Human Concepts

When you smell something burning, you will probably associate it with a certain thing; burning fish, for example. In your head, you already have certain concept of what burning fish smells like. In other words, you know what can happen if the fish is burnt too long or the fire is too big. So, there are two things which might cause it to take place. Later, you might also judge whether such fish is nice or not. It surely depends on your preconceptions; that is, concepts you have already had in mind. The concepts you have are, of course, influenced by your background.

The example given above shows that man has the capabilities to understand something instinctively. This will then be transformed into certain concepts. Those concepts depend on his background and understanding of the thing he has got before he comes to his judgement. With this kind of capabilities he can form many other things that have originated from his concepts. It can be observable things such as food, clothes, houses, to abstract ones such as value, morals, or mathematics.

Animals do not have the capability to form such concepts resulting from rational understanding. Naturally, they cannot intentionally do anything they like to meet their particular wish. For example, they cannot mix different kinds of ingredients with the fish , we were talking about above, to make it suit their taste.

The things you see, smell, taste, hear, and smell are all perceived through your senses. Your rational understanding will form those kinds of perception into certain concepts. It is clear that your perception of the things you have experienced is closely related to your life; that is, your background. In his higher level of understanding, man has metaphysical understanding. It is an abstraction of the nature of existence, truth, or knowledge.