Table of Contents
The conceptual universe is the domain of language.
This chapter examines the conceptual universe. Unfortunately, concepts are difficult to study directly, and the reliability of self-report is a contentious issue. However, because we assume that language and thought are closely related, we are able to consider the manipulation of concepts in terms of their stand-ins: symbols.
The conceptual universe is everything from the conceptual point of view. Through conceptualization and naming, we think : we use the semantics of individual words, which are combined through the use of syntax. In virtue of the relation of these concepts to prior experiences, these concepts mean something.