5. Structure of Concept. Home and Occidental approaches to classifying concepts

Concept structure is comprehended as a peculiar circle where a nuclear keeps the main notion and periphery – all that is collected by culture, traditions, history, national and personal experience.

As for the definition given by V.Karasik, G.Slishkin, it is a multimeasured, multileveled mental unit with a domineering element of value. A concept is formed around ‘a strong point’, an accentuated value of consciousness from which associative vectors go further. The most actual for a man associations form the nucleus of a concept and less actual form the periphery of it. A language or speech unit in which the core of a concept is actualized becomes the name of a concept (linguistic name, linguistic representative).

Linguistic representative / linguistic name

Classification of the concepts.

Home classification of concepts on the ground of the type of information they transfer (semantic content of concepts is the leading principle for the classification):

1. Concept of the space, time and matter (e.g. infinity, eternity, substance, etc).

2. C. of the natural phenomena (e.g. rain, sky, changing, to grow, etc.).

3. C. of the Man \ Human understanding (e.g. fool, creator, eccentric, etc.).

4. C. of social notions and laws and social relationships (e.g. freedom, war, friendship, society, etc.).

5. C. of morality (e.g. truth, lie, goodness, evil, etc.).

6. C. of the emotional sphere (e.g. happiness, joy, entertainment, grief, sorrow, etc.).

7. Concepts-artifacts (an object that is made by a person, especially sth of historical or cultural interest) (e.g. house, home, wheel, etc.).

Occidental classification of concepts on the ground of their peculiar function in communicative and cognitive reality (cognitive organization of concepts and their functioning is the leading principle for the classification):

1. Concept-scheme: when in the concept language meaning or definition its form or structure is emphasized (e.g. table, potato, bow and arrow, etc.).

2. Concept-frame: when language conceptual information is presented like a shot, a picture (e.g. New Year celebrating, trip to the mountains, etc.).

3. Concept-scenario: what is happening is presented (e.g. hunting, wedding, etc.).

4. Concept-script: when what will happen can be predicted; expectations (e.g. crime (punishment as a variant of response), disease (death as a variant of response), mistake (experience as a variant of response), etc.).

The classification division does not mean though that a concept cannot be interpreted from the point of view of both principles. For example, can be analyzed from both positions:

Wheel: as a concept-artifact from the ground of classification #1, and a concept-scheme from the point of view of the classification #2.

Guilt: as a concept of emotional sphere (Cl.1) and a concept-script (Cl.2).

6. Concept in forming World Picture. Differentiating Conceptual and Language Pictures of the World

World Picture is never a mirror reflection of the world; it is a certain vision and construction of the world in accordance with the logics of a definite world comprehending.

Getting some experience a person transfers it into definite concepts. The latter form a conceptual system by means of logical mutual connections and relations. The system is constantly being constructed, modified and specified because in the process of the system developing concepts are being changed in our cognition. They can also be modified and specified.

Characteristics of Concept and System of Concepts:

1. Logicality: each concept is logically formed on the ground of the experience a person gets.

2. Mutability (changeableness): each concept getting in definite relations with other concepts can receive some new signs on its periphery. It can change. Then the system having new shades of concepts will change too.

Concept is a core element in World Picture formation (Dr.1).

Experience Concept System of Concepts Image of the World

Reality Reflection Picture of the World

(Knowledge about the World)

Drawing 1. Steps of forming Picture of the World

Image of the World is a hierarchical structure of cognitive presentations, hypothesis about typical conditions of reality. Being processed in cognition it becomes knowledge about reality.

Picture of the World becomes certain Knowledge about the World, which lays in the basis of an individual and social Cognition.

In the Conceptual Picture of the World there are mutual relations and reciprocal actions of general human, national, ethnic and individual attitude to reality reflected. Its basic element is a concept that can be universal or present a certain concentration of national senses.

In the Language Picture of the World the system of social typical positions, relations and assessments that is formed and realized by the means of National Language is reflected. Its basic element is a national language that directs the process of forming and stipulates some peculiarities of a definite national Language Picture of the World.

As well as Concept is wider than Language unite; Conceptual World Picture is wider than Language one. Though they cannot be opposed as they both form general world understanding caught in World Picture.

Thus, the Picture of the World is understood as a complete, global image of the world that has been the result of the human activity and has resulted in the whole human moral activity. It appears in Human Cognition on the way of His multisided, various contacts with the world.