, and on the other hand, by the subjective idealists Berkeley and Hume. Berkeley denied the reality of general ideas, linking this with the struggle against materialism (see Treatise on the Principles of Human Knowledge..., St. Petersburg, 1905, pp. 38–49, 131, 158–59). Materialistic The process of A. was challenged by neo-Kantians (Cassirer), positivists (J. S. Mill, E. Mach), and Husserlians. Husserl pointed out what is possible through a special "thinking intention", with the help of which we cognize the generic and abstract essence of objects, regardless of individual objects. The comprehension of these abstract entities in the course of the supersenses, the knowledge of Husserl called. ideation, and A., which is carried out at the same time, ideating A. (see "Logical Research", St. Petersburg, 1909). Modern subjective-idealistic interpretation of mathematics, considering the mathematical. and logical. A. as a result of only the creativity of the mind, ignoring the content of A. Modern. positivists claim to be realistic. and nominalist. t. sp. on A. are equal if they are considered only as possible interpretations of the facts of the language, with which we only deal when discussing thinking. However, they believe, one must keep in mind that these interpretations are conditional, and we prefer one or another of them for the sake of convenience or because of different tastes (see Carnap, Empiricism, and ontology, in the appendix to his book. : Meaning and necessity, M., 1959). On the concrete scientific plane, questions of logic have been fruitfully developed by mathematicians and logicians (see Mathematical Logic). For the types of abstraction and methods of forming an abstraction, see Isolating abstraction, Generalizing abstraction, Abstraction principle, Definition through abstraction, Abstraction operator, Class, Set, Subject, Volumetric principles.

D. Gorsky. Moscow.

Abstraction, the process of abstraction, consists in abstraction, in the mental rejection (temporary) of those objects, properties and relationships that make it difficult to consider the object of study in its "pure form", which is necessary at this stage of study. In order to mentally reproduce the subject of research in a "pure form", "one must leave aside all relations that have nothing to do with the given object of analysis." (K. Marx, see K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., vol. 15, 1933, p. 468; see also V. I. Lenin, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 77).

The question of what in objective reality is distinguished by the abstracting work of thinking and what is distracted from, in each specific case, is solved in direct dependence, first of all, on the nature of the object under study and those tasks that are posed by practice before research. So, for example, for mechanics, which studies the simplest form of motion of matter - the movement of bodies in space, physical and chemical are indifferent. the properties of the bodies studied by it (except for their mass), is also indifferent to the physical. their interactions (except for quantitative expressions of their strength). The scientist-mechanic distinguishes the mass of bodies and quantities. expression of their strength, being distracted from other physical. properties of bodies. If the researcher aims to study the emergence and development of a phenomenon, then the intrinsic properties of this phenomenon are distinguished. contradictions, the sides of this contradiction in their unity, which makes it possible to understand the driving forces and the direction of the development of the phenomenon; in this case, the researcher is distracted from the attendant circumstances that make it difficult. At the same time, research is mentally reproduced not only free from extraneous influences, i.e. in a "pure form", but also in an ideally developed state, which in its development has reached the value of universality, and not in a random individual form (see K. Marx, Capital, vol. 1, 1955, p. 4, and also V. I. Lenin, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 4, pp. 74–76, vol. 6, p. 112). It is only in the developed state of an object that its inherent regularities, internal opposites and contradictions unfold and come to light. Thus, for example, the discovery of the laws of an antagonistic society with its opposite classes and their contradictions, which constitute one of the driving forces development of exploiting societies. became possible only under capitalism.

As a result of this mental "disconnection" of objects, their properties and relations, it temporarily departs from reality, because in his head, integral objects turn into a kind of "fragments" - one-sided A. A rupture of initially undivided feelings. the image of an object and its knowledge, the allocation of certain properties and relations of things reflects a certain moment of reality, namely: relates. objects from a number of their non-beings. properties and relationships. Centuries of mankind and science have proven that the use of this kind of "fragments" gives much more knowledge. effect than operating with integral total formations. Thus, a temporary departure from reality ultimately means a greater degree of deepening into the object, penetration into it, into its inherent ext. contradictions. In their isolation from each other, the concepts of objects, their properties and relationships are A., which are contained in human. consciousness and to-rye in themselves are one-sided and one-sided. But in living tissue logical. thinking, they allow you to reproduce a much deeper and accurate picture of the world than it can be done with the help of a holistic sensually concrete image. Before us is an example of how "thinking, ascending from the concrete to the abstract, does not depart - if it is correct ... from the truth, but approaches it. Abstraction of matter, law nature, the abstraction of value, etc., in a word, all scientific (correct, serious, not absurd) abstractions reflect nature deeper, or rather, more fully. From living contemplation to the abstract thinking and from little practice - such is the dialectical way of knowing the truth, knowing the objective reality "(Lenin V.I., Philosophical Notebooks, 1947, pp. 146–47 ).

A. has its own limit, determined by the nature of the things themselves, their properties and relationships. Going beyond this limit leads, as Marx, Engels and Lenin showed, to fruitless idealistic speculations (see "The Holy Family", ch. 5, § 2 - "The Secret of the Speculative Construction", "Poverty of Philosophy", ch. "Metaphysics of Political Economy ", V.I. Lenin, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 2, pp. 235–38, 314, 349, 421).

The process of abstraction contains the possibility of thought leaving reality in the realm of fantasy, idealism. Tearing in thought the inseparable in the objective world, and then mentally torn projecting into the real world, the idealists began to consider A. as something really existing, as some kind of independent. essences and even beings (see Religion). To the "dead", scholastic. To abstractions, Lenin attributed the idea of God, the Machist-Bogdanov "in general": "... A dead abstraction: no one's thought, no one's, no one's feeling, thought in general (absolute idea, universal, etc.) ..." (Soch., 4 14, pp. 255, see also pp. 214–15). Lenin criticizes "skinny" abstractions, when only one side, property, relation of the object is isolated and turns into an independent beginning, and its comprehensive connections are omitted (see ibid., vol. 3, pp. 274–75), criticizes metaphysical. A., when the development of a real object is omitted (see ibid., vol. 32, pp. 71–75), when non-historical is allowed. approach to reality. This kind of A. is epistemological. basis of idealism, metaphysics, dogmatism.

In the general fabric of logical. thinking, the process of abstraction is only a moment, closely connected with other cognitions. processes, such as, for example, analysis, synthesis, generalization.

The process of A. is an ascent from the sensory-concrete to the abstract, and this is only the first phase of the study, the continuation of which is .

Origin of abstraction.

Biological A.'s prerequisites are in higher animals, in which they are expressed in fixing attention on some properties of a given object and distraction from its other properties in the process of acting with objects, in the process of their consumption.

The first, specifically human form of A. is thinking with generalized ideas that arose in the process of labor. Unlike animals, herd man, having singled out one or another object from nature, included it in the labor process and the system of emerging societies arising from it. connections. In connection with the emergence and development of labor, production. relations and speech, a developing person has developed to think not only about directly affecting objects, but also about objects that do not directly affect the senses, i.e. to think in generalized ideas, to-rye were fixed by speech. In the representations, the moments of A. consisted in the fact that most of the properties of the object were omitted and those that were necessary not only for immediate use were singled out. consumption of things by this team, but also for production. So, for example, hardness, the property of splitting in a certain way, stood out in the stone. This ability to highlight the relevant properties arises as the very process of production and communication of people.

In the study of surplus value, A. was also of paramount importance. Like commodity value, it appears on the surface of phenomena in more concrete forms: in the form of prom. profit, trading profit, interest on, rent. All these forms obscure their content - surplus value. The most prominent researchers before Marx - Smith and Ricardo - failed to identify surplus value, they failed to complete the abstraction and single out those beings. , which combines profit, interest and rent. Their inability to consistently abstract, expressed in the displacement of the universality of surplus value with its more concrete forms, entailed not only confusion, but also led to a contradiction with the correct understanding of the laws of surplus and even commodity value. Criticizing Ricardo, Marx wrote: “We see that if Ricardo is reproached for being too abstract, then the opposite reproach would be justified, namely, the insufficient power of abstraction, the inability to forget profits when considering the prices of commodities, which rises before him from the sphere of competition. "("Theories of Surplus Value", part 2, 1957, p. 184; see also "Capital", vol. 1, 1955, pp. 86–87).

Marx, exploring surplus value, first digresses from many factors operating in the processes of production and circulation. After all, if commodity value is created in the process of production, then surplus value is created in this process. But the price of the goods, as a rule, deviates from the cost. Marx considers it necessary to abstract from these deviations: “If prices really deviate from values, then they must first be reduced to the latter, i.e. abstracted from this circumstance as completely accidental, in order to obtain in its pure form the formation of capital on the basis of commodity exchange and in order to study it, do not allow yourself to be led into this side circumstance, obscuring the course of the process" ("Capital", vol. 1, 1955, p. 172). But if we ignore the influence of price deviations, then the following problem remains: where does surplus-value arise; it does not arise in the process of circulation, but it does not arise outside circulation either. And Marx found a brilliant answer that solved this seemingly insoluble problem: the capitalist buys on the market, i.e. in the sphere of circulation, a special commodity, labor power, which, when consumed in the production process, creates a new value, greater than the cost of labor power - surplus value. This problem is at the heart of the explanation of the laws of motion of the capitalist. way of production, at the heart of the doctrine of the class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The results of the abstracting activity of thinking in the political. savings are expressed in terms that reflect the actual society. Such categories are, for example, commodity value, surplus value, variable capital, constant capital, etc. Thus, scientific A. in Marx's "Capital" is a mental process of obtaining a phenomenon "in its pure form", liberation from side, random circumstances, in order to discover and trace the "true course of the process", the real one. Such A. does not lead away from reality into the sphere of empty definitions, but is the path to truth, to knowledge of the concrete, to the reflection of real reality.

B. Shenkman. Moscow.

Lit.: Marx K. and Engels F., Holy Family, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 2, M., 1955, p. 62–67; Marx K., Poverty of Philosophy, ibid., vol. 4, M., 1955, ch. 2, § 1; him, To the Criticism of Political Economy, ibid., vol. 13, M., 1959, p. 16–17, 38–48; his own, Capital, vol. 1, M., 1955; his own, Introduction (From the economic manuscripts of 1857-1858), in the book: Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 12, M., 1958; his own, Notes on the book of A. Wagner, in the book; Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., vol. 15, M., 1935; Lenin, V.I., On the Characteristics of Economic Romanticism, Soch., 4th ed., vol. 2, p. 235, 237-38, 314; his, Development of capitalism in Russia, ibid., vol. 3, p. 24, 153, 177, 274-75, 278, 288; his own, Philosophical Notebooks, ibid., vol. 38; Lafargue P., Works, vol. 3, M.–L., 1931; Yanovskaya S. A., On the so-called definitions through abstraction, in the book: Collection of articles on the philosophy of mathematics, M., 1936; Pavlovian environments. Protocols and transcripts of physiological conversations, v. 1, M.–L., 1949; Maksimov A. A., On the meaning of abstraction in mechanics and physics, in the book: Philosophical questions of modern physics, M., 1952; Gorsky D. P., On the question of the formation and development of concepts, "Problems of Philosophy", 1952, No 4; Rosenthal M. M., Questions in Marx's "Capital", M., 1955; Asmus VF, The doctrine of direct knowledge in the history of the philosophy of modern times, "Problems of Philosophy", 1955, No 5, 1957, No 6, 1957, No 11; Spirkin A. G., Formation of abstract thinking at the early stages of human development, ibid., 1954, No 5; his own, Origin of Consciousness, M., 1959 (Abstract abstract of diss.); Gevorkyan G. A., On the role of abstraction in cognition, Yerevan, 1957; Problems of dialectical logic. Sat. articles. M., 1959; Radishchev A.N., About man, about his mortality and immortality, Izbr. philosophical essays, M., 1949; Herzen A.I., Dilettantism in science, Sobr. op. in 30 volumes, vol. 3, Moscow, 1954; Sechenov I. M., Elements of thought. Sat. fav. articles, M.–L., 1943; Aristotle, Metaphysics, trans. [from Greek], M.–L., 1934; his own, Categories, M., 1939; Bacon F., New Organon, 2nd ed., M., 1938; Leibniz G., New about the human mind, M.–L., 1936; Kant I., Logic, trans. from German, P., 1915; Mill D.S., System of syllogical and inductive logic, M., 1914; 3gvart X., Logic, trans. from German, vol. 1, St. Petersburg, 1908; Cassirer E., Cognition and, trans. from German, St. Petersburg, 1912; Levy-Bruhl L., Primitive thinking, trans. from French, Moscow, 1930; Tarsky A., Introduction to the logic and methodology of deductive sciences, trans. from English, M., 1948; McKay D. M., The problem of concept formation by machines, in the book: Automata. Sat. articles, ed. K. E. Shannon and J. McCarthy, trans. from English, M., 1956; Stempkovskaya V.I., On the role of abstractions in cognition, M., 1959; Światopogladowe i metodologiczne problemy abstrakcji naukowej (red. Nowinski Cz.), Warsz., 1957; Aristotle, De caelo, Oxf., 1936; Wundt, Logik, 5 Aufl., Bd 1–3, Stuttgart, 1919–23; Uberweg, System der Logik..., 5 Aufl., Bonn, 1882; Frege G., Grundgesetze der Arithmetik, begriffschriftlich abgeleitet, Bd 1–2, Jena, 1893–1903; Russell B., Principles of mathematics, 2 ed. L., 1937; Whitehead A. N. Modes of thought, N. Y., 1938; Jordan L., Schule der Abstraktion und der Dialektik, Münch., 1932; Carnap R., Der logische Aufbau der Welt, B., 1928; Reichenbach H., Elements of symbolic logic, N. Y., 1948; Scholz H. und Schweitzer H., Die sogenannten Definitionen durch Abstraktion, Lpz., 1935.

Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F. V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .

ABSTRACTION

ABSTRACTION (from Latin abstraho - to distract, exclude, separate) - Cognition through the formation of "secondary images" of reality (its information models), in particular, such as perceptions, ideas, concepts, theories, etc. In the process of abstraction, processing is also carried out information in order to replace the directly given image with another, not directly given, but implied and conceivable as well as usually called by the same term “abstraction”.

OUTLINE OF HISTORY. The modern concept of abstraction goes back to Aristotle, according to which abstraction is a method of deliberately one-sided study of reality, a method of mental separation of the whole and its separately existing parts. In principle, such an assumption does not involve “any error” and is objectively justified by the diversity of properties (aspects) of the whole, sometimes so different that they cannot be the subject of one science. Science, according to Aristotle, explores the general, and the general is known through abstraction. Therefore, abstraction is not only the basic premise scientific knowledge, but also “creates science”. In this sense, the transient phenomena of experience are not important in themselves, but to the extent that they participate in some kind of abstraction. Aristotle also distinguished empirical abstractions from theoretical ones, believing that the latter are necessary where what is comprehended by thought and thought itself are inseparable from each other (as, for example, in mathematics, where the subject of knowledge essentially coincides).

The development and analysis of abstractions is a special goal and task of science, at least insofar as “every science investigates the general” (Aristotle). The desire for community is consonant with the desire for order. And if one of the tasks of science is to “discover” facts, then another, no less important, is to bring facts into . Therefore, the search for generalizing points of view begins with the search for patterns that are fixed in the abstraction of a “scientific law”, which gives “a kind of natural coordinate system with respect to which we can order phenomena” (W. Heisenberg). A simplified image of reality without “side features” or “a mass of details” is only the initial work of abstraction, which in its truly scientific manifestation goes much further than what can be extracted from the data of experience. The thesis that cognition distorts (roughens) reality through abstraction runs into the objection that the true interests of cognition are directed, as a rule, “beyond” the present experience to the invariant “essence of the matter” presented in abstraction. In itself, a pure act of abstraction only precedes the search for such invariants, masking the further non-trivial process of mental analysis of the relationship between abstraction and reality.

Apparently, there is no area of knowledge where abstraction would not serve as a rational basis for cognition, although in different areas the abstractions used and the features of their use are, of course, different. The most developed system of abstractions belongs to mathematics, which is essentially the science of abstractions. Natural science, to the extent that it uses mathematics, borrows from its abstractions, adding its own to those borrowed. But at the same time, there are also general scientific abstractions that are necessary both at the first steps in the formation of concepts and at all levels of the formation of knowledge about natural and social life. That is why abstractions are not "scaffolding", which, after the construction of any branch of knowledge, can and even must be discarded. It is not only the form, but the very essence of science.

Lit .: Worldview and methodological problems of scientific abstraction. M., 1960; Gorsky D. P. Questions of abstraction and the formation of concepts. M-, 1961; Rozov M. A. Scientific abstraction and its types. Novosibirsk, 1965; Petrov Yu. A. Logical problems of abstractions of infinity and feasibility. M., 1967; Yanovskaya SA Methodological problems of science. M., 1972; Lazarev F. B. On the nature of scientific abstractions. M., 1971; He is. Abstraction and reality. - "Bulletin of Moscow State University", 1974; No. 5; Vilenksh N. Ya., Shreider Yu. A. The concept of mathematics and objects of science. - “VD”, 1974, No. 2; Ilyenkov E. V. Dialectical - and, well. abstraction f, lat. abstractio distraction. 1370. Ray 1998. 1. Philosophy. Distraction from the concrete, generalization; abstract concept. Sl. 18. As for our metaphysical subtleties, to abstractions and to categories, then my strengths ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

- (from Lat. abstractio distraction) (abstract) form of knowledge based on the mental selection of the essential properties and relationships of the subject and abstraction from others, its private properties and relationships; general Concept as a result of the process of abstraction; ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

1. abstract concept, abstraction; abstract (outdated) 2. abstraction, distraction, speculation (book) Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011. abstraction n. distraction... Synonym dictionary

- (from lat. abstractio distraction) a cognitive process in which the isolation of its individual properties from a holistic object takes place. Abstraction serves as the basis for the processes of generalization and concept formation. Empirical and theoretical levels ... ... Psychological Dictionary

ABSTRACTION, abstraction, female. (lat. abstractio). 1. Mental separation of some properties and features of an object from the object itself (scientific). || Abstract concept (book). 2. An obscure, vague expression of thought (colloquial neod.). He got…… Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary, P. Moorhouse. We offer you a publication prepared for the exhibition "Gerhard Richter. Abstraction and appearance"…

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