Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 5, 2024

Constructing Iconic Concepts from the Perspective of an Independent Knowledge System

(Abstract)

Guo Zhonghua

The construction of China’s independent knowledge system begins with the establishment of iconic concepts, with the understanding of conceptual components and construction principles forming the foundation. Social science concepts consist of four elements: object, meaning, vocabulary, and field. From these elements emerge four constructive principles of iconic concepts: the differential principle is associated with the object, aimed at clarifying the boundaries of concepts; the identical principle, which is associated with meaning, aims to extract the essential attributes of the object; the accuracy principle is associated with vocabulary, aiming to express concepts accurately and with appropriate terminology; and the predicative principle is associated with the field, aiming to establish mutual explanatory relationships between concepts. An ideal iconic concept should meet the following criteria: clear object boundaries, reflection of essential attributes, appropriate vocabulary selection, and clear predicative relationships. In the process of constructing China’s independent knowledge system, iconic concepts still require further operationalization to fulfill their role in knowledge production.