Olha Lavrynchuk
(Kamyanets-Podilsky Ivan Ohiienko National University)
Scientific Supervisor: M.V. Matkovska, Senior Lecturer
THE SOCIOCULTURAL BACKGROUND AND THE SEMANTIC CHANGE OF THE CONCEPT “CHOICE”
The article deals with the concept of CHOICE in terms of its history, etymology and change. The study is based on the hypotheses of various authors of their field. The author tries to analyse the concept of CHOICE and to compare it with original meaning and different opinions in order to clarify it.
The period of approval of the term concept in science is associated with a certain arbitrariness of its use, blurring of boundaries, mixing with terms close in meaning or in linguistic form. In this regard, it is necessary to clarify the definition of the term. The Lexico UK Dictionary gives the following definition: “Concept” (from Latin Conceptus – thought, concept) is the semantic meaning of a name (sign), i.e. the content of a concept, the object of which is the object of this name [4]. At first sight, the lexical meaning of a word may be called a concept. However, it is now considered already proven that the meaning of a word in a dictionary entry is presented as “insufficient, narrow, far from cognitive reality and even inadequate”
[2, p. 47].
The concept CHOICE is a central category of philosophy. It expresses ideas about human existence. It is the lever of all that is positive and all that is negative in human life. Through the prism of this concept, human actions are evaluated.
The issue of CHOICE has been studied by Schwartz, Barry, Rosenthal, Edward, Todd P. M., Iyengar S.S., Eger E.A., Fodor J. A. A recent analysis of the literature on CHOICE congestion puts these kinds of studies into doubt [7, p. 1]. On many occasions, the studies have found no effect of CHOICE sets on people’s convictions, sentiments and attitudes. That the predominant reporting point of human activity, in general the impact of too many CHOICES” is minimised at most.
The word CHOICE was Romanized by Gothic word (which means – to taste) which as a result became Franconian “kausijan” [8]. The Merriam Webster Dictionary tells us that the CHOICE is “the act or power of choosing”. Middle English chois, from Anglo-French, from “choisir” (“to differentiate, see distinctly”), to choose, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German kiosan to choose [5]. Also in terms of coordinates – “cyre” which is derived from the Proto-West Germanic “kure” (to test, choose) which can mean CHOICE; free will; election.
There’s a quote in the Art of Choosing: What is freedom? Freedom is the right to CHOOSE: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of CHOICE. Without the possibility of CHOICE a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing
[3, p. 7].
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to CHOOSE one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to CHOOSE one’s own way. Each moment is a CHOICE. No matter how frustrating or boring or constraining or painful or oppressive our experience, we can always CHOOSE how we respond. And I finally begin to understand that I, too, have a CHOICE. This realization will change my life [1, p. 190].
Every person who lives their life and has their own worldview has their own view of what is a right CHOICE and what is a wrong CHOICE. According to Schwartz in most cases the process of making the right CHOICE will involve the following steps:
- The certainty of one’s goal. 2. An assessment of the importance of each objective.
- Preconceiving all the options in mind. 3. Assess whether each option is likely to lead to a goal. 4. Choosing the winning option.
- Later, use the results of the CHOICE to adjust the goals, the importance you attach to them and the way you assess future opportunities [6, p. 63].
The simplicity of William Butler Yeats’s narrative is a strong asset with which he demonstrates both reality and unreality. The language of his works is elementary. William Butler Yeats infrequently uses elaborate allegories. His manner captures not only the imagination, but also the hearts of his audience. His epistle is timeless: man is in a constant search for himself. In this search man meets Good and Evil, which always go hand in hand.
Thus, the poet seeks to define these concepts and show their interaction in society and in the individual. Rooted in the distant past, the struggle between good and evil has captured the attention of many philosophers, poets and novelists over the centuries. The struggle between good and evil is reflected in the work of Mikhail Bulgakov. In the case of his novel The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov depicts good and evil – the devil and Christ – in their entirety, aiming to expose the real evil created by the new order and to show that good can exist.
REFERENCES
- Eger E. A., Esmé S. W. and Zimbardo P. G. (2017). The Choice: Embrace the Possible. New York: Scribner.
- Fodor J. A. (1998). Concepts: Where Cognitive Science Went Wrong. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Iyengar S. S. (2011). The Art of Choosing. New York: Twelve.
- Keats, John: Selections, (2010). New York: Collier Books.
- Lexico UK Dictionary. (2022). Conceptus resources: Meaning of conceptus in English. Retrieved from https://www.lexico.com/definition/
conceptus - Merriam Webster Dictionary. (1831). Choice resources: Definition of choice. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/choice
- Schwartz, Barry. (2004). The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. New York: Ecco.
- Todd P. M. (2010). Can There Ever Be Too Many Options? A Meta-Analytic Review of Choice Overload, Chicago: Journal of consumer research.
- WordSense Dicitonary. (2022). Kausijan resources: The etymology of word kausijan. Retrieved from https://www.wordsense.eu/kausjan/