A SYNTHETIC OUTLOOK ON MODERN THEORIES ON CONCEPTS

Abstract

Scientific interest towards concepts as basic mental structures reflecting the processes of human cognition of the world and the results of various human activities, has been gaining momentum these last years. The attempts to explain the ontology, the organization and the functional peculiarities of the concepts were extremely numerous and diverse. Reviewing the main theories on the origins of the concept from a linguistic, philosophical, psychological or culturological perspectives, is a necessary stage in constructing a solid theoretical basis for further more specialized reflections on the lexical concept, its structure and the principles of its functioning. Synthetizing statements and theories of scientists belonging to the American and the Russian scientific traditions,  we try to present an integrated overview of the modern pluridisciplinary vision of the concept.