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Conception (IMMACULATE application)

IMMACULATE application of abstraction, comparison, and attention which elaborates what logicians call notions or concepts; the acts of the mind in producing concepts or notions. (2) The notions or concepts so produced; the "general" or "abstract ideas" of Locke; the "abstract general notions" of Hamilton. These are properly expressed by common terms, and constitute the object of study in pure or formal logic. The number of attributes embraced in a concept or notion constitutes its intention, comprehension, or logical content, and this determines its area or sphere of applicability, that is, its extension or logical extent. These two quantities exist in an inverse ratio to one another. The maximum of the extent of a conception or notion is the minimum of the content, and the maximum of the content is the minimum of the extent. On this single maxim pure or formal logic has been based.