Generalization
Related: idea - induction - reason
"An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think." - Georg Hegel
"To generalize is to be an idiot. To particularize is the alone distinction of merit. General knowledge are those knowledge that idiots possess." - William Blake
"Obvious enough that generalities work to protect the mind from the great outdoors; is it possible that this was in fact their first purpose?" - Howard Nemerov
"A sweeping statement is the only statement worth listening to. The critic without faith gives balanced opinions, usually about second-rate writers." - Patrick Kavanagh
Definition
For instance, is a generalization of bird because every bird is an animal, and there are animals which are not birds (dogs, for instance).
This kind of generalization versus specialization (or particularization) is reflected in either of the contrasting words of the word pair hypernym and hyponym. A hypernym as a generic stands for a class or group of equally-ranked items, such as tree does for beech and oak; or ship for cruiser and steamer. Whereas a hyponym is one of the items included in the generic, such as lily and daisy are included in flower, and bird and fish in
animal. A hypernym is superordinate to a hyponym, and a hyponym is subordinate to hypernym. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalization [May 2005]
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