Conceptualizing the world: lessons from history

Abstract

Throughout history, philosophers, scientists, and other scholars have named and organized the salient elements of the world. These efforts have led to conceptualizations that differ widely in both content and form. This paper argues that all conceptualizations are biased, both because they depend on the purposes for which they have been created, and because they are closely tied to the world view of their designers. This bias needs to be recognized, and its consequences need to be addressed if the conceptualizations are to be used for purposes other than those for which they were designed. The paper begins with a brief overview of the disciplines that have been concerned with conceptualizing particular domains. This is followed by a non-exhaustive, illustrative, historical perspective, and the paper concludes with the interesting case study of biological taxonomy.