Which term describes the mind's act of forming a concept?

• A. Judging
• B. Deduction
• C. Simple apprehension
• D. Inference

Answer: (C)

The main idea being tested is how the mind first grasps a concept. In traditional logic, forming a concept is called simple apprehension—the mental act of seizing or understanding the general notion of a thing without making any claim about it. For example, when you think of the concept of a dog, you’re recognizing what the term refers to and grasping its meaning, not yet asserting anything about a particular dog or about any properties being true of all dogs.

This is different from judging, which is about affirming or denying something about a subject and predicate, such as “Dogs are loyal.” It’s also different from inference or deduction, which involve deriving conclusions from given premises. Since the question asks for the term that describes the mind’s act of forming a concept, simple apprehension is the best fit.