Difference Between Idea and Thought
The words thought and idea are often regarded as one and the same when it comes to their senses and connotations. The idea refers to a plan or process that occurs in the mind in relation to the completion of a work or a duty. The thought is a mental process that continues to go on in the spirit undiminished. It is the difference between the two main idea words and thought.
Thought leads to an idea. It’s the truth. The thoughts should be combined to form an idea. This means that an idea is formed by the combination of thoughts of a particular problem. Now you can say that thought is a subset of the idea. Look at the two sentences
1. I thought of you all day.
2. What a fantastic idea it is!
In the first sentence using the word ‘thought’ must simply state a reason that has occurred in the mind. On the other hand the use of the word ‘idea’ in the second sentence should indicate a plan ‘that occurred in the mind related to the solution to a problem or approach a problem etc. Here lies the difference in the use of the above mentioned words viz. ‘thought’ as well as ‘idea’.
A thought occurs in the mind as a result of thinking as well as reasoning. Sometimes the word refers to a mode of thinking which is characteristic to a particular class of people or society as in the phrase ‘the medieval European thought’ or ‘Western thought’.
A second idea is referring to a design or plan formed by the mental effort. In other words we can say that an idea is nothing but a mental impression or an idea or a concept in simple words. These are the differences between the idea and thought.