Universal Concepts Being Established in the Intellect- Aristotle

Aristotle, known for his development of classical empiricism, once drew an analogy between the process of universal concepts (as opposed to platonic pure forms) being internalised by the mind and a company of soldiers retreating.

As they leave, in great disorder, they try to form a united company again, but have a great bit of difficulty doing so. What changes this is one soldier halting (an individual experience irrelevant of a platonic Form) and making a stand. Then another sees him, and does the same (a second experience reinforcing the creation of a universal concept) and then a third, etc., etc., until a generalisation is created, and the company is in formation again, and ready for battle.

This offers the reader an easy way to visualise Aristotle's concept of empirical concept-forming. Human beings, he thought, derived their universal ideas from experience, and then these would become the tools, brick, and mortar of all reasoning and intellect.