Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
1.3. Conclusion
The insights provided by the developments covered in this chapter are
fundamental in the way that they guide a conceptual reflection upon the objects,
their properties and their relationships and the way that this reflection should be
connected to the question being asked. These concepts will be running through the
following chapters. The computer environments, in which the various formalisms
that have been discussed here are then implemented, do not have neutral roles. The
same is true for the formalisms associated with the methods that will then be used to
describe and analyze change. The conceptualization of objects in a dynamic context
constitutes, in our opinion, the necessary basis to allow using the rich potential of
methods and technical environments, without distorting the essence of objects as
well as questionings that are dealt with.
Many categories have been introduced in this first chapter. The first concerned
what
is changing, the following
how
change occurs. Some categories are conceptual
(
bona fide
/
fiat
objects,
endurant
/
perdurant
entities), others are methodological
(field/object approaches, simple/composite entities). Facing a thematic question,
reference to these categories facilitates the identification of the entities at stake and
the evaluation of the different possible manners to represent them. Reflecting on
categories helps to evaluate the consequences of different points of view and
different methodological choices in front of a given question. Therefore, such
reflection at an early stage of the research is useful to ensure consistency between
thematic questioning, concepts and data.
