"the idea itself" and "the idea in itself": is there any conceptual different?

Question

Is there? Explain me... you know, in Portuguese, my mother tongue, we only say

"A idéia em si" ("...in...").

Tnx. And say where you're from, I mean, England? Oceania? America? Africa? You know, it may vary a bit, why not...

, you know,

Answer 1

"the idea itself" is talking about the idea as a mental object... "the idea in itself" is talking about how this object relates to itself...

Canada

Answer 2

first off, i'm from america.

i think that as far as translations can go, there is no difference in meaning. but if you are only speaking in english, i think that there is much more of a concept twist.

'the idea itself' is talking about the idea as a whole, as a noun, as the object of conversation. . . etc.

'the idea in itself' would mean something more along the lines of the idea doing something internally reflective, like a bunch of repeating mirrors. it repeats within itself, (i.e: a book about a book).

Answer 3

Yes there is.

The idea itself is the concept(the origin).

And the idea in itself is the explanation of the idea its self.Meaning the break down of the concept, the idea itself.

Thanks for asking.