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Originally Posted by noctypair
How do we form abstracts? What I mean is how do we define the attributes of a group of objects in such a way that we can see one of them and say "This is an object of type X."
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Words are a pattern of air molecules pushed through the throats and mouths of people.
These sounds are formed by the output generated by the brain. So, to understand words (and hence the formation of concepts and all the rest) we need to understand the operation of the brain. This is to be done through neurology and cognitive science. The sucess of these ventures could be described as "limited" at best, and are no where near the position where they could shed any light on the question you asked, but the point remains: they are the only way.
Though it is a philosophical question, it will not be solved by philosphical debate. It could only be solved by science.
An analogous problem is "What is life?" Undeniably a philosophical question, but not one to be solved by philosophers.