Concept

The word concept refers to the meaning of a designation or idea. A term forms a semantic unit which is part of a proposition or a thought. A defined conceptual content can have a different designation in each language (its designation) or be marked by a symbol or have a code as an identifier (compare Wikidata).

In everyday language and in certain technical languages, "term" is also used vaguely for the linguistic designation (for a word or an expression) rather than for its meaning. The demarcation of concepts from words or expressions as external linguistic units and from conceptions or ideas as internal purely mental units is often blurred in everyday usage and in various technical languages - depending on the perspective: In some cases, concept is understood as a "mental unit of information", or as having the same meaning as "concept" in the sense of the pre-modern philosophical tradition.

However, a term can also be understood as a "lexicalized concept" (compare encyclopedia), in which case the word (as a lemma) and the concept (as a mental representation of a single object or a cognitive category) are meant at the same time. In everyday language and beyond, the word "concept" often erroneously stands for a designation, i.e. for a word or a group of words.

The study of concepts in various sciences, such as psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, in approaches to formal knowledge representation (especially formal conceptual analysis) and disciplines of philosophy (logic, epistemology, semiotics) often foregrounds different aspects of the concept "concept" in terms of perspective. In the cultural and historical sciences, the history of concepts historically examines the change of meaning and the change of conceptual relations of expressions, in contrast to the history of ideas, which deals with ideas and concepts (also independently of their designations).

In structuralism, the content side of a sign is called the signifier. Depending on the theory of meaning, this is understood as concept, meaning or sense, to which the expressive side of a sign, called signifier, refers by means of sounds or letters. In a simple reading, a signifier thus also corresponds to a concept, which is represented in the semiotic triangle as the mediation between the designation and the designated; a concept, as the meaning of the symbol, establishes its relation to the object of reference.

Word Origin

The verb begreifen can be traced back to the 8th century (Old High German bigrīfan, Middle High German begrīfen), the original meaning was "to grasp, to encompass". An expansion of meaning begins as early as Old High German, with its use as a translation of Latin comprehendere ("to grasp"). Especially in texts of mystical theology, the expression is used in an extended sense, in that physical "grasping, grasping" is extended to spiritual grasping as "grasping with the mind, understanding".

The noun Begriff is documented as begrif (Middle High German and Early New High German begrif or begrifunge) already in Middle High German with the meaning "extent, district". Later, its meaning was transferred to "conception" analogous to the verb. The word came into use in the 18th century, especially by Christian Thomasius and Christian Wolff. Its meaning is narrowed to "general idea" in the Enlightenment period and used to translate "idea". In philosophical terminology, "concept" and "idea" are finally distinguished from each other.

The adjective begreiflich, with the current meaning "understandable", is derived from the Middle High German begriflich ("graspable, easy to grasp, comprehending"). In contrast, begrifflich, with the meaning "pertaining to a concept, a mental entity", is derived from the noun. The adjective obtuse ("slow to grasp, slow to comprehend") originated in the mid-19th century.

Superordination and subordination of terms

A "superordinate term" lies on a higher level in a hierarchical term system and summarizes several terms of another level. A "subordinate term" lies at a lower level in a hierarchical system of terms.

A generic term is a superordinate term based on abstraction relationships within the conceptual system. For example, "vehicle" is a generic term of "land vehicle, water vehicle and aircraft". Similarly, a sub-concept is a subordinate concept where abstraction relations exist within the conceptual system. For example, "car" is a subordinate term of "vehicle".

A "federation term" is a superordinate term in another sense: it is based on the fact that there are stock relationships within the underlying conceptual system. For example, "Europe" is a compound term of "France, Switzerland and Italy". In linguistics, this conceptual relationship is called meronymy.