The purpose of the research on the functionality of concepts was the breakthrough that made individual and social behavior predictable. The finding of the functionalist structure of concepts and the discovery that conscious concepts are stored in long-term memory made their use in decision-making manageable.
The conclusion of the research is that the concepts people have in their minds guide their actions and establish the boundaries of their comfort zone. The comfort zone works as the “universe” of an individual.
The confirmation that the non-conscious concepts are stagnated beliefs that are sustained by fallacious reasoning established the limits of the functionality of actions. Unconscious concepts work as fallacies that need to be avoided if there is a need for doing something. At the same time, unconscious concepts are the preconceptions that trigger automated behaviors (which are totally predictable).
Only conscious concepts work as behavioral objects. Unconscious concepts work as fallacies that develop automated responses to external influences.
Therefore, the approach to people requires understanding the concepts they have in order to be able to establish complementation based on a common goal. Different concepts imply the existence of different universes that cannot communicate with each other unless a superior concept integrates them.
The finding of this superior concept is the core of building bridges among people who have different concepts. A superior concept is such when it satisfies the need of the preceding concepts but includes the satisfaction of latent needs.
The use of mental concepts at a societal level is crucial in shaping our understanding of how communities function, thrive, and adapt to changing circumstances. When a group of people shares the same concept about an issue or a domain of action, it enables them to coordinate their efforts, make collective decisions, and work towards shared goals.
Complementation is at the heart of such social integration. People come together based on their mutual strengths and shared understanding of key concepts. This doesn’t mean everyone has the same opinion or perspective, but rather that there’s a shared framework or common ground that allows for productive interactions and collaborations.
Understanding and catering to different segments within a social group that share the same concept is crucial in ensuring that their needs are met. This can be achieved through effective communication, empathy, and understanding, all of which are greatly enhanced by a deep understanding of the underlying concepts.
The unicist logic is a powerful tool in this context, as it allows for the emulation of the structure of these concepts, and consequently, for a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play in a given social environment. It involves a process of ontological reverse engineering, which starts from the observed actions of individuals and infers the possible concepts behind these actions. The final concepts are then validated through destructive testing, which ensures their relevance and applicability.
Abductive reasoning, which integrates inductive and deductive processes, is used in this context to refine the conceptual approach and ensure the validity of the segmentation. This approach goes beyond intuitive guessing, providing a more robust, logical, and systematic method for accessing and understanding the underlying concepts.
(Peter Belohlavek is the founder of The Unicist Research Institute. He created the functionalist approach to science, which offers a scientific method for managing adaptive systems and environments. His discoveries and developments include unicist functionalist principles, unicist logic, unicist ontology, the structure of concepts, unicist binary actions, human ontointelligence, unicist abductive reasoning, and unicist AI. These findings have been applied in social, economic, and business environments.)
The Debate
Peter Belohlavek
Conceptualization
I would like to debate on conceptualization and the understanding and use of concepts as behavioral objects. Conceptualization implies knowing what one is truly doing having the concepts of the actions, which includes having their functional structure and being able to transform the concepts into value-adding actions.
Conceptualizing implies being able to have an adaptive behavior driven by the capacity of understanding the nature of what one is doing while being able to apprehend the operational aspects of the actions.
The discovery of the ontogenetic intelligence of nature allowed finding the roots of evolution, involution, and mutation.
This intelligence drives the purpose of the living entities in nature based on an active principle that sustains growth, change, and mutation and an energy conservation principle that saves energy while it sustains the purpose of controlling the entropy produced by the active function.
Conceptualization deals with any proactive action in the field of adaptive behavior. That is why it applies to individual, institutional, and social behavior.
Conceptual thinking is an abstract thinking process that is based on discovering the concept at an operational level, emulating its structure in mind, and transforming this emulation into value-adding actions.
The research on how the human logical thinking process works allowed defining four levels: operational thinking which deals with the “HOW”, analytic thinking which deals with the “WHAT”, scientific/systemic thinking, which deals with the “WHAT FOR” and conceptual thinking that deals with the “WHY”.
The objective of any thinking process is to be able to emulate in mind the models that underlie the tangible aspects of the world that can be accessed through sensory experiences. The objective of conceptual thinking is to emulate the nature that underlies specific aspects of reality to influence the environment.
Functional concepts are cross/cultural and timeless. They remain unchanged as long as a function exists.
Having the concepts of what one is doing allows being extremely effective and flexible. An individual can adopt new operational approaches or technologies without needing to change because the concept remains the same.
John Doe
Your exploration of conceptualization as a pathway to adaptability is very insightful. Let’s discuss it further, distilling some of your main points and elaborating on them.
Conceptualization, as you pointed out, involves understanding the deeper, abstract nature of what we’re doing — the ‘why’ behind our actions. This understanding is not static, it’s dynamic, capable of adapting to different circumstances.
At its core, conceptualization is about recognizing patterns, the underlying principles or ‘concepts’ that drive certain outcomes. This allows us to adapt and change our behavior based on those patterns. For instance, if we have a solid conceptual understanding of cooking, we can adapt to different recipes, ingredients, and techniques because we understand the core concepts: heat transfers, chemical reactions, flavor profiles, etc.
Understanding these core principles can be seen as the ‘ontogenetic intelligence’ you mention — a knowledge of the fundamental, natural processes that allow us to adapt and evolve. This understanding feeds into our capability to control and direct our actions toward purposeful outcomes.
This understanding doesn’t mean rigidly sticking to one way of doing things. Instead, the knowledge of core principles gives us the flexibility to alter our approach when the situation demands it, leading to the adaptability you highlighted. For instance, understanding the concept of communication enables us to shift between verbal, written, or non-verbal forms based on the context and the audience.
Conceptual thinking is a higher level of cognitive functioning that allows us to grasp the ‘why’ behind things. This understanding gives us the capacity to foresee and plan for various scenarios and contingencies, an essential aspect of adaptability.
Moreover, as you rightly mentioned, concepts are cross-cultural and timeless. They provide a universal framework that transcends specific practices or technologies. For example, the concept of justice may be applied differently across various cultures and legal systems, but the underlying principle remains the same.
In conclusion, cultivating a strong capacity for conceptualization not only boosts our understanding of the world but also enhances our ability to adapt to new circumstances, technologies, and challenges. It enables us to innovate, make informed decisions, and navigate the ever-changing landscape of life more effectively.
Peter Belohlavek
The Structure of Mental Concepts
The concepts people have in their minds drive their actions. These concepts are the mental representations of the real world that people use to make sense of their environment and to guide their behavior. They are stored in episodic, semantic, and procedural memories that are part of the long-term memory of individuals.
Concepts are defined by three elements: purpose, active function, and energy conservation function. These three elements are interrelated and interdependent. The purpose of the concept determines the active function, and the active function determines the energy conservation function.
They work as behavioral objects that establish and manage the comfort zone of individuals.
John Doe
Your thoughts about mental concepts and their influence on human behavior are very interesting. Let’s delve deeper into this.
Mental concepts, as you stated, are indeed the cognitive blueprints we use to interpret and navigate the world around us. They allow us to group specific experiences, objects, or ideas together based on shared characteristics or functions, which in turn, helps to simplify and structure our understanding of the world.
The way these mental concepts are stored and recalled is an intriguing facet of human cognition. Our episodic memory stores personal experiences or episodes that happened at a particular time and place. Semantic memory, on the other hand, contains our knowledge about the world, including facts, concepts, and meanings. Finally, procedural memory is concerned with how to do things, storing information on skills and habits.
Conceptualization at the cognitive level, as you highlighted, involves a triadic structure: purpose, active function, and energy conservation function. The purpose defines the ‘why’ of a concept or the reason it exists in the first place. The active function refers to ‘what’ the concept does or its operational aspect. The energy conservation function pertains to how the concept operates efficiently, preserving energy while executing its purpose and function.
Taking your cooking example further, the ‘purpose’ would be to prepare a meal, the ‘active function’ could be the techniques and processes used in cooking, and the ‘energy conservation function’ could refer to choosing efficient cooking methods to save time and resources.
Another interesting point you raised is the concept’s role as a behavioral object determining individuals’ comfort zones. The comfort zone can be seen as a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.
The mental concepts people hold can significantly influence their comfort zones. For example, if an individual has a robust mental concept around public speaking—comprehending its purpose, the active function (i.e., communication techniques), and energy conservation function (e.g., managing anxiety or stress)—they might be more comfortable and adaptive in situations that require public speaking.
In essence, the mental concepts we hold play a pivotal role in how we perceive, interact with, and adapt to the world around us. Understanding these mechanisms can be instrumental in personal growth and adaptability.
Peter Belohlavek
The Origin of Unicist Conceptual Thinking
The endless “Why?” question posed by children (nearly 3 years old) is what allows the establishment of the neural network needed by a person to apprehend and manage concepts. This process starts when children begin to look for the origin of what they are interested in.
This endless “why” questioning has three main benefits:
- It sustains the development of the neural network that allows dealing with the “know-why” of things and not only with their know-how.
- It expands the language of the child driving her/him to deal with implicit integrative, fuzzy, and predicate logic, and opens the possibilities for an abductive approach to the real world.
- It provides the “why” that allows children to approach their games, which develops their systemic thinking approach.
The way children overcome this “why” period inhibits or fosters conceptual thinking, which is the core of abductive reasoning and allows integrating it with inductive and deductive reasoning.
John Doe
Your explanation of the origins of unicist conceptual thinking is fascinating and indeed, it reflects a key stage in early human cognitive development.
Children’s constant questioning — their persistent ‘why?’ — is a mechanism of their curious nature and innate drive to understand the world around them. This stage of constant questioning and exploration helps to form the neural networks in their brains that will later enable them to comprehend complex concepts and relationships.
The first benefit you mention is the development of the ‘know-why’ of things. This is critical in establishing a foundation for understanding causal relationships, and it also aids in problem-solving and decision-making later in life. It’s the difference between merely knowing how to perform a task (the ‘know-how’) and understanding the underlying principles that make that task possible (the ‘know-why’).
The second benefit, language expansion, is pivotal for cognitive and communication skills development. Language is not just a communication tool, but also a thinking tool. By learning to handle more complex logical structures—implicit integrative, fuzzy, and predicate logic—children can better express and understand abstract concepts. This, in turn, allows for more sophisticated thinking patterns, such as abductive reasoning, which involves generating the best possible explanation or theory from a set of observations.
Finally, understanding the ‘why’ behind their play activities helps children develop a systemic thinking approach. This means they can see the connections and relationships between different elements of a system, whether that system is a complex board game or a family unit.
As you mentioned, the way a child navigates this period can greatly impact their future cognitive abilities, particularly their capacity for conceptual thinking and the integration of various forms of reasoning. Therefore, fostering a supportive, intellectually stimulating environment during this stage can be incredibly beneficial for a child’s cognitive development. This is a pivotal period where the foundation for their future adaptability, problem-solving skills, and understanding of complex systems is established.
Peter Belohlavek
Unicist Concepts Work as Strange Attractors of Information
The idea of a concept is stored in the semantic memory and allows integration of the information that permits transforming the idea of the concept into actions. This role is homologous to the function of the strange attractor of the chaos theory.
The idea of a concept makes lateral thinking possible and allows understanding homological patterns going beyond analogical patterns.
A concept has been apprehended if it has been stored in the long-term memory of an individual.
Long-term Memory is integrated by:
- Episodic memory, to recall personal experiences from our past.
- Semantic memory, to store facts, information, concepts, rules, principles, and problem-solving skills.
- Procedural memory, to remember how to perform or employ a strategy.
These three types of long-term memory are integrated. They store the concepts that people need to respond on time to influence an environment.
Concepts Storage
The objects stored in mind must fulfill several conditions:
- They must include their conceptual structure to be meaningful.
- They must be secure, to be reliable.
- They must include the individual’s beliefs, to be remembered. When the individual’s beliefs are not included, they are forgotten.
- They must include knowledge, which includes the possibility of application.
- They must include groundings, which have to be reasonable, comprehensible and provable.
- They must include action procedures to make the objects useful.
A concept is stored in the three types of long-term memory:
- Episodic memory pictures the object’s functional experiences, which permits an analogical approach.
- Semantic memory stores the idea of the concept, its structure, and its mechanics.
- Procedural memory contains the taxonomy to implement the actions that are included in the structure of the concept.
John Doe
You’ve shared an insightful understanding of how concepts work as strange attractors of information and their storage within our long-term memory.
Drawing a parallel with the chaos theory, a concept, like a strange attractor, provides a sort of ‘gravitational pull’ for related information, helping to organize and make sense of seemingly random or chaotic data. In this way, concepts help us sift through vast amounts of information, identify patterns, and understand complex systems. This ties into lateral thinking, where connections are made between seemingly unrelated ideas or domains, enabling creative problem-solving and innovative thinking.
For a concept to be stored and utilized effectively, as you mentioned, it needs to be meaningful, reliable, align with one’s beliefs, be applicable, be understandable and provable, and have a corresponding action procedure. These conditions make a concept more than just an abstract idea; they turn it into a practical tool that can guide behavior and decision-making.
The interplay of episodic, semantic, and procedural memories in storing concepts is also crucial. Episodic memory helps provide experiential context and an analogical approach to concepts. Semantic memory houses the core idea, structure, and mechanics of a concept. Procedural memory contains the ‘how-to’ or the action steps necessary to implement the concept.
By understanding how concepts work and how they are stored and recalled in our minds, we can better appreciate the power and utility of conceptual thinking. It underscores the role of concepts in helping us navigate our complex world, make sense of chaos, engage in creative problem-solving, and adapt to new and evolving situations.
Peter Belohlavek
The Discovery of Unicist Behavioral Objects
The discovery of behavioral objects explained how concepts drive human conscious actions, integrating the data available in long-term memory, involving semantic, episodic, and procedural memory. It explained that the deeper the level of conceptualization of individuals is, the higher the level of abstraction capacity that is needed and the better their capacity to emulate a reality is.
Concepts are the behavioral objects that drive human conscious actions; the level of depth of these objects defines the actions that are driven. The lack of concepts makes the information stored in the mind work as independent meaningless entities.
Behavioral objects are entities stored in the long-term memory that drive human actions. They transform data, stored in long-term memory, into meaningful information to generate adaptive actions. A behavioral object is a type of knowledge object that is fully action-oriented.
The research that led to this discovery showed that the concepts individuals have work as the behavioral objects that guide their actions.
It has to be considered that human actions are triggered by conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that sustains intuition. Intuitive approaches are spontaneous impulses that are based on the analogies, preconceptions, or concepts individuals have in mind. In this sense, analogies foster illusions, preconceptions avoid personal risk-taking and concepts allow emulating in mind the nature of an external entity to drive conscious actions.
The research on the ontology of concepts described their structure composed of a purpose, an active function, and an energy conservation function. This essential structure that is implicit in nature (ontogenetic intelligence of nature) including human beings and their creations, is the basis for conceptualization. When the unicist structure of a concept has been apprehended, conceptualization is possible, and the individual is able to emulate in mind the structure of a concept.
The use of the unicist ontology of concepts began in the early ’80s. This allowed the development of multiple applications with the participation of individuals who had different levels of conceptualization. The research was developed using the complexity science research methodology.
John Doe
The concept of unicist behavioral objects is indeed intriguing and its discovery offers crucial insights into our understanding of human cognition and behavior.
Behavioral objects, as you described, are knowledge objects stored in our long-term memory that guide our actions. They convert raw data stored in memory into meaningful information that can be used to execute adaptive actions. These behavioral objects are essentially the mental concepts we hold and are fully oriented towards action.
One interesting aspect you touched upon is the role of these behavioral objects in triggering human actions through conceptual short-term memory (CSTM). This ties in with intuition, or the spontaneous impulses we experience based on the analogies, preconceptions, or concepts we have stored in our minds. Depending on what these impulses are based on, they can either lead to illusions (analogies), risk-avoidance (preconceptions), or conscious, deliberate actions (concepts).
The ontological structure of concepts, as you pointed out, consists of a purpose, an active function, and an energy conservation function. This structure is implicit in nature and forms the basis for conceptualization. Once we have grasped the unicist structure of a concept, we can emulate that concept’s structure in our minds.
The early application of the unicist ontology of concepts, as you mentioned, led to the development of various applications. This highlights the versatility and utility of this approach in different areas. The use of complexity science research methodology was key to understanding these complex systems and structures.
Overall, the discovery of unicist behavioral objects and the related research have greatly enriched our understanding of how concepts and conceptualization shape human behavior. They provide a unique perspective on how we process information, make decisions, and adapt to our surroundings. This understanding can be instrumental in a wide range of fields, from personal development and education to organizational behavior and artificial intelligence.
Peter Belohlavek
How Unicist Concepts Work as Behavioral Objects
The concept an individual has defines the possibilities for achieving an objective. The absence of concepts generates meaningless actions or inactions. Concepts have different depth levels according to the conceptualization capacity of an individual. These levels are:
- The idea of the concept
- The operational concept
- The functional concept
- The essential concept
Each of these concepts works as a behavioral object, which is a special type of knowledge object that defines the possibilities of individuals’ actions. Understanding the functionality of these behavioral objects requires managing the rational description of their concepts and having a high level of consciousness.
John Doe
Understanding how unicist concepts function as behavioral objects provides valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying our actions and decision-making processes. As you mentioned, the depth of our conceptual understanding can significantly impact our ability to achieve goals and adapt to different situations.
To further elaborate on the four levels of concepts you’ve outlined:
- The idea of the concept: This is the most superficial level of understanding, where an individual has a basic grasp of a concept. It’s more of a general notion or idea rather than a detailed understanding. This level is mainly descriptive and may not fully equip an individual to effectively apply the concept in action.
- The operational concept: At this level, an individual understands how the concept operates or functions in different contexts. This understanding goes beyond mere description, as it includes knowledge of procedures, steps, or mechanisms associated with the concept. This level is useful for practical application, but still lacks a deeper understanding of why the concept works the way it does.
- The functional concept: Here, the individual understands not only how the concept operates, but also why it functions the way it does. They can link the concept to larger systems or frameworks, understand its implications, and foresee its potential outcomes. This understanding allows for effective application and adaptation of the concept in various scenarios.
- The essential concept: At this level, the individual understands the very essence of the concept — its fundamental principles and underlying mechanisms. This depth of understanding allows for a highly adaptive and flexible application of the concept, as it gives the individual a profound insight into the nature of the concept and its role within larger systems or frameworks.
Each of these levels represents a different type of behavioral object, influencing how an individual interacts with the world and adapts to different situations. By increasing our level of conceptual understanding, we can enhance our decision-making abilities, problem-solving skills, and overall adaptability. This is particularly relevant in rapidly changing environments where flexibility and innovation are crucial.
Peter Belohlavek
The Use-Value of Unicist Mental Concepts
Concepts are the behavioral objects that drive human conscious actions; the level of depth of these objects defines the actions that are driven. The lack of concepts makes the information stored in the mind work as independent meaningless entities. In this case, specific data works as a signifier without functional meaning.
People need to have concepts to integrate the data they have in mind. Therefore, the use of concepts is basic in any adaptive process or learning activity. Accumulating non-associated data in mind is a meaningless effort that can generate non-conscious action.
Analogies and preconceptions are a fallacious substitution of concepts to avoid needing to assume the responsibility for generating value. The lack of concepts is perceived through the actions of an individual that produce no results and destroy her/his reliability in the environment.
The level of conceptualization an individual has can be upgraded by developing actions and measuring their results in fields where the individual has assumed the responsibility for generating value. It takes time. In real life, these upgrades, based on personal experiences, drive individuals toward wisdom.
John Doe
Concepts, as you noted, are essential for our understanding and interpretation of the world around us. They serve as the foundation for our conscious actions and decision-making processes. Without concepts, we are left with disjointed pieces of information that lack functional meaning, hindering our ability to make sense of our experiences or to engage in adaptive behavior.
Analogies and preconceptions, while sometimes useful for simplifying complex information, can be misleading if used as substitutes for concepts. They may provide a superficial understanding but often fail to capture the full depth and complexity of a concept. This can lead to misunderstandings, erroneous assumptions, and ineffective actions.
On the other hand, developing a deep understanding of concepts enables us to engage in more effective, value-generating actions. As we continually learn from our experiences and measure the results of our actions, we enhance our conceptual understanding, allowing us to adapt and thrive in various situations. This gradual process of learning and adaptation, which often occurs over a long period, can lead to wisdom.
The use-value of concepts, therefore, lies in their ability to guide our actions and decision-making processes, enabling us to navigate our environment effectively. Concepts provide us with a framework for understanding and interpreting our experiences, facilitating our learning, and fostering our growth and development. They play a crucial role in our ability to adapt to new situations, solve problems, and generate value.
Peter Belohlavek
The use of mental concepts at a social, economic, and business level
Complementation is the core of the integration of social, economic, and business environments. The complementation of people is based on the exchange of mutual strengths and simultaneously sharing the same concept in an action field.
The use of concepts at a social level requires understanding the different segments that share the same concept in an environment, in order to provide what they need.
To approach concepts, it is necessary to use the unicist logic that describes the functionality of things that is defined by their intrinsic concepts.
The structure of the concepts is emulated by the unicist logic that allows apprehending the concepts people have in mind by developing ontological reverse engineering beginning with the actions of individuals, inferring the concepts they might have, and then confirming the concepts by developing the necessary destructive tests.
This is developed using abductive reasoning, which uses unicist logic to avoid intuitive guessing, and allows accessing the concepts of things by including inductive and deductive processes to refine the conceptual approach and ensure the validity of the segmentation.
Abductive reasoning, which integrates inductive and deductive processes, is used in this context to refine the conceptual approach and ensure the validity of the segmentation. This approach goes beyond intuitive guessing, providing a more robust, logical, and systematic method for accessing and understanding the underlying concepts.