Publish at February 26 2024 Updated January 09 2026
"A concept is an invention to which nothing corresponds exactly, but to which many things resemble."
Friedrich Nietzsche (from Posthumes)
A "concept" is a general, abstract idea that the human mind forms about a concrete or abstract object of thought.
The term comes from the Latin cum capio: "to grasp together". It is an abstract representation of an object or a set of objects with common characteristics. In other words, a concept is a mental construction, a representation applied to an object whose characteristics can be summarized and generalized. An object belongs to a given concept if and only if it possesses its characteristics (Roche 2008), a precaution taken by experts in linguistic analysis.
The concept is thus identified as an "element of thought" (Felber 1987). As specified in the French ISO 704 standard, concepts
"are considered as mental representations of objects in a specialized context or domain".
Saying is not conceiving. Things are not as they are said (Roche 2008). In semantics, it's all about the nuance between the signified and the referent.
The concept can be confused with the word that designates it, or the medium that conveys it. The concept thus structures reality in a stable way, independently of language - there is bi-univocity here between the concept and its denomination. The consequence of this is that the conceptualization of a domain cannot be extracted from a single linguistic analysis of corpus texts or oral verbatims. In other words, to quote Aristotle (from Treatise on the Soul, 4th century BC), "There is no single method for studying things. Conceptualization takes many forms.
"Conceptualize" is a verb that means to elevate empirical practices to the level of a concept, or to organize them into concepts. Conceptualizing refers to the action of abstracting from reality in order to produce a concept, a more general idea of a given thing. Popper asserts that science begins with problems (1991 p. 287; 1985 pp. 230, 329). In his view, problematization precedes conceptualization. When a problem recurs, there is an incentive to identify what caused it, and to understand the processes at work.
According to Roche (2008, p. 6)
"Two objects fall under the same concept, not because they share the same characteristics, but conversely, it's because the essential characteristics of the concept are applicable to them. It isthese essential characteristics that make the subject 'other' and, if they were taken away, it would no longer be what it is."
Conceptualizing is therefore the search for essential characteristics, i.e. those whose absence prevents the object from being attached to the concept. These characteristics are described by attributes with associated values that are positioned on a scale, making it possible to note the proximity or remoteness of the concept's meaning. Concepts are thus defined by the attributes that characterize them.
Definitions are based on the use of essential characters, and make it possible to include or exclude, to set a boundary between what is or isn't the concept. Furthermore, the concept takes on its full meaning within a system of concepts comprising, on the one hand, hierarchical relations (generic relations), or partitive relations (decomposition of the concept into its parts) or, on the other hand, associative relations (external relations between concepts whose association is based on experience).
On the one hand, concepts enable us to describe by specifying characteristics, and on the other, to understand. Definitions simultaneously create concepts and the structure for understanding them. Through its definition, the concept becomes predicative and can be combined to become a well-formed formula.
Gerring (1999) proposes eight criteria for creating a definition of a concept:
An important point is to put the concept into perspective through the process of theoretical construction, and in particular in its relationship with other concepts in a hierarchical and ordered classification.
For Dumez (2011),
"There is only a true concept when there are dynamic interactions between these three dimensions: naming must be accompanied by an attempt at definition and a reference to a class of empirical facts".
All too often, however, an author puts forward a new word with no consistency or link to a structure that gives it meaning.
The educational sciences use a variety of conceptualization methods to understand and analyze learning and teaching processes. Here are some of the methods identified by Mialaret (2008):
These methods are not exhaustive, and educational researchers can use a combination of these and other approaches depending on their specific research objectives.
A paradigm is a perspective or frame of reference that visualizes the social world, breaking down the complexity of the real world. It is made up of a set of concepts and hypotheses. Concepts play a crucial role in the formation of a paradigm, as they serve as building blocks for defining and understanding the world through this framework.
For example, the Marxist paradigm uses concepts such as class, class consciousness, means of production, surplus labor, exploitation and debate. These concepts help define the Marxist perspective and understand the world through this prism. In addition, each paradigm has its own research problems that it considers essential, which are also defined by its concepts.
Furthermore, a paradigm functions as a conceptual model by analogy. A well-known example is used to decipher the unknown. For example, weaving, defined by the interweaving of warp and weft, can suggest the necessary composition of fiery and moderate temperaments when related to political art.
In short, concepts contribute to the emergence of a paradigm by providing the fundamental elements needed to define and understand the world through a particular perspective. However, just because algorithms can be used to bring words together in all directions, this doesn't mean that they can be used to order, define and understand the world. The choice of symbolization is a matter of human free will.
Sources
Dumez. H (2011).What is a concept? Le Libellio d'AEGIS,, 7 (1, Spring - Supplement), pp.67-79. ffhal-00574166ff
Felber H. (1984), Manuel de terminologie (Paris, Unesco).
Gerring John (1999) "What makes a concept good? A criterial framework for understanding
concept formation in the social sciences", Polity, vol. 31, n° 3, pp. 357-393.
Ginzburg Carlo (2004) "
Larousse https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/conceptualiser/17884
ISO 704:2022 - Terminology work - Principles and methods https://www.iso.org/fr/standard/79077.html
Jepense.org Concept, notion, theory, idea, definition and difference
https:// www.jepense.org/concept-notion-theorie-idee-definition-et-difference/
Mialaret, G. (2004). Observation of educational facts and situations. In: Gaston Mialaret ed, Méthodes de recherche en sciences de l'éducation (pp. 59-74). Paris cedex 14: Presses Universitaires de France.
Orange, C. (2005). Problématisation et conceptualisation en sciences et dans les apprentissages scientifiques. Les Sciences de l'éducation - Pour l'Ère nouvelle, 38, 69-94. https://doi.org/10.3917/lsdle.383.0069
Roche, C. (2008, June). Should we revisit the Principles of Terminology? In Proceedings of the Toth Conference (Vol. 8, pp. 5-6).
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