Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander OMwas an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth6 January 1859
CountryAustralia
act australian-philosopher certain engaged mind perception tree
In the act of perception there are accordingly these two things, the mind engaged in a certain act, and the thing called the tree which is not mental.
stars philosophy tree
What is the meaning of the togetherness of the perceiving mind, in that peculiar modification of perceiving which makes it perceive not a star but a tree, and the tree itself, is a problem for philosophy
tree perception
In the perception of a tree we can distinguish the act of experiencing, or perceiving, from the thing experienced, or perceived.
acts alter australian-philosopher bodily medium object ourselves practical relation
Practical acts are such as, through the medium of our bodily movements, alter the object or its relation to ourselves or to other subjects.
australian-philosopher character determines mental object
It is a different and independent thing, and the character of the mental act only determines how much of the object is apprehended and in what form.
australian-philosopher besides contains elements ideal mind perceived present recognize sensory thus
Thus we have to recognize that a thing as perceived contains besides sensory elements other elements present to the mind only in ideal form.
perception may perceive
Thus the same object may supply a practical perception to one person and a speculative one to another, or the same person may perceive it partly practically and partly speculatively.
fruition fancy impulse
Hence, in desiring, the more the enjoyment is delayed, the more fancy begins to weave about the object images of future fruition, and to clothe the desired object with properties calculated to inflame the impulse.
self personality desire
You can mark in desire the rising of the tide, as the appetite more and more invades the personality, appealing, as it does, not merely to the sensory side of the self, but to its ideal components as well.
expectations desire may
The interval between a cold expectation and a warm desire may be filled by expectations of varying degrees of warmth or by desires of varying degrees of coldness.
simple issues movement
The mental act of sensation which issues in reflex movement is so simple as to defy analysis.
elements mental-health wells
We cannot therefore say that mental acts contain a cognitive as well as a conative element.
curiosity analysis pieces
Curiosity begins as an act of tearing to pieces or analysis.
real elements cognition
But though cognition is not an element of mental action, nor even in any real sense of the word an aspect of it, the distinction of cognition and conation has if properly defined a definite value.