Sergei Kh. Lyapin
NP "Centroconcept"
Russia, 163045, Arkhangelsk, Komsomolskaya str., 11 - 2
E-mail: lyapin@crc.pomorsu.ru

Sense Units of Information: Their Existence, Properties and Representatives

Abstract
Investigations of human cognition to have to do with such a crucial problem as explication and (re)construction of sense units of information (SUI). They play an integrative role in local and global organization of human intelligence, its various aspects, dimensions and modalities. And correspondingly they could do that in its theoretical and technological representations. The article gives preliminary description for SUI properties and sets the problem of its epistemological identification. It also states that multi-modal concepts (MM-concepts) and their various functional constellations can serve as SUI. On phenomenological surface concepts exist in their reduced forms, including lingual, textual, term, graphical and other sign structures, available for observing and informational processing. Such an understanding of the term "concept" has a historical background (medieval conceptualism). And it is wider and more universal in contrast to the understanding of modern cognitive science. These ideas are developed us in the framework of conceptology - an interdisciplinary approach to studying and modeling of human cognition and human activity. We substantiate the thesis that conceptological approach can be effective for tasks of cognitive modeling, as well as for creating different intelligent (concept-oriented) information systems (full-text databases, knowledge bases, electronic libraries, multi-modal cultural thesauri and so on).

Key words: multi-modal concept, conceptology, sense unit of information, cognitive modeling, intelligent information system.

1. Introduction. 
Investigations of human "intelligence" (mutatis mutandis "human cognition") in wide but anyway quite definite frames of cognitive sciences sooner or later leads to setting of the question about flexible integrative units of information, providing effective local and global organization of different aspects, levels, dimensions and modalities of cognitive relation. The role of such a universal unit of information is better played by some (hypothetical) sense (Sinn - Germ.; smysl - Rus.) unit of information (SUI) which is not hard connected with this or that concrete content and structure of cognitive relation, but it transfer a sense and related sense invariants. The (hypothetical) SUI are located in heterogeneous semiotic space but they are able to exist in their various reduced semantic forms. Of course, the sense aspect does not exhaust all phenomenon of intelligence (or cognition), but it is its key moment and of a sort "proper" reference system  for its analysis, interpretation, conceptual and technological modeling.

2. SUI and preliminary SUI-axiomatics. 
We will proceed from the nature and phenomenology of sense, as well as from general methodological principles of its representation. Some intuitively clear and at the same time important moments, which must be taken into account, are following.
2.1. A sense is discrete, i.e. it has own (fuzzy) structure and the sufficiently determined outer boundary of its existing.
2.2. But therewith a sense doesn't exist as a separate "thing", doesn't locate once and for all in any kind of separate concrete sign. A discreteness of the concrete sense is closely connect with continuity of global culture-historical sense continuum. Therefore a sense discreteness can be understood as a specific non-linear system effect of complexly built sign's system, as a quasi-particle in continuous sense space.
2.3. A source of both non-linearity and discreteness of this signs' system is an actualization of some external "culture agent", which in the moment of it's interaction with a non-specific signs' diversity transforms it in the specific non-linear system and becomes itself of its active part. 
2.4. Each culture sign, each element of natural or artificial language syntax may become, in certain conditions, a bearer of above mentioned non-linear system and (or) quantum effect - and by that a bearer of sense.
2.5. A sense is accessible to observation and understanding not in itself, but only as an actualized sense, or as a sensible (meaningful) sign.
2.6. A sense is actually existing only at the moment of its sign incarnation and execution (it is evidently, for example, for a musical composition).
2.7. Sense is transcendence - it presents the orientation beyond the limits of that concrete content in framework of which it is actualizing.
2.8. Sense is intension - i.e. it presents a trend to some another content.
2.9. Sense is multi-dimensioned and other-dimensioned, in comparison with a dimension of related sign. 
2.10. The same sense have non one, but a few forms of its sign representation - i.e. presents itself an "invariance" relatively on some "group" of sign transformations. And vice versa, the same sign may have a several its manifestations. And in the same manner it may be viewed as an invariance relatively on some group of sense transformations.
2.11. In distinction to 'content', the 'sense' is inter-disciplinary on its nature, it includes itself a disposition to the subject areas integration, to the heuristic translation from one subject area into another on retention of content specific both of these areas.
The items 2.1. - 2.6. present in fact more or less expanded form of the thesis about virtuality of sense. This thesis may be further developed in the direction of quantum sense theory. In the items 2.7. and 2.8. are described the same property of sense, but at first (in the p. 2.7.) in relation to some "initial" content, and in this case this property show up as "transcendence", and thereupon (in the p. 2.8.) in relation to some "another" content, and then this property show up as "intentionality". 

3. Multi-modal concepts as a representatives of SUI. Concepts and conceptology.
In order to define a sense unit of information (SUI), it is necessary to identify it with this or that epistemological and language realia. 
>From the standpoint of conceptology, developed by us ([1], [2]), the role of SUI is played better by concepts - universal multi-modal sense formbuildings, which can be represented notionally and terminologically and at the same time penetrating into all types, kinds and levels of human activities. We use the term "concept" in the meaning considerably different from that one of modern philosophic and scientific literature. The latter uses this term for defining logical propositions or, at best, purely thought formbuildings and practically identifies concepts with notions and their combinations ([3], [4, [5]). Extension of a range of functions fulfilled by concepts in thinking - for example, such functions are distinguished as representative, classification, linguistic (see, e.g., [6], [7]) - leads some authors to study concepts in a closer relation with problems of sense generation and sense explication ([8], [9]). But at the same time understanding of concept's dimensions and modalities as a cognitive and cultural phenomenon stays limited. And we suggest to use this term in a more broader and deeper sense. To say it right away, our understanding of "concept" is mostly close to the meaning of the term "conceptus" by P.Abeliard and Thomas Aquinas, generally in the medieval conceptualism.
We understand concepts as multi-modal sense quanta of human being-in-the-world which can transform into different specialized subject formbuildings depending on different specific circumstances. >From the standpoint of concepts proper being and structure, they are multi-dimensional (and multi-modal) formbuildings leaning upon the notional (either pseudo-, or pre-notional) basis, fixed in the meaning of any sign: a scientific term, or a word (word-combination) of a natural language, or more complicated lexical-grammatical-semantic structure, or visual pattern and so on.
The main things in 'concept', as we understand it, are multi-dimensionality, multi-modality and discrete wholeness of sense, nevertheless, existing in continuous cultural-historical space and therefore being disposed to cultural (and culturogene) translation from one subject field into another one. We can automate these processes - within the framework of conceptual in general (and conceptological in particular) computer processing of information. We mean creating of concept-oriented intelligent information systems and their applying in scientific researches, education, consulting, management, business. [10].
At that a conceptological formula of this or that phenomenon (e.g., of the "fact", [11]), i.e. a complex concept comprising the ones of lower level, becomes the basis for designing and constructing of "intelligence" of information system, first of all for working out of software of intermediate level (libraries of functional models for sense-oriented search).
Conceptology is mainly object-oriented ontology, methodology and technology. It is aimed not at explication of abstract-general relations or principles. It is aimed at explication and modeling of various "objects" (= "concepts", their derivatives and functional structures) from different subject areas at that. Each of these "objects" can have specific mechanisms for properties inheritance and, that is most important, internal polymorphism and logic of unfolding of its contents.

4. Conclusion. We interpret multi-modal concepts and sense units of information, closely related with the former, both as an object of research in cognitive sciences, and as an effective tool for research and modeling of human cognition itself. These can be done both by means of "manual" non-computer construction of concept-oriented formulas of different cognitive phenomena with their further validity and relevance check, and by means of including these formulas (first of all as concept libraries) into various concept-oriented computer information systems (intelligent full-text databases, knowledge bases, multi-modal and interdisciplinary cultural thesauri and so on).

5. References.
[1] S.Kh. Lyapin. About Concepts and Conceptology (New Approach to Activity Modeling): XIX World Congress of Philosophy. Book of Abstracts. Moscow 22-28 August 1993, p.322. (In Russian).
[2] S.Kh. Lyapin. Conceptology: Towards a Formation of Approach. In: Concepts. Scientific Works of Centroconcept. Issue 1(1). Arkhangelsk., Pomor Univ. Press, P. 11-35 (In Russian).
[3] See: searching on the term 'Concept formation', Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 2.0, 1995.
[4] Maria Pozzi. The Concept of 'Concept' in Terminology: a Need for a New Approach. In: Proc. of the 5th Int. Congress on Terminology and Knowledge Engineering, 23-27 August, 1999, Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 28-42
[5] Van Mechelen, J., Hampton, J.A., Michalski, R., & Theuns, P. (Eds.), Categories and Concepts: Theoretical Views and Inductive Data Analysis, Academic Press, London, UK
[6] B. Franks. Folk psychology and the ascription of concepts. Philosophical Psychology, 5, 369-390.
[7] L. Rips. The current status of research on concept combination. Mind & Language, 10, 72-104.
[8] R. Cooper, B. Franks. The Iteration of Concept Combination in Sense Generation. In: COGENT Online Publications. Http://cogent.psyc.bbk.ac.uk/publications/Cooperfranks96.html
[9] B. Franks. Sense generation: A "Quasi-Classical" approach to concept and concept combination. Cognitive Science, 19, 441-505.
[10] Lyapin S.Kh., Kukovyakin A.V., Skidan O.P. Knowledge Resources Management as Functional Part of Intelligent Text Database. In: Proc. of the 5th Int. Congress on Terminology and Knowledge Engineering, 23-27 August, 1999, Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 307-320.
[11] S.Kh. Lyapin. Conceptological Formula of Fact. In: Concepts. Scientific Works of Centroconcept. Issue 2(2). Arkhangelsk., Pomor Univ. Press, P. 5-71 (In Russian); S.Kh. Lyapin. Term as Reduced Concept (To Conceptological Analysis of Science Terminology). In: Proc. of the 5th Int. Congress on Terminology and Knowledge Engineering, 23-27 August, 1999, Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 89-101.