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)
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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
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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

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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:
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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