A concept map allows the representation of knowledge through a graph.
The adjective conceptual , which comes from the Latin conceptus , refers to that linked to the concept : an idea , a judgment , a meaning . The conceptual is often associated with the abstract or the symbolic.
A technique that consists of representing knowledge through a graph is called a concept map . Concept maps are networks that relate various concepts, graphed as nodes. The links between them are the relationships that exist between the concepts.
Usefulness of a concept map
Thanks to the use of a concept map it is possible to provide a group of students with a synopsis of a given topic. One of the main problems of the traditional educational system is that texts are proposed for memorization, instead of concepts that can be internalized with each person's tools.
While the sentence "When water in the liquid state reaches 0° Celsius it goes to its solid state" does not give rise to improvisation, a conceptual map in which "liquid state", "0°" and "solid state" are related » with arrows allow each person to internalize the phenomenon in their own words. Memorizing the lines of a book is difficult, but possible with a certain degree of dedication, although if the content does not interest us we will probably not understand it or retain it in the long term; A concept map, on the other hand, invites us to understand before memorizing, since we must create the connections ourselves.
The notion of conceptual is used in philosophy.
The concept in philosophy
In the field of philosophy the notion of conceptual scheme appears. These are symbolic representations of ideas that are based on conceptual connections, prior to experience. All people have the ability to build conceptual schemes, although these developments will depend on the context (culture).
Continuing in the field of philosophy, the doctrine that maintains that abstractions do not exist in the external world is known as conceptualism , although it recognizes that they do appear in the mind conceptually (as concepts).
Concept art
Conceptual art , on the other hand, is a movement that privileges the conceptualization of a work rather than its material representation. Its basis is that the idea behind the work is more important than the object used to convey it.
Similarly, when creating a work in which graphic art plays a fundamental role, the drawings made in the initial stage are usually called conceptual, since they reflect the ideas that the person or people involved in the project have. Initially, those that once approved will become the very foundations of all the work.
These drawings are often called conceptual art among people of the same field, although they do not exactly respond to the definition given above; Far from being a movement, it is simply a set of concepts captured on paper through drawings, and many of them are discarded in the determining phases of the project.
A type of album
In the field of music , finally, a concept album is an album in which all its songs are united through something in common: a theme, an idea, etc. That is why these concept albums are conceived as a unit. “The wall” by Pink Floyd is an example of a concept album.
Of course, a work made up of several pieces or songs that respond to the same theme is not something that emerged in the 20th century; Although it is not called that way, we could say that opera is also "conceptual music"; Likewise, song cycles (or lieder , a German term commonly used worldwide in academia) that revolve around connected ideas are also song cycles, such as Franz Schubert 's Winter Journey , one of his works. most prominent.