<CAUTION: These handouts must be used in conjunction with class discussion and other course materials. They are not intended to be stand-alone explanations.>

IN CLASS LECTURE, WE PRESENTED A SIMPLE MODEL FOR CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS FOLLOWING THIS OUTLINE.

1. CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS ASSUMES THAT CONCEPTS "CONTROL, DETERMINE OR INFLUENCE" OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET EXPERIENCE

2. WE MAY "SEE" BUT WE CAN'T PROCESS WHAT WE SEE UNLESS WE HAVE CONCEPTS THAT ENABLE US TO MAKE SENSE OF SENSORY OR COGNITIVE INPUTS.

3. A WORKING DEFINITION: A CONCEPT IS A SET OF "RULES" THAT WE CAN USE TO EXPLAIN HOW ONE TURNS VARIOUS KINDS OF INPUTS INTO OUTPUTS OR INTERPRETATIONS. <I WILL DEMONSTRATE HOW TO DO CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS IN CLASS.>

4. OF COURSE, AS I HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY REMINDING YOU, THE EXPLANATIONS GENERATED BY CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS ARE MODEL EXPLANATIONS, I.E. THEY ARE NOT PRESENTED AS "TRUE" OR "ACCURATE" OF ACTUAL THOUGHT. THEY DO NOT DESCRIBE HOW OUR BRAINS REALLY WORK.

5. HOWEVER, THEY CAN, HOPEFULLY, HELP US TO GET AN INTUITIVE SENSE OF HOW HUMAN MINDS DO GO ABOUT PROCESSING DATA AND SOLVING PROBLEMS.

6. IN THIS MODEL, WE ASSUME THAT LANGUAGE IS THE KEY TO THE ACQUISITION AND MASTERY OF CONCEPTS. HENCE, ANALYZING THE WAY AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON USES LANGUAGE CAN OFTEN ALLOW US TO "MAP OUT" HIS OR HER CONCEPTUAL CAPABILITIES.

1. WE USED THE LEGO PROBLEM TO ILLUSTRATE HOW PRIMARY CONCEPTS, SUCH AS, COLOR, SIZE AND SHAPE, GIVE US THE LOGICAL TOOLS TO INTERPRET THE WORLD. WE IMAGINED WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE NOT TO HAVE SUCH BASIC CONCEPTS AS COLOR AND SHAPE AND WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN TO OUR SENSE OF REALITY.

8. WE DID THE DUCK AND THE RABBIT "GESTALT PUZZLE" PROBLEM AS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW CONCEPTS SHAPE OUR PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCE. WE ALSO INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF FIRST AND SECOND LEVEL CONCEPTS. <SECOND LEVEL CONCEPTS ARE CONCEPTS USED FOR TALKING ABOUT CONCEPTS &endash; WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE.>

9. THREE UPSHOTS OF THESE EXAMPLES THAT WE NOTED WERE:

a) IT IS EASIER TO STICK TO OLD CONCEPTS THAN IT IS TO LEARN OR CREATE NEW ONES. <DUH> PART OF THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT CONCEPTS COME IN CLUSTERS OR INTERCONNECTED SETS. HENCE, CHANGING ONE CONCEPT MAY LOGICALLY ENTAIL CHANGING A VAST NETWORK OR SYSTEM OF CONCEPTS.

 

b) IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ANALYZE OUR OWN PRIMARY CONCEPTUAL ASSUMPTIONS, SINCE THEY ARE THE "EYES" THROUGH WHICH WE SEE AND EXPERIENCE OUR WORLD TO BEGIN WITH. THEY ARE THE CONCEPTS WE DO NOT QUESTION BECAUSE WE ARE USUALLY NOT EVEN AWARE THAT THEY ARE THERE. HOWEVER, ONCE WE DO BEGIN TO QUESTION THEM, THE WORLD AS WE HAD PREVIOUSLY KNOWN IT, OUR "BASE REALITY," DOES NOT "HOLD STILL."

WE SUGGESTED THAT ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION WAS TO CREATE CONCEPTUAL "AMBIGUITY" AT A BASE LEVEL.

 

c) THE ABILITY TO USE A CONCEPT IS A "SKILL" THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE REQUIRES PRACTICE, [I.E.,TRIAL AND ERROR, REPETITION, PERSISTENCE, PATIENCE, THE CAREFUL OBSERVATION OF OTHERS, AN ATTENTION TO DETAIL, ETC.] IN ORDER TO ATTAIN PROFICIENCY.

AT THE END OF OUR DISCUSSION, WE CONCLUDED THAT OBSERVING LANGUAGE USE BECOMES THE EASIEST WAY FOR US TO IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE THE CONCEPTUAL ASSUMPTIONS OF OTHERS.

1. BY THE SAME TOKEN, IT IS ALSO THE EASIEST WAY FOR US TO IDENTIFY OUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS AS WELL. HENCE, OBSERVING AND ANALYZING THE WAY WE USE LANGUAGE CAN BECOME A MIRROR IN WHICH WE ARE ABLE TO SEE OUR "OWN FACES."

2. IT FOLLOWS THAT THE WIDER THE RANGE OF LANGUAGE USE WE GET FROM A PERSON <INCLUDING OURSELVES>, THE DEEPER AND BROADER OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THAT PERSON'S INDIVIDUAL BELIEFS AND ASSUMPTIONS AS WELL AS HIS OR HER CONCEPTUAL REPERTORY AND ABILITIES.

3. ONE OF THE PRIMARY PURPOSES OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS COURSE IS TO HELP YOU TO SEE AND EVALUATE YOURSELVES AS PROBLEM-SOLVERS. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO OBSERVE YOURSELVES AS YOU MOVE THOUGH THE PROCESS OF ADDRESSING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERING THEM. THIS WILL BE THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF OUR ATTENTION DURING THE SEMESTER.