24. In Respect of Their Origin or Their Formation, cognitions are immediate or mediate.

They are immediate or intuitive when the object to be known is itself united with the intelligence or, at least, itself begets in the intelligence the representation of what it is.

When the cognition of the object is dependent upon that of another object, the cognition is called mediate. This is proper or analogical accordingly as the object which serves as intermediary is or is not of the same nature as the object to be known.

Mediate cognition is sometimes called "abstractive," as opposed to "intuitive" cognition.