secondary qualities

British  

plural noun

1. (in empiricist philosophy) those properties of objects that are explained in terms of the primary properties of their parts, such as heat in terms of the motion of molecules

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Example Sentences

Democritus's aphorism introduced the vastly influential principle of the primary and secondary qualities.

From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2011

Opinions may differ as to the secondary qualities required in a President of the United States, but undoubtedly the first is Poissonality.

From Time Magazine Archive

Primary qualities are objective; secondary qualities are subjective, in that they depend on our ways of sensing.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The terminology we now use to express this distinction, between primary and secondary qualities, was introduced by Boyle in 1666 and popularized by Locke in 1689.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Although Descartes followed the ancient atomists in their distinction between primary and secondary qualities, he rejected their belief in empty space, the void.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton