Matrices of concepts

The structure of a matrice of concepts

The matrices of concepts are a conceptual tool put forth by philosopher Paul Franceschi, that aim at providing an alternative to the semiotic square described by Algirdas Greimas. To the difference of the semiotic square, a matrix of concepts is made up of 6 concepts, from which two are neutral, two are positive and two are negative. The relationships between the 6 concepts of the same matrix can be stated as follows:

• A0 and Ā0 are dual or inverse; A+ and Ā− are contraries; A− and Ā+ are contraries
• A+ and Ā+ are complementary, in the same way as A− and Ā-
• A+ and A− are corollary, in the same way as Ā+ and Ā−
• A0 and A+ are related, in the same way as A0 and A−, Ā0 and Ā+, Ā0 and Ā−

The applications of the matrices of concepts relate to paradigmatic analysis, but also to the dialectical plan, and more generally to the study of concepts.

References

• Paul Franceschi, English translation of a paper initially published in French under the title Le plan dialectique: pour une alternative au paradigme, Semiotica, vol. 146 (1-4), 2003, pp. 353–367
• Andris Teikmanis, The use of semiotic modelling as a research tool of art history, Tartu Summer School of Semiotics, August 2011
• Isis Truck, Nesrin Halouani, Souhail Jebali (2016) Linguistic negation and 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic representation model: a new proposal. Conference on Uncertainty Modelling in Knowledge Engineering and Decision Making (FLINS2016), 2016, Roubaix, France. pp.81-86, 10.1142/9789813146976_0016

See also

• the semiotic square