A conceptual system is a system that is composed of non- physical objects, i.e. ideas or concepts. In this context a

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

is taken to mean "an interrelated, interworking set of objects".

Overview

A conceptual system is a

conceptual model A conceptual model is a representation of a system. It consists of concepts used to help people knowledge, know, understanding, understand, or simulation, simulate a subject the model represents. In contrast, physical models are physical object su ...

. Such systems may be related to any topic from formal science to individual

imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...

. Conceptual systems may be found within the human mind, as works of art and fiction, and within the academic world. Indeed, this article may be understood as a conceptual system because it includes a set of interrelated concepts. Broadly, when a conceptual system includes a range of values, ideas, and beliefs the conceptual system is said be a view of the world. In psychology and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, a conceptual system may refer to an individual's mental model of the world. In humans, a conceptual system may be understood as kind of a metaphor for the world. In science, there are many forms of conceptual systems including laws, theories, and models. Those conceptual systems may be developed through

inductive reasoning Inductive reasoning is a method of reasoning in which a general principle is derived from a body of observations. It consists of making broad generalizations based on specific observations. Inductive reasoning is distinct from ''deductive'' re ...

deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the mental process of drawing deductive inferences. An inference is deductively valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, i.e. if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be fals ...

, and empirical analysis. The idea that the human mind might contain conceptual systems goes back at least as far as Kelly's personal construct theory in 1955. More recently, many scholars discuss conceptual systems and the importance of understanding them (c.f.

Bateson Bateson is an English language patronymic surname meaning ''"son of Batte"'', a medieval diminutive of Bartholomew. It is rare as a given name. People with the surname Bateson include: * Edith Bateson (1867–1938), English artist * Frank ...

, Luhmann, Senge, Quine, Eco,

Umpleby This is the list of ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd Edition supplements published by TSR, I ...

, an
Wallis
. On the personal level, the human mind is generally held to contain a wide range of conceptual systems although they are not well organized. Indeed, our minds are full of conflicting mental models which makes decision making unreliable - particularly in large-scale, complex situations. Within the academic literature, each theory may be understood as a conceptual system. Conceptual systems are generally held to have greater value when they are more useful, based on more research, and are more systemically interrelated. Generally, that validity may also be described in terms of its internal

coherence Coherence, coherency, or coherent may refer to the following: Physics * Coherence (physics), an ideal property of waves that enables stationary (i.e. temporally and spatially constant) interference * Coherence (units of measurement), a deriv ...

and the correspondence between the conceptual system and other systems (e.g. social systems or

physical system A physical system is a collection of physical objects. In physics, it is a portion of the physical universe chosen for analysis. Everything outside the system is known as the environment. The environment is ignored except for its effects on the ...

s). Coherence may be tested by Integrative complexity (for individuals) and b
Integrative Propositional Analysis
(for academic theories). Correspondence is generally tested by empirical analysis and conditions of falsifiability. The conceptual system may then be said to model the physical or social system and serve as a guide for individual behavior or academic research.

Examples

Examples of conceptual systems include: *Assumptions * Business decision map * Entity-relationship model * Ethics *

Laws of science Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on reproducibility, repeated experiments or observations, that describe or prediction, predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, a ...

* Metalogic * Mind map * Model * Object-oriented programming: allows conceptual systems to be defined in a robust manner. * Policy * Schema * Strategic plan * Theory * Unified Modeling Language * Values

References

External links

Language and Conceptual Systems
at Berkeley.edu, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conceptual System

Overview

Examples

See also

References

Further reading

External links