secondary qualities

plural noun

(in empiricist philosophy) those properties of objects that are explained in terms of the primary properties of their parts, such as heat in terms of the motion of molecules

This recognition frees logic from the epistemological discussion of secondary qualities.

Plato also approaches very near to our doctrine of the primary and secondary qualities of matter.

Consistently with this, Brown rejects Reid's distinction between the primary and secondary qualities.

I allude to the division, which has been formed of the primary and secondary qualities of matter.

Nor do we perceive the secondary qualities of bodies, as such, but only infer them from our sensations.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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