cognition, knowledge, noesis - the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

tradition - an inherited pattern of thought or action

object - the focus of cognitions or feelings; "objects of thought"; "the object of my affection"

food for thought, intellectual nourishment, food - anything that provides mental stimulus for thinking

noumenon, thing-in-itself - the intellectual conception of a thing as it is in itself, not as it is known through perception

universe of discourse, universe - everything stated or assumed in a given discussion

subject, topic, matter, issue - some situation or event that is thought about; "he kept drifting off the topic"; "he had been thinking about the subject for several years"; "it is a matter for the police"

issue - an important question that is in dispute and must be settled; "the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone"; "politicians never discuss the real issues"

idea, thought - the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about; "it was not a good idea"; "the thought never entered my mind"

essence, heart and soul, inwardness, nitty-gritty, pith, gist, kernel, substance, nub, meat, sum, core, center, heart, marrow - the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"

wisdom - accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment

internal representation, mental representation, representation - a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image

belief - any cognitive content held as true

unbelief, disbelief - a rejection of belief

goal, end - the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; "the ends justify the means"

education - knowledge acquired by learning and instruction; "it was clear that he had a very broad education"

experience - the content of direct observation or participation in an event; "he had a religious experience"; "he recalled the experience vividly"

acculturation, culture - all the knowledge and values shared by a society

lore, traditional knowledge - knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote; "early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend"

ignorance - the lack of knowledge or education

knowledge base, knowledge domain - the content of a particular domain or field of knowledge

metaknowledge - knowledge about knowledge