What is an Idea?

When considering this question, we realize how much this term is used in the language, and how many synonyms or nuances it can have.  As the Organizer said, this popularity must mean something.  There's something about the word that gives it a special flexibility and character to represent a variety of "mental events", while retaining something that distinguishes it from other types of mental processes.

The Neurologist, probably the best among us to speak knowledgeably about mental processes, began by remarking that anything might be true today.  In his poetic way, he stated that things that do not occur, also occur, in part because we cannot observe everything and not being observed does not prevent all occurrences.  Getting into the mental issue, he reminded us that all mental activity is the result of a tissue doing its job, and all ideas come from the brain.  They are based on memories stored there and associations we make between those memories, adjusted by new experiences we have.  Later, after some discussion of definition for the term, he gave the opinion that an idea must be a solution.  Medical ideas appear for the purpose of curing or treating disease, i. e. solving a problem.  Like other ideas, they should be sought in groups, taking advantage of the variety of experiences and thought processes available, brainstorming to come up with ideas.  However, we should also use common sense to articulate our ideas, since thinking without discipline does not lead to workable solutions.  He also specified that the ideas themselves are not really the solutions, but the very beginning of the process of development.  In the end, though, he warned the group that people with many ideas can be dangerous.  They are inconsistent.  Ignorance is the best protection we have against the perils of existence, and we find our path only through trial and error.  To live well, we must be professional error makers.

The Writer gave us some thoughts to chew on previously, focusing mainly on the function of ideas.  In the meeting, he brought up the concept of old and new ideas, saying that new ideas appear spontaneously, and not necessarily triggered by old ideas since there are always new experiences for humanity.  He presented two philosophical views of ideas - Empiricist and Rationalist - being careful not to take sides himself, at least in the beginning.  The views are not as recent as their schools of thought, however, as the Writer said that even Aristotle was remarking on the nature of ideas in his time, believing them to be impossible without experience.  It seems to make sense.  We might try to imagine something we haven't perceived personally, but something that nobody has perceived and described is exceedingly difficult to conceive of.  After the solution definition, the Writer insisted that ideas do not have to be articulated to be ideas; one can form a mental picture or design without sharing or articulating it to others, and the fact that it is in the mind is the defining factor of its being an idea.

The Organizer puzzled over a number of synonyms for the term, based on the various expressions we use the word "idea" in.  The most relevant for our discussion seem to be solution, as the Neurologist mentioned, and design.  To define something as an idea, there must be a feeling of newness, something that has not been presented before, a connection that has not been made by others.  To aid in his definition, he distinguished ideas from beliefs by emphasizing the flexibility of an idea; beliefs are often rigid and only changed with difficulty or pain, while ideas can be challenged and modified with ease.  He also mentioned his belief (!) that people will die for their beliefs/convictions, but not for their ideas.  After some other contributions, he insisted that ideas are a strictly internal phenomenon, not gifts from the beyond that are sown upon us.  They basically have three steps to their creation: accessing our memories; processing the memories; correct processing of the memories in question.  While we might ask for ideas/suggestions from others, the act of asking implies that we will test the value and correctness of the ideas that are presented, something that in the Organizer's opinion we do intuitively.  The testing process easily modifies ideas, as long as they haven't become beliefs.

Considering the many shades of definition that were applied to the word "idea", I have to pick the newness factor as the most critical.  Although we know the saying "There is nothing new under the sun", what matters is the newness to ourselves or the situation.  Seeing the existence of pyramids all over the world, built by cultures who never had any contact between them, we should be able to believe that the same ideas can occur to very different people.  To differentiate from "belief", the ephemerality of an idea appears to be essential.  As the Organizer said, people might be willing to die for their beliefs but not for a mere idea.  Others might want to kill you for your ideas, however, since they can solidify into beliefs and become a sort of contagion that spreads to other people.  Kevin Smith's Dogma used this perspective, having the 13th apostle say that the trouble with modern religion is that it promotes beliefs when what Jesus had was ideas.

Other participants gave short contributions, saying that ideas are what make each person unique and proposing that we only consider articulated ideas with results as ideas, relegating unarticulated or unworkable ideas to the category of "thoughts".  Well, it was just an idea.  Fortunately, we were not treated to any oral incontinence this time around.

Of course, with the right experiences, our beliefs about ideas could change, if we are correct in our ideas.