Concepts as Reflection of Societal Changes

1 0 He ibe Pich | Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes He ibe PicH KEYWORDS: socie al concep cons uc ion, objec s in he humani ies, concep ual changes, in luences on concep cons uc ion, concep ual li e cycle, e minology wo k 1. INTRODUCTION Le us i s ly ecall he s anda dised de ini ions o he objec and he concep . ISO 1087–1:2000 de ines hese wo concep s as ollows: Objec : any hing pe cei able o concei able. No e: Objec s may be ma e ial (e.g. an engine, a shee o pape , a diamond), imma e ial (e.g. con e sion a io, a p ojec plan) o imagined (e.g. a unico n). Concep : uni o knowledge c ea ed by a unique combina ion o cha ac e is ics. No e: Concep s a e no necessa ily bound o pa icula languages. They a e, howe e , o en in luenced by he social o cul u al backg ound which o en leads o di e en ca ego isa ions. Bo h de ini ions a e no w ong, bu a he knowledge spa se. Ob iously, a mo e de ailed e lec ion on bo h concep s seems o be indispensable o u he p og ess in he heo y o e minology. Re e ing o he objec , a i s and udimen a y classi ica ion is gi en in he no e o he s anda d. We may ex end he gi en classi ica ion as ollows: Fig. 1 objec ma e ial objec imma e ial objec objec um subjec um ma e ialisable objec hough objec eal exis ing hough objec imagina y objec (Pich 2004: 317) 1 1Te minologija | 2013 | 20 I is ob ious ha he objec ep esen s he aw ma e ial o any concep o ma ion; howe e , he o ma ion p ocess will di e acco ding o he ype o objec s. ‘Ma e ial objec s’ lend hemsel es p edominan ly o abs ac ion — he classical A is o elian way o concep o ma ion. Conside ing ‘imma e ial objec ’ and especially ‘ hough objec ’ he o ma ion p ocess seems o be di e en . The e o e, i migh be help ul o ecall he de ini ions o his g oup o objec s: Imma e ial objec : objec wi hou physical o m whose exis ence and ela ion o space and ime is gi en h ough he imagining subjec . No e: My pe sonal idea o eedom. Though objec : imma e ial objec which only has men al exis ence and he e o e is ela ed o he hinking subjec h ough whom he space– ime– ela ion is ealised. No e: Ms. Y’s idea o Dan e’s nine ci cles o hell. Real exis ing, hough objec : hough objec which has a men al, bu eal exis ence. No e: M . X’s idea o he legal ans e o his es a e. The basic cha ac e is ics o hese ypes o objec s a e: • he hinking subjec is a human being; • he human being is he ca ie o he ime–space– ela ion; • he human being decides abou his ideas and hei possible changes. Concep s based on hese p emises p esumably ha e a di e en genesis han abs ac ion. In he case o abs ac ion o ma e ial objec s o a ce ain class, i is ela i ely easy o de e mine he cen al cha ac e is ics, because hey a e obse able by he abs ac o and hey belong pe se o he objec s in ques ion. The human being is he obse e and abs ac o and no he ca ie o ‘owne ’ o a ‘ma e ial objec ’. The genesis o concep s based on ‘ hough objec s’, howe e , obeys di e en mechanisms such as discussion o ‘ hough objec s’ and consensus abou he cha ac e is ics o he esul ing concep . An ex ended de ini ion o ‘concep ’ could ead: Concep : uni o knowledge cons i u ed by all cha ac e is ics (chunks o knowledge) in e subjec i ely ecognised and ag eed upon by a p o essional communi y a a ce ain poin o ime; i has a li e cycle de e mined by cogni ion dynamics. (Pich 2009: 11) I migh be wise o ex end he las pa o he sen ence sligh ly, eading now: “i has a li e cycle de e mined by cogni i e and socie al dynamics.” 1 2 He ibe Pich | Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes 2. MY ASSUMPTIONS 1. Socie al concep s a e p edominan ly in e - and ansdisciplina y. 2. Ce ain ypes o socie al concep s may be highly no ma i e. 3. The li e cycle o socie al concep s is mos ly de e mined by socie al ac o s. 4. Mos socie al concep s a e cons uc ions. 5. Many socie al concep s a e in luenced by/based on ideologies o eligions. 6. Socie al concep s a e open o nego ia ion, in e p e a ion and o he in luences. 7. Socie al concep s may su e sudden o g adual changes. 2.1. Socie al concep s a e p edominan ly in e - and ansdisciplina y Any communi y, be i a so-called p imi i e o a highly ci ilised one, is uled by ce ain w i en o unw i en laws, ules and i es which p o ide common g ound o he communi y membe s. The ‘ag eemen ’ o en is eached by aci consensus and i is exp essed in concep s. Fo ins ance, he legal domain as a social and socie al magni ude may be di ided in o wo la ge concep ual a eas: 1. Concep s belonging o he ield o knowledge conce ned wi h ju isp udence, i s applica ions, documen s, e c. He e we ind p edominan ly ules and p esc ip ions and hei p ac ical mani es a ions. 2. Concep s and objec s upon which legal p esc ip ions a e o be applied. These concep s may be based on any o he objec ypes indica ed in he abo e igu e. Ad 1. The concep ‘pu chase’ may be ela ed o ma e ial o imma e ial objec s o nea ly all a eas o li e. A ca as well as a igh o se ice can be bough . A igh — clea ly a socie al concep — may be ele an in e y di e en domains, o ins ance in ade, in succession, in a cons i u ion (e.g. human igh s), in legal o adminis a i e p ocedu es, e c. Se ices a e o e ed, bough and sold in nea ly all b anches o socie y, be i he hai d esse , a shipping company o a lawye ’s ad ice. Ad 2. An objec o a concep may be ele an in e y di e en socie al connec ions. A ho se can be an objec o insu ance, o ade, o mea p oduc ion, o obbe y, ela ed o a ious ypes o spo , a pa ien a he 1 3Te minologija | 2013 | 20 e , a zoological esea ch objec , e c. The socie al ocus changes, he concep o objec , howe e , emains he same. I may be called an objec ’s o concep ’s ansdisciplina i y. 2.2. Ce ain ypes o socie al concep s may be highly no ma i e o e en p esc ip i e The in e nal cohe ence o a socie y is ensu ed by no ms which de e mine he ela ions be ween he indi iduals. The legisla ion o a s a e, o ins ance, is no ma i e and binding ei he o all ci izens o o ce ain limi ed g oups. Fo example he concep ‘ ax paying’ o ‘compulso y educa ion’ o clea ly de ined g oups o people is p esc ibed by law. Howe e , no ms and ules a e man-made and he e o e depend ei he on a gene ally accep ed a i ude wi hin a socie y o hey may be imposed on a socie y by ex e io o ce, o ins ance, by e o , occupa ion o coup d’é a . No ms may de elop acco ding o his o ical o o he e en s such as ideological e olu ions o economic c isis. Tha implies ha p esc ip ion and no m a e no absolu e cons uc s. In o de o accep and o pu h ough any kind o p esc ip ion, in a democ acy ce ain condi ions ha e o be ul illed, o ins ance, • a no m is a dynamic magni ude; • a no m is nego iable; • a no m has o be accep ed a leas by a majo i y o he socie y membe s; • an in ac ion o a no m en ails a sanc ion; • he sepa a ion o powe s aims a a igh ul p esc ip ion; • e c. In non-democ a ically uled communi ies, some o hese condi ions a e di e en , o ins ance, • accep ance by he majo i y in a socie y is no cen al o e en ne- cessa y; • a no m is no eely nego iable; • he sepa a ion o powe s does no exis ; • he in ac ion o a gi en no m by ce ain g oups o he socie y may be wan ed, o example, o u e o co up ion; • e c. 1 4 He ibe Pich | Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes In p ac ice we can obse e he case ha concep s o basic no ms may be al e ed, al hough he e ms a e mo e o less delibe a ely main ained unchanged in o de o disguise o jus i y socie al changes. Ne e heless, any no m o p esc ip ion equi es in he long un mo al and e hical jus i ica ions in o de o elici o enjoy socie al accep ance. In addi ion, any no m o p esc ip ion implies by na u e a empo al aspec . Rega dless o he ype o p esc ip ion, none o hem can be e e nal; e e ni y in his espec would mean e e las ing socie al s agna ion. The eali y, on he con a y, e lec s ‘no m dynamics’ acco ding o socie al e olu ion and changes. 2.3. The li e cycle o socie al concep s is mos ly de e mined by socie al ac o s The li e cycle o a concep seems o be easy o de e mine — he e mus be a poin in ime when he concep is ‘bo n’ and ano he poin in ime, when he li e cycle has inished. Howe e , in eali y, i may be di icul o ix hese poin s on a ime axis. In addi ion, one has o dis inguish be ween li e cycle and ‘e e nal’ exis ence o a concep (Pich 2008: 287 ). P agma ically, one may de ine he li e cycle as he pe iod o ime a concep is conside ed co ec and as such in ac i e use. Fo ins ance, he concep ‘illegi ima e child’ was un il 1983 an impedimen o ake holy o de s acco ding o he law o he Roman Ca holic Chu ch. In his case i is possible o de e mine exac ly he end o he li e cycle. In o he cases such as he concep ‘wi ch-pe secu ion’ i may be possible o de e mine when i was o bidden by law, bu wha abou social eali y? In some egions he li e cycle has inished de ini ely, in o he s i seems o be doub ul, a leas in ce ain less educa ed social classes. The end o a concep ual li e cycle is no iden ical wi h he ‘dea h’ o a concep . Concep s canno die. A concep is de ined as ‘uni o knowledge’, hus he dea h o a concep would be equal o pe manen loss o knowledge. Humani y would be wi hou conscience o i s in ellec ual e olu ion and his o y. Fo ins ance, we s ill know he concep ‘e he ’ as ‘subs ance in ancien and medie al science’; we do no use i any longe in his sense, because i is ecognised as alse; howe e , he concep s ill disposes o he knowledge i was a ca ie o . A concep can all in o obli ion, bu hen we ha e o alk abou a lacunae in ou p esen knowledge abou o me s ages o knowledge caused by a 1 5Te minologija | 2013 | 20 a ie y o possible ci cums ances, e.g. when any o m o concep ep esen a ion is los o no longe unde s andable. Ne e heless, a leas he heo e ical p ospec o concep eco e y by esea ch exis s (Pich 2010: 24) as i , o ins ance, happened wi h old Egyp ian concep s when he a chaeologis s we e able o ead he Egyp ian hie oglyphics. The li e cycle o concep s especially in he na u al sciences and hei applica ions may be delimi ed by he concep s o ‘ e i ica ion’ and ‘ alsi ica ion’, ‘need o a echnical solu ion’ and ‘end o i s applica ion’. Consequen ly, cogni ion is he dominan pa ame e in na u al sciences. 2.4. Mos socie al concep s a e cons uc ions Many ins ances o concep o ma ion in socie y s a wi h an unclea and uzzy eeling o a need o cla i y a ce ain s a e, p oblem, s a us o condi ion. The gene al endency is o ind a solu ion; howe e , he socie y as a whole is ha dly able o s a he solu ion inding p ocess. Mos equen ly, we will ind indi iduals p oposing possible solu ions ying o desc ibe o explain hei indi idual hough s. In o he wo ds, hey p opose hei ‘ hough objec s’. These objec s may be conside ed he aw ma e ial o a possible la e concep c ea ion p ocess. Objec s ha e p ope ies — no cha ac e is ics — and hese p ope ies, when made communicable by he indi idual ca ie s, may become he basis o a concep cons uc ion p ocess. This p ocess o en akes he o m o a cla i ying discussion wi h a gumen s o and agains ce ain p ope ies. Ideally, he esul o such a p ocess which is based on an ag eemen upon desi able and accep able p ope ies is a cons uc ed concep . The p ope ies ag eed upon hen make up he in ension exp essed by cha ac e is ics, which a e he p econdi ion o being able o o mula e a de ini ion. I is ob ious ha in his kind o p ocess he indi idual ‘ hough objec s’ do no unde go an abs ac ion whe e only common p ope ies o a class o objec s can ob ain he s a us o cha ac e is ics, which in ac ep esen s a educ ion p ocess, because any abs ac ion is educ ionis by na u e. O cou se, no e e y clus e o indi idual ‘ hough objec s’ will lead o a new cons uc ed concep , because accep ance by he socie y is an impo an ac o and his ac o includes he powe o ejec ion. This p ocess may be illus a ed by he ollowing example: a coun y is expe iencing unemploymen , unde de eloped in as uc u e and e y li le ou ism, bu i has a p is ine landscape, an in e es ing his o y, ancien 1 6 He ibe Pich | Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes buildings and a beau i ul lake. Some leading pe sons a e o he opinion ha some hing has o be done, o example, o p omo e he posi i e ac o s in o de o neu alise he nega i e elemen s. The coun y adminis a ion decides o se up a commission o i e pe sons. Each o hese i e pe sons has his indi idual ideas abou a solu ion. As a i s cla i ica ion hey ag ee o s eng hen ou ism. Bu how? E e y pe son desc ibes his ideas ( hough objec s) and a lis o ideas (p ope ies) is gene a ed and discussed. This p ocess may ake ime and imply long a gumen a ions o and agains ad an ages and disad an ages, economic and ecological consequences, ways o ealisa ion, e c. Finally, hey ag ee upon he c ea ion o a ou ism p omo e wi h de ined unc ions, obliga ions and compe ences. This p oposal — in eali y a concep wi h a de ined in ension — is p esen ed o he coun y’s council as he decision making au ho i y. The e he p oposal is discussed again and pe haps e ised. The esul is a new concep wi h he inal in ension o he ‘coun y’s ou ism p omo e ’. A nega i e example could be he p oposal o abolish celibacy in he Roman Ca holic Chu ch. This p oposal which has been p esen ed se e al imes in he las decades was ejec ed; ha means he concep o celibacy emains unchanged and in o ce. 2.5. Many socie al concep s a e in luenced by/based on ideologies o eligions I is a ac ha a conside able a ay o concep s ela ed o social beha iou o igina es di ec ly o indi ec ly om eligious o ideological con ic ions. Fo ins ance, concep s om na ional socialis legisla ion such as ‘ acial de ilemen ’ (Rassenschande) and ‘kin liabili y’ (Sippenha ) o om Russian communis legisla ion such as ‘common p ope y’ (коллективная соб ствен ность), ‘collec i iza ion’ (коллективизация), ‘G ea Pu ge’ (чистка), ‘popula ion ans e ’ (депортация) o ‘dekulakisa ion’ (раску ла чи вание) may illus a e he issue. Ano he example is ‘e hnic cleansing’ de ined as a he p ocess o policy o elimina ing unwan ed e hnic o eligious g oups by depo a ion, o cible displacemen , mass mu de , o by h ea s o such ac s, wi h he in en o c ea ing a e i o y inhabi ed by people o a homogeneous o pu e e hnici y, eligion, cul u e, and his o y (E hnic cleansing – Wikipedia). In he case o concep s in luenced by eligion we may dis inguish h ee ypes: 1 7Te minologija | 2013 | 20 1. Concep s which came in o being by di ine e ela ion, o ins ance, he Ten Commandmen s. In Ch is iani y hey a e he e hical and mo al ounda ions o ci il and penal legisla ion and i s concep s. The Sac amen s o he Roman Ca holic Chu ch a e “e icacious signs o g ace, ins i u ed by Ch is and en us ed o he Chu ch, by which di ine li e is dispensed o us.” (Sac amen s o he Ca holic Chu ch – Wikipedia). 2. Concep s which a e based on a dogma, o ins ance, he concep ‘papal in allibili y’ is de ined as a dogma o he Roman Ca holic Chu ch which s a es ha , in i ue o he p omise o Jesus o Pe e , he Pope is p ese ed om he possibili y o e o “when, in he exe cise o his o ice as shephe d and eache o all Ch is ians, in i ue o his sup eme apos olic au ho i y, he de ines a doc ine conce ning ai h o mo als o be held by he whole Chu ch” (Papal in allibili y – Wikipedia). Islam p ohibi s con e sion o any o he eligion, al hough he co esponding su a o he Qu an does no exp ess i di ec ly. The legal sanc ion in many Islamic coun ies is acco ding o Sha ia capi al punishmen . Thus, his concep belongs o he dogma o ene s o Islam. 3. Since one o he aims o a eligion o an ideology — some imes he di e ence is minimal — is o guide, o con ol and e en o domina e a socie y, qui e a numbe o concep s ha we e o iginally eligious o ideologically based ha e a double ole — a eligious and a secula one. Howe e , he connec ion be ween hese wo sphe es e y o en emains ob ious. Fo ins ance, in he Roman Ca holic Chu ch, ma iage is a sac amen which means ha a ma iage can be dissol ed only in e y special cases; usually i is annulled. Acco ding o ci il law o many secula s a es, a ma iage may be dissol ed wi hou any ideological o eligious obs acles. Howe e , in Ge man law o ins ance, chu ch ma iage and ci il ma iage a y in he o ce hey ha e; ci il ma iage is he i s and obliga o y s ep wi h legal o ce. In Denma k he e is no legal dis inc ion be ween a chu ch and a ci il ma iage. Ano he example could be he sel -in lic ed ma y dom o a suicide bombe who ecei es his ewa d in pa adise. Acco ding o a ce ain in e p e a ion o a eligion and ideology i is a posi i e concep . O he Islamic doc ines conside suicide — ega dless o he eason — a se e e sin. Islam, as wi h o he Ab ahamic eligions, iews suicide as one o he g ea es sins and i is u e ly de imen al o one’s spi i ual jou ney. A e se in he Qu an ins uc s: “And do no kill you sel es, su ely God is mos 1 8 He ibe Pich | Concep s as Re lec ion o Socie al Changes Me ci ul o you.” Qu an, Su a 4 (An-Nisa), aya 29. Fu he mo e, Ja a al-Sadiq, he six h Shia Imam, has said he ollowing wi h ega ds o suicide: Abi Walad said, I hea d Aba Abd Allah say: “Whoe e kills himsel , in en ionally, he will be in he i e o hell o e e ni y” (Religious iews on suicide – Wikipedia). F om hese examples we can de i e ha eligious and ideological concep s may spli up in se e al concep s as i is he case o suicide, whe e a pai o concep s wi h opposi e alues eme ged. In he case o ma iage he o iginal concep os e ed a second, secula concep . These changes a e only due o social a i udes and alues dominan a a ce ain poin o ime. They a e no due o cogni ion. 2.6. Socie al concep s a e open o nego ia ion, in e p e a ion and o he in luences The in ension o he concep ‘g a i a ion’ can ha dly be nego ia ed; i may be discussed and scien i ically p o ed by epea ed expe imen s, bu i canno be subjec o human a i udes o opinions exp essed in a nego ia ion. In con as o many concep s om he ield o na u al sciences, socie al concep s conside ed as cons uc ions a e open o nego ia ion, because hey a e based on changing human ideas. Concep ual cons uc ion again e lec s ce ain socie al ci cums ances and s a es o mind which a e no cons an cons uc s; hey may be ques ioned, discussed, changed o abolished acco ding o al e ed poli ical, economic, ecological, clima ological o o he ex e io o in e io condi ions. Socie al ci cums ances and s a es o mind o m he men al en i onmen o human beings; and hese human beings a e he ‘owne s’, ‘c ea o s’, ‘in e p e e s’ and ‘nego ia o s’ o socie al concep s. The concep ‘poli ical co ec ness’ is de ined as “ he a i ude o policy o being ex emely ca e ul no o o end o upse any g oup o people in socie y who ha e a disad an age, o who ha e been ea ed di e en ly because o hei sex, ace, o disabili y” (CED). This de ini ion seems qui e easonable and accep able in a ci ilized socie y. Howe e , he in e p e a ion o he concep by di e en social g oups a ies conside ably anging om a delibe a ely na ow in e p e a ion which c iminalizes any c i ical and jus i ied u e ance o a uzzy and wa e ed-down in e p e a ion which pe mi s nea ly any dispa aging commen . In his case he ange o in e p e a ion is so wide ha a gene ally