The Use of Types of Thought

Bare with me, I'm not exactly sure how to express this.

The common examples of two types of thought are realistic vs idealistic thought. Realistic thought being how we actually observe the world to be, idealistic is how we have been taught the world works (sometimes call empirical thought).

I believe most people think almost exclusively in an empirical method, I.e. you say dog, I picture a dog. However, this dog is different for both of us as I imagine a poodle, you imagine whatever type of dog you imagine but, if we put a dog in front of us realistically, we will both say that's a dog.

The question I have is how these empirical methods used in thinking affect day to day conversation and more importantly how to reduce the barriers denotations create in conversation.

I have tried to map words with friends to create a spectrum of denotations, but I have found people have such varied meaning to words, it is difficult to pin down exactly what anyone means and am trying to find a new approach.

Understanding, understanding.
I see I feel I understand. I see I remember I understand. Words have meaning. Whats to understand? pljames

i think you're trying to describe the problem we may have when communicating an abstract idea or philosophical treatise that contains one or more typos or 'category errors', whereby the subject of the enquiry is confounded by the expectations of the enquirer.

for example the empirical observer may wish to visit a university of some description and ask of one of those gathered there, where is this university? now, the enquirer may expect to find a school or building or some other structure that fits their preconceived notions of what a university may look like. however - should the university be in fact based on distance learning, such as the open university in britain; or for that matter exist in a large town of different colleges and research centres - such as oxford or cambridge - then, we may find a problem that must be dealt with. someone more knowledgable about the institutions of education may demonstrate that here are the many colleges, research centres and library's of the university. the students, tutors and emeritus professors all live and work in and around these institutions of learning. now to someone fairly intelligent this would be easy to understand. but lets say they are from an impoverished background in cambodia, and have no real understanding of what further and higher education actually is? then they may beg the question, but where is this 'university'? 'i have seen the buildings, the libraries, the gym, the research centres etc but not the university?' - simply because they expect the institution of university to be some structure within itself, not some campus or a sprawling mass of educational establishments.

basically its the equivalent of asking what the institution of marriage is all about, expecting to find some happy home with children and lots of loved ones and the happy couple always sticking up for one another; only to find once they had married themselves', their own experience of the so called great institution of marriage was actually far removed from their expectations and the original empirical thought they had was bogus!

this denotation as you call it is known as a 'category error' and you should read gilbert ryle's 'a concept of mind - the ghost in the machine' to understand the topic you are talking about more deeply.

Understanding, understanding.
I see I feel I understand. I see I remember I understand. Words have meaning. Whats to understand? pljames

Deadcitystreets,
Concerning what is and where is one mind? I hear the words in my mind and see them down on this screen, yet my mind is invisible. Matter and atoms are invisible except through a microscope.

Another theory is mind is spirit. Mind ia awareness and consciousness which is invisible.
Our thoughts are invisible until we write them down. Is there more to our material world than material?
I can't see the air but I can feel it and see it blowing the trees. What is this mystery called mind? Paul

concerning where the mind is at, it exists everywhere you look and is as tangible as the taste of sweet or sour. our thoughts have become our world, our infrastructure. our buildings, our motor vehicles, our government policies etc. for example boeing 747's do not exist in a state of nature, nor do roads, traffic or industry - all was conceived of in the mind's eye and planned out on paper. today we exist with all these technological marvels and the structures of our society simply because the mind was troubled to conceive a solution to its problems. and abracadabra! 'THE MIND' - everything conceivable is on fact a product of your intuitive self, the forensic person. - even if you are but part of the solution...

Deadcitystreets,
Concerning what is and where is one mind? I hear the words in my mind and see them down on this screen, yet my mind is invisible. Matter and atoms are invisible except through a microscope.

Another theory is mind is spirit. Mind ia awareness and consciousness which is invisible.
Our thoughts are invisible until we write them down. Is there more to our material world than material?
I can't see the air but I can feel it and see it blowing the trees. What is this mystery called mind? Paul

Deadcitystreets,
Thoughts come from our reality to our memory then too our mind, And then back to reality.You have a good point. Language is the catalyst for knowledge. Paul