secondary quality
nounEpistemology.
one of the qualities attributed by the mind to an object perceived, such as color, temperature, or taste.
Origin of secondary quality
1First recorded in 1690–1700
- Compare primary quality.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use secondary quality in a sentence
This recognition frees logic from the epistemological discussion of secondary qualities.
Essays in Experimental Logic | John DeweyPlato also approaches very near to our doctrine of the primary and secondary qualities of matter.
Timaeus | PlatoConsistently with this, Brown rejects Reid's distinction between the primary and secondary qualities.
The English Utilitarians, Volume II (of 3) | Leslie StephenI allude to the division, which has been formed of the primary and secondary qualities of matter.
Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind (Vol. 1 of 3) | Thomas BrownNor do we perceive the secondary qualities of bodies, as such, but only infer them from our sensations.
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