An abstract term is a word or symbol which stands for the
qualities (one or more) possessed in common by a number of particular
things, facts, or events. The technique of abstract terms occurs when an
arguer employs a word for which he may have meaning in the form of other
words, but the arguer is unable to identify the concrete facts to which the
word supposedly refers.
A speaker defines 'neurosis' as a 'psychological term for a state
of mind involving the nerves,' but when he is asked to identify or point to -
among a large number of people - a case of neurosis, he is at a loss to do
so, showing that he is unable to use the term to make any concrete
distinctions.
