Conception

Explanation

Knowledge is either conception or assent. Grasping what “human” means, or what “writing” means, is conception: nothing is yet affirmed or denied.

An unknown conception is reached through a defining statement (al-qawl al-shāriḥ): an essential or a descriptive definition. That is why the first part of logic, the conceptions (al-taṣawwurāt), ends with definition.

Also written as: tasawwur, tasawwurat, taṣawwurāt, conception, apprehension.

Examples

• تَصَوُّرُ الإِنْسَانِGrasping the meaning of “human”, without saying anything about it

Related terms

• Assent
• Essential definition
• Descriptive definition
• Logic