Conceptual Structures by Sowa - Literature review Example

Conceptual Analysis Affiliation: Conceptual Analysis Conceptual Structures is a book that focuses on a number of cognitive aspects. The author, Sowa (1984) drew the cognitive aspects discussed in the book from a variety of disciplines including, logic, artificial intelligence and linguistic theories. The book proposes a mathematical approach known as conceptual graph, which generates rules used to manipulate data and provide illustrations that indicate how the conceptual graph is useful in database construction. Sowa distinguishes between concepts composed of primitives from those in form of family resemblances, and uses the two concepts to develop his mathematical structure. The conceptual graph has several boxes called concept nodes. It also contain several ovals referred to as relation nodes. All the relation nodes are linked to at least one concept node via arcs. To illustrate the conceptual graph concept, the statement “mass is a property of a physical object” can be represented by a canonical graph as follows: [MASS]  (PROPERTY)  [PHSOB]. In the above example, relations are indicated by the parentheses and concepts are shown within the first brackets. The canonical graphs together with formation rules form conceptual graphs. The graphs are then labeled to form schemata, which are used as plausibility heuristics when examining a new statement. A second illustration of conceptual graphs is demonstrated using the sentence: “The rover Curiosity is exploring the planet Mars”. In this example, the word Curiosity is both an agent and a concept and will therefore be represented by a box. Since the word is an individual concept, it will be represented by a colon after the type label (the word rover represents the type of agent). This will be followed by the name of the agent (curiosity in this case). Exploring is another agent and will be represented by another box. Unlike curiosity, which is an individual concept, exploration, is a generic concept which will be represented by a type label with no colon. Mars is also an individual concept and will therefore be represented by a box with a colon. Its type is determined by the word planet. Fig 1: Conceptual Graph representing the above illustrations NB. The conceptual graph was constructed using the Sowa framework. The above graph, along with other similar graphs can be used as a nucleus in order to develop models of different scenarios which when applied, make the above sentences true. The constructed scenarios can have rules that prohibit illegal extensions. Additionally, a number of levels can be added to the conceptual graph in an iterative manner, such that the 0th level creates graphs from sentences, the 1st level joins several graphs to draw plausible inferences, the 2nd level tests the resultant model and checks constraints, and so on. 2 Language complexity is a unique characteristic of the human species that distinguishes it from the rest of the animal kingdom. The language complexities consist of use of different words and rules of word use. Almost all human languages have evolved into the “words”, or specific sounds, that indicate specific ideas, concepts or objects. Therefore, words are used to form meaning of ideas in order to communicate between two people who understand their meaning. It is hypothesized that words were invented to express thoughts and concepts existing in the minds of human ancestors and thus served to codify those thoughts. Despite the evolution of words as a means of communication, ancient methods (older than language) such as use of pictures and images were not abandoned. Evidence traces the earliest known cave paintings and petroglyphs to be at least 40,000 years old. It is not known for certain whether the paintings were created before or concurrently with the development of spoken language. However, it is almost certain that they came before the written languages. Pictures are unambiguous because a single image can express a range of ideas that words can’t hence the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. In fact, the meanings and significance of some of the greatest paintings and sculptures have been discussed for centuries and volumes have been written about them. Therefore, while words convey single concepts, images and pictures are an integral part of communication as they express a range of ideas. Therefore, it was important to develop this form of communication with the evolution of language as it complements words. The Representation Theory of Mind (RTM), is a traditional theory of concepts. The theory explains that the human thought process is composed of a mental framework, associated with internal symbols. The symbols constitute a language of thought, which is syntactical, representational and muck like the spoken languages. However, there are some limitations. Cognitive scientists such as Daniel Dennett argue that propositions are not necessarily mapped into internal representations. The scientists argue that propositions can be clearly comprehended by referring to the way computers operate. For example, one can state that a game playing program makes a certain move early in the game because it is good practice to do so. However, the program itself does not have any line of code that associate an early move with ‘good practice’. It makes the move based on a single set of probabilities, or numbers, that the programmer used. This shows that even when concepts are treated as basic building blocks of thoughts, it is not a trivial process to generate concepts from images or visual signs. This non-triviality is illustrated by discussing a rather simple image exhibited by Hall in his 2007 book, “This Means This, This Means That: A Users Guide to Semiotics”. Hall uses an image of a large red rectangle to evaluate if the readers view the image in a similar way. The image is simple and conveys a single concept- the red color. However, a closer observation of the image raises several non-trivial questions for example, if a person has never seen color red before, how would she describe the rectangle? What word would she associate color with and how would she describe the rectangle to someone else? Hall argues that even ‘normal’ persons, who have seen the color before might vary in their interpretation of ‘redness’. Someone might describe it as ‘deep red’, another person may describe it as ‘fire engine red’ and yet another one as ‘passionate red’. Hall’s example shows evidence that a person’s description of color red might give some insights into the concepts that she associates with the color such as a fire truck, a flower, or red painted lips! Further insight of concepts and mental symbols can be obtained by a thorough discussion of Mosaic II, which is a picture that describes the foreground and background aspects of pictures. The picture was drawn by a celebrated artist, M. C. Escher to explore how individuals perceive reality. The picture also indicates how individuals develop mental constructs, through a series of paintings. The paintings often express fundamental mathematical and physical concepts through images. For example, Mosaic II blends foreground and background in such a manner that each side becomes indistinguishable from the other. The viewer can choose to view the white area as background and the black area as the foreground, or vice versa. Escher uses this image to illustrate that concepts are subjective and their interpretation more often depend on some pre-conceived notions. For example, almost everyone is accustomed to treating the white areas in a page as background and the black text as foreground. This may create a gap if the viewer overlooks some information present in the “background”. The above illustration shows that concepts associated with an image are non-trivia in nature, and can appear quite complex on deeper introspection. 3 According to Weeks (1991), experientialism, is a scientific concept developed by Arieti in 1976. The scientist claims that the mind is a gathering place for intelligence. He explains that at any one second, the human mind is capable of recording numerous signals and stimuli from the environment. The mind is unable to distinguish between real and imagined objects/notions. However, the brain has capability of turning a thought into an experience. Therefore, the human mind is a powerful learning tool that is able to connect words and images with feelings. Talking is considered as the best and the most important way of transferring knowledge. Different scholars and philosophers consider good conversations as the most important thing in the world. Celebrated motivational speakers understand this concept and use good conversations to inspire their audiences. Words are used to gain new experiences and improve the previous ones. Individuals gain experiences through hearing and perceiving the written or spoken word. Therefore, an individual may use prior experiences to acquire new perceptions about another person. Although the human mind-set is well known to form preconceived opinions or premeditated decisions and judgements concerning certain concepts, it can be trained to acquire new concepts. The mind may obtain new concepts through a paradigm shift. The shift is influenced by defining how the concepts gained from others determine how an individual feels towards them. This means that an individual may experience two different feelings towards two different individuals. The paradigm shift indicates that the mind can associate pictures words and images with feelings, yet its ability to learn and connect knowledge and intelligence remain unrivalled and unparalleled. References Hall, S. (2007). This means this, this means that: a users guide to semiotics (p. 176). Laurence King Publishing. Sowa, J. F. (1983). Conceptual structures: information processing in mind and machine. Weeks, G. R. (1991). A metatheory of paradox. Promoting Change Through Paradoxical Therapy, 302. Read More