The Evolution of the Concept of "Abstraction" in Three Philosophical Frameworks

The concept of "abstraction" plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions and defining their boundaries and characteristics. This study explores the evolving meaning and function of abstraction within the context of three philosophical frameworks: the essential view, the principiality of being with a gradation unity approach, and the personal unity approach. In the essential view, abstraction entails separating from material aspects, thereby elucidating the emergence of triple perceptions, various forms of rationality, and the negation of perceptual additions. In the principiality of being with a gradation unity approach, perception is seen as existential and inseparable from the soul, progressing towards transcendence. Abstraction, in this context, involves transitioning from one order of existence to another, separating the perceiver from the perceived. Finally, in the personal unity of being, perception transforms into "appearance," and abstraction refers to the separation of this appearance from hidden or inferior appearances. Through these three perspectives, the process of abstraction moves from plurality towards unity and perception, ultimately converging with the perceptive appearance in the third paradigm.