Conceptual thinking is available only to man from all living beings. It is we who have such a strong intellect that we are able to abstract all previously acquired knowledge. Conceptual thinking not only helps us in ordinary, everyday life, but also in the learning process. And it is not known where it will be more useful. A person's ability to comprehend science appeared due to the fact that there is the formation of concepts. They play a central role in human learning. But let's take a closer look from the very beginning, what concepts are, and how they help a person to learn. And after that, we will figure out how they are formed.
What are concepts
The formation of concepts is a rather incomprehensible thing, since scientists still cannot give a clear definition of the very term "concept". After all, as it turns out, the very meaning of the words "term" and "concept" is not identical. How are they different? The main difference is thata term is just a word that can describe a concept.
A concept is the content in the human brain of a certain image associated with this word. But this is speaking very conditionally. More specifically, no one could say that. But without thinking, the formation of a concept is still impossible. The formation of concepts is a complex phenomenon in which not only thinking takes part, but also imagination, perception, memory and other mental processes.
This position is closest to the representatives of the associationist approach in psychology with regards to thinking. As for philosophy, there is also no unity regarding what a concept is. So, Plato believed that this is what objectifies the idea. But the idea does not directly exist in the world, but at the same time a person can feel it. But no matter how the concept is called, it does not cease to be such. Let us now dwell in more detail directly on the mechanism of concept formation. But first of all it is necessary to dwell on such a point as "definition". Is it directly a concept or not?
What is a definition?
Definition is a sentence that reveals the essence of a certain concept and the main features that accompany it. Definitions are the basis of any learning, but at the same time, it is impossible to convey through them the full variety of details that are available in concepts. Moreover, definitions may become outdated.
It happened tothe 2004 definition of "smartphone", which has now evolved into "a miniature computer with the ability to make calls". As for those distant times, a smartphone was called a phone with some computer capabilities. This is how it happened. Therefore, definitions are characterized by dynamism. However, as for concepts. And only if you directly comprehend this topic, you can really understand the meaning of a certain term, and not just by looking at the definition.
Nevertheless, all the information in our brain is simply saturated with all sorts of definitions. And this is wonderful, because thanks to them we can briefly explain to another person the meaning of a certain concept. But there will be no complete understanding in his head. However, it is not always necessary.
Education of concepts from students or ordinary people
The process of concept formation is rather simple. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that in order for it to form, it is necessary to study the material carefully. No, a person will have some understanding of the phenomenon under consideration. But only if a detailed understanding is provided, then the formed concept in a person will be of the highest quality.
The concept as a form of thinking. Concept formation
What is needed for the formation of concepts in a person? Is there a science that studies the formation of concepts? Logic is here. It is actively used not only among philosophers, but also among psychologists. In general, it is very difficult for psychologists to answer the question of howconcepts. But at the same time, something is known not only to psychologists, but also to ordinary people. First of all, for the formation of any concept, it is necessary that there be information. Then it is passed through the human brain, which provokes the formation of a huge number of connections between neurons.
At the same time, in the brain, all this information is ordered and systematized, which leads to the formation of not one concept, but a huge number of them at a time. At the same time, the brain has definitions for every word that a person has ever learned. Thanks to this, you can form a definition for anything. Actually, this exercise helps to learn a lot of interesting and useful things. Let's take a closer look at how to form the most detailed concepts in our brain through the compilation of definitions.
"Defining" as an effective learning technique
It is very simple, but at the same time its effectiveness is clearly at the highest level. Here is an instruction on how the basic education goes. The concept should be as accessible to you as possible, but concise at the same time. You should achieve this effect.
- From the very beginning, we read in detail the material that we would like to study.
- After that, in the form of a list, graphs or other structuring elements, we write out the main features associated with the phenomenon under consideration.
- After that, we make at least five definitions for the concept.
At the same time, it is important to ensure that they are as large as possiblelarge-scale. In this case, a positive effect is achieved during training. Here is such a simple at first glance, but really working teaching method that every student can use.
