Concept formation in the wild: towards a research agenda

Abstract

The paper proposes a research agenda focused on the collective creation of culturally new concepts in the wild. Culturally novel concepts are not only created by scientists but also by people struggling with persistent problems and challenges in all walks of life: we are all involved in the creation of new concepts. This has been largely ignored by scholars of concept formation. Promising starting points for the study of the formation of functional concepts in the wild are found in the theories of Cussins, Moscovici, Marková, Hutchins, and Nersessian. The foundational framework adopted by the paper is cultural-historical activity theory, particularly the works of Il’enkov and Davydov. This leads to five guiding ideas that delineate the research agenda: (1) concept formation in the wild takes place in collective activity systems that evolve historically; (2) there are qualitatively different types of concepts; (3) theoretical concepts are formed by ascending from the abstract to the concrete; (4) concepts formed in the wild are inherently polyvalent, debated, and dynamic; (5) concept formation in the wild is intertwined with the generation of transformative agency by double stimulation. This suggested research agenda will examine concept formation across different productive activities, including schools and other educational institutions. Concepts need to be examined as embedded in complex instrumentalities, social relationships and patterns of learning within the activity systems that generate and employ them.