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Recept

idea formed by the repetition of percepts (i.e., successive percepts of the same object)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 29, 2024
Entity authorityQ7302352
Source-derived summary

"Recept" (pronounced ) is a term used in the work of 19th-century psychologist George Romanes to refer to an idea that is formed by the repetition of percepts (i.e., successive percepts of the same object). The idea is similar to that of concatenated impressions, as seen in the work of David Hume. It is also associated with the concepts of "construct" and "influent".

In the book Mental Evolution of Man, Romanes introduced recept to support his argument that Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of language is valid by presenting more evidence from philology. In his conceptualization, recept denotes the process, which involves memory, that transpires when a human child as a "higher animal" is faced with a sensory situation it perceives as familiar. This familiarity elicits a response based on its meaning and significance. Romanes also stated that, recept or a receptual thought is a compound idea - one the differs from a general or abstract idea - of past similar perceptions. It has been interpreted as an idea that one is not aware he has. It is noted that recept is not widely embraced because Romanes book is so little read. The term is used in Richard Maurice Bucke's book, Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Recept” as idea formed by the repetition of percepts (i.e., successive percepts of the same object). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Recept, idea and formed.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 213-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Recept, idea and formed providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Recept”, the useful work is to connect “idea formed by the repetition of percepts (i.e., successive percepts of the same object)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7302352. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Recept”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Recept primary sources, Recept archive and Recept research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Recept” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.