Language, Concepts, and Classification

Language, Concepts, and Classification

Language is our basic tool of thought and speech. A word is the linguistic vehicle we use to express a concept.

Concepts are ideas that represent classes of things we have grouped together. Concepts function as mental file folders.

The things that are put in a mental file folder are called the referents of the concept.

Classification consists of organizing a set of things into groups by using concepts.

Example:

The word "dog" refers to the concept DOG, whereas all the individual dogs in the world are referents of the concept DOG. All the referents of the concept DOG can be placed in one group and distinguished from the referents of other concepts, such as CAT, that are placed in other groups.

Genus and Species

Some concepts are broader than other concepts. ANIMAL is broader than DOG because there are other kinds of animals besides dogs.

If all the referents of one concept are included in another, but one concept refers to more things than the other, then the broader concept is called the genus, and the narrower one is called the species.

If a species is a file folder, a genus is a file drawer containing many folders.

Example:

ANIMAL is the genus, and all the different kinds of animals, such as DOG and CAT, are species of this genus. This is so because all the referents of the concept DOG are included in the concept ANIMAL, but the concept ANIMAL refers to more things than dogs.

Abstract and Concrete

The referents of our concepts are concrete; each is a single, individual object.

A concept is abstract because it:

1. refers to a group of objects, not just to a single thing;

2. groups together things that differ from one another. Things are grouped together, not because they are identical, but because they are similar in some respect.

Lassie (as the name of a specific dog) refers to a concrete object, whereas the concept DOG is abstract because it refers to a group of objects that are similar in certain respects.

Example:

Lassie (as the name of a specific dog) refers to a concrete object, while the concept DOG is abstract because it refers to a group of objects that are similar in certain respects.

Order of Increasing Abstractness

Abstractness is a comparative property.

Any concept is abstract to some degree. However, a species is less abstract than the genus to which it belongs.

The genus is a larger and broader group; it has more referents than the species does.

The distinction between abstract and concrete allows us to classify not only things, but also concepts, because some concepts are more abstract than others.

Example:

The concept LOVE is more abstract than its species, such as ROMANTIC LOVE, but less abstract than its genus, EMOTION.

Since EMOTION is more abstract than specific emotions, such as LOVE and HATE, it allows us to classify the different species of emotions under the genus EMOTION.