Abstraction facts for kids
An abstraction is like taking a big, complicated idea or thing and making it simpler. You keep only the most important parts. This helps you understand it better or use it in new ways.
Think of it as focusing on the main idea and leaving out the small details. For example, a specific leather soccer ball is a real, "concrete" object. But if you abstract it, you get the general idea of a "ball." This means you only think about what all balls have in common, like being round and used for games. You don't think about its color or material. The opposite of "abstract" is "concrete."
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When Did Abstract Thinking Start?
The first signs of abstract thinking in humans go back a long time. Scientists have found symbols on old objects in Africa. These objects are between 50,000 and 100,000 years old.
How We Think Abstractly
In philosophy, abstraction is a way of thinking where ideas become separate from specific objects.
Abstraction uses a simple approach. It makes details less specific or clear. So, to talk about abstract things, people need to share a common understanding.
For example, many different things can be the color red. Also, many things can sit on surfaces, like the cat in picture 1. The idea of "redness" and the relationship "sitting-on" are both abstractions. They are general ideas taken from many specific examples.
Look at graph 1 below. It shows simple connections. It has three boxes, two ovals, and four arrows. Picture 1 shows many more details. The graph focuses on the main ideas: an "agent" (the cat) is "SITTING" on a "location" (the mat).
Even though "sitting-on" (graph 1) is more abstract than a picture of a cat on a mat (picture 1), it can still be a bit unclear where "abstract" ends and "concrete" begins. This unclear part is typical of abstraction.
For instance, a newspaper can be described in many ways, from very abstract to very specific:
- A publication
- A newspaper
- The San Francisco Chronicle
- The May 18 edition of the Chronicle
- My copy of the May 18 edition of the Chronicle
- My copy of the May 18 edition of the Chronicle as it was when I first picked it up (before it burned in the fireplace).
An abstraction can cover all these levels of detail. It doesn't lose the general idea.
What Abstractions Refer To
Abstractions sometimes refer to many different things. For example, "happiness" can mean different things to different people. It depends on what makes them happy.
Also, "architecture" is not just about designing safe buildings. It also includes creative ideas for solving building problems. It's about how space is used and how buildings make people feel.
Specific Examples
Things that don't exist in one specific place or time are often abstract. But specific examples of these abstract things can exist in many places and times. These abstract things are called "multiply instantiated." This means they can have many different real-world examples, like picture 1 and picture 2 (if there were more pictures of cats on mats).
However, not all ideas that can have many examples are "abstract" in the same way. For instance, "cat" and "telephone" are abstractions. They cover many different cats or telephones. But they are not "abstract" in the same way as the ideas in graph 1.
We can see a chain of abstractions: "cat" leads to "mammal," and "mammal" leads to "animal." "Animal" is more abstract than "mammal."
Physical Things
A physical object, like a rock or a tree, is "concrete." It is a specific thing that exists in a certain place and time.
Abstract things are sometimes defined as things that don't exist in reality. Or they exist only as sensory experiences, like the color red. But it's hard to decide what is "real." For example, are ideas like "God," "the number three," or "goodness" real, abstract, or both?
One way to think about this is to use "predicates." These are terms for whether things are real, abstract, concrete, or have a certain property (like "good"). Questions about properties are then statements about predicates. These statements need to be looked at by someone. In graph 1, the arrows connecting boxes and ovals can show predicates. Different levels of abstraction can be shown by more arrows connecting rows of boxes or ovals in other graphs.
Abstraction in Philosophy
In philosophy, abstraction is the process of finding common features in different things. Based on these common features, we form a concept. The idea of abstraction helps us understand debates about empiricism (knowledge from experience) and universals (general ideas).
How Abstract Things Exist
Physical objects, like rocks and trees, exist differently from abstract concepts or relationships. For example, the specific things in picture 1 exist differently from the concepts in graph 1. This difference makes the word "abstract" useful in ontology (the study of being). The word applies to properties and relationships. It shows that if they exist, they don't exist in space or time. But examples of them can exist in many different places and times.
Sometimes, in philosophy, specific examples of properties are called "abstract particulars." For example, the specific redness of a specific apple is an "abstract particular."
In Language
If an abstract concept, like "society" or "technology," is treated like a concrete object, it's a fallacy (a mistake in thinking). In linguistics, abstract concepts can be used as if they were nouns for concrete objects. For example, in 1805, Horatio Nelson said, "England expects that every man will do his duty." Here, "England" (an abstract idea) is used as if it were a person.
This is called metonymy. It can make the difference between abstract and concrete things less clear.
Making Things Smaller
An abstraction can be seen as taking many different pieces of information and turning them into one simpler, abstract piece. This happens when the original pieces of information are similar. For example, many different physical cats become the abstraction "CAT." This idea shows that both the detailed information and the abstract information are equally important. This avoids problems with the difference between "abstract" and "concrete."
In this way, abstraction means finding similarities between objects. Then, these objects are linked to an abstraction (which is also an object).
- For example, picture 1 shows the concrete relationship "Cat sits on Mat."
We can build chains of abstractions. It starts from brain signals from our senses. Then it moves to basic abstractions like color or shape. Next are experiences, like a specific cat. Then come semantic abstractions, like the "idea" of a CAT. Finally, we get to classes of objects like "mammals" or even categories like "object" versus "action."
- For example, graph 1 shows the abstraction "agent sits on location."
This way of thinking doesn't need a specific hierarchy (like cats and mammals). It just means leaving out more and more details.
Abstraction and the Brain
Recent studies suggest that our verbal system is more active for abstract concepts. Our perceptual system is more active for concrete concepts. This is because abstract concepts make certain parts of the brain (like the inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus) more active. Concrete concepts activate other parts (like the posterior cingulate, precuneus, fusiform gyrus, and parahippocampal gyrus).
Other research on the human brain suggests that the left and right hemispheres handle abstraction differently. For example, one study found that the left hemisphere is more involved when we use tools.
Abstraction in Art
In art, abstraction usually means abstract art in general. This type of art doesn't try to show things exactly as they look in the real world. However, it can also mean an object or image that has been simplified from the real world or another artwork. Art that changes the natural world to express feelings is called abstract. Art that comes from a recognizable subject but doesn't copy it is called nonobjective abstraction.
In the 20th century, abstract art became popular. This happened along with new discoveries in science and technology. Changes in city life also played a role. Later, abstraction focused more on pure forms, like color without a clear meaning, and simple geometric shapes.
In music, abstraction can mean playing music in a free, unplanned way. It can also mean music that doesn't follow traditional tonality (a key signature). Atonal music has no key. It explores how sounds relate to each other without a main key.
Abstraction in Psychology
Carl Jung, a famous psychologist, said that abstraction is more than just thinking. He included four main psychological functions: sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking. Abstraction works when one of these functions focuses on something and ignores other things, like emotions. The opposite of abstraction is concretism, which means focusing only on concrete details.
Jung explained that there is abstract thinking, abstract feeling, abstract sensation, and abstract intuition. Abstract thinking focuses on logical qualities. Abstract feeling focuses on feeling-values. Abstract sensation is about beauty, and abstract intuition is about symbols.
Abstraction in Computer Science
Computer scientists use abstraction to understand and solve problems. For example, they use it to organize data for a database.
Abstraction in Mathematics
In mathematics, abstraction is the process of finding the main idea of a math concept. It removes any connection to real-world objects it might have started with. Then, it makes the idea more general so it can be used in more situations.
The good things about abstraction in mathematics are:
- It shows deep connections between different areas of math.
- What we know in one area can help us guess things in another.
- Methods from one area can be used to prove things in another.
The main challenge of abstraction is that very abstract ideas can be harder to learn. They need some experience with math before they can be fully understood.
See Also
Images for kids
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Conceptual graph for A Cat sitting on the Mat (graph 1)
In Spanish: Abstracción (filosofía) para niños
