Making Meaning

The Questions of Epistemology as I understand them are:
What is the Nature of the process of concept formation and
to what precisely do concepts refer to in reality.
From Ayn Rand
w additions by Tony Stender.

1. Existence exists. Grasping this thought means:

A. Something exists which one perceives.

B. One exists possessing consciousness.
Consciousness being the faculty of perceiving that which exists.

1. Call that which exists a "unit".
A unit is the bridge between metaphysics (existence) and epistemology
(our understanding of existence).

2. This "unit concept" permits any number of classifications and sub-classifications.

3. Classifications are observed in reality not just invented.
Therefore units are viewed by a consciousness in certain existing relationships.

2. Concept formation

A A concept is a mental integration of two or more units which are isolated according to
specific characteristic(s) and united by a specific definition.

B The units may be any aspect of reality.

C The act of isolation is a process of abstraction. An integration.
The blending of the units into a single mental entity.

D This new mental entity is used therefore as a single unit of thought (word/concept)

E This has to be given the form of a specific perceptual concrete which will differentiate (define it as different) it from all other perceptual concretes (units/words).

F These are some of the functions performed by language.

1. Language is a code of visual-auditory symbols that serves the
psycho-epistemological process of converting concepts into the mental equivalent
of perceptual concretes.

2. Language is the exclusive domain and tool of concepts.
A (word/concept) is the bridge between existence and our method of understanding existence. A word is the temporary placeholder for the decoding the word / concept back to perceptual experience.

3. Every word we use, is a symbolic representation, which denotes a concept originating in perceptual experience.

4. Definitions provide words with identity. Definitions attempt to recreate the original
perceptual data into other concepts which will enable decoding back into the original perceptual data when the word is heard or read.

5. A concept is a mental integration of two or more units possessing the same
distinguishing characteristics with their particular measurements omitted.

6. The goal of concept formation is to bring the universe within the range of man's
knowledge by identifying relationships to perceptual data.

7. New concepts are formed by integrating earlier formed concepts into wider categories.

8. All concepts are reducible to their base in perceptual entities which are the base
(the given) of man's cognitive development.

8A. Each person has a unique set of experiences (base), so often this translation process (language to perceptions and back again) is uneven and may cause mis-understandings instead of the understanding that was intended.

9.The first concepts a man forms are concepts of entities - since entities are the only
primary existents.

10. Concepts have attributes.
Attributes cannot exist by themselves, they are merely the characteristics of entities;
Motions are motions of entities;
Relationships are relationships among entities.

11. Adverbs are concepts of the characteristics of motion (or action)

12. Prepositions are concepts of relationships.

13. Conjunctions are concepts of relationships among thoughts.

14. The basic principle of concept-formation (which states that the omitted measurements must exist in some quantity but may exist in any quantity) is equivalent of the basic principle of algebra, which states that algebraic symbols must be given some numerical value, but may be given any value. In this sense and respect, perceptual awareness is the arithmetic, but the conceptual awareness is the algebra of cognition.

15. In fact upon review, it seems to me that mathematics is just a particular example of concept formation. A recoding of perceptual memories into conceptual forms. Just as any other concepts are formed.