Concept Formation

Question 1

A concept is a …?

Answer 1

A mental INTEGRATION of 2 or more UNITS which are ISOLATED according to a specific characteristic(s) and UNITED by a specific definition.

Question 2

The UNITS involved may be any aspect of reality:

Answer 2

Entities, attributes, actions, qualities, relationships, etc.

They may be PERCEPTUAL CONCRETES or other, earlier-formed concepts.

Question 3

The act of ISOLATION involved is a process of abstraction:

Answer 3

A SELECTIVE MENTAL FOCUS THAT TAKES OUT OR SEPARATES A CERTAIN ASPECT OF REALITY FROM ALL OTHERS.

(eg, isolates a certain attribute from the entities possessing it, or a certain action from the entities performing it, etc)

Question 4

The UNITING involved, is not a mere sum, but an …?

Answer 4

INTEGRATION.

==> a blending of the units into a SINGLE, new MENTAL entity which is used thereafter as a SINGLE UNIT OF THOUGHT

(but can be broken into its component units whenever required).

Question 5

In order to be used as a single unit, the enormous sum integrated by a concept has to be given the form of a …?

Answer 5

Single, specific, PERCEPTUAL concrete, which will differentiate it from all other concretes and from all other concepts.

==> THIS is the function performed by LANGUAGE.

Question 6

Language is a …?

Answer 6

CODE OF VISUAL-AUDITORY SYMBOLS that serves the psycho-epistemological function of

CONVERTING concepts into the MENTAL EQUIVALENT OF CONCRETES.

Question 7

Language is the exclusive domain and tool of concepts:

Answer 7

Every word we use (with the exception of proper names) is a …

SYMBOL THAT DENOTES A CONCEPT.

==> That stands for an unlimited number of concretes of a certain kind.

Question 8

Proper names are used in order to identify and include …?

Answer 8

Particular entities in a conceptual method of cognition.

==> Observe that even proper names, in advanced civilizations, follow the definitional principles of genus and differentia:

Eg, John Smith, with “Smith” serving as genus and “John” as differentia- or New York, U.S.A..

Question 9

Words transform concepts into (mental) entities.

Definitions provide them with …?

Answer 9

IDENTITY.

Words without definitions are not language but inarticulate sounds.

Question 10

The above is a general description of the nature of concepts as products of a certain mental process. But the question of epistemology is:

Answer 10

What precisely is the nature of this process?

To what precisely do concepts refer in reality?