Methods and Essence of Concept Generation

In this chapter, concept generation is systematized into more specific methods of concept synthesis: property mapping, concept blending, and concept integration in thematic relation. First, we show that these methods correspond to property mapping, hybrid, and relation linking in the field of linguistic studies, respectively. This correspondence not only makes it possible to compare concept synthesis with linguistic interpretation but also validates the classification of the three methods of concept synthesis. Next, we conduct an experiment to compare concept synthesis with the process of linguistic interpretation by focusing on the recognition types: commonality, alignable difference, and nonalignable difference. This experiment reveals that the main factors in the concept synthesis are concept blending and nonalignable difference. Moreover, we suggest that focusing on nonalignable difference is not a trait accumulated in subjects; rather, it occurs with regard to the design and interpretation processes.