käsitepiiri

The term käsitepiiri, literally “concept circle,” refers to a set of closely related concepts that are jointly considered to belong to a particular domain or discourse. It is especially employed in critical scientific studies, philosophy of science, and terminology research to demarcate the boundary of a field of inquiry. The core concept of the käsitepiiri is a pivot term, around which the set of neighbouring concepts is assembled. The resulting network captures both semantic and epistemic relationships, such as synonymy, antonymy, criteria, and explanatory connections.

Constructing a käsitepiiri often begins with a literature survey or expert elicitation to nominate central notions and related terms. A conceptual map is then built, sometimes visualized as a graph or a mind map, in which nodes represent concepts and edges represent relationships (e.g., prerequisite, constituent, influencing factor). The social dimension of the circle may also be examined, including the influence of language, culture, and discourse communities on the inclusion of concepts.

In practice, the käsitepiiri is used to clarify terminology, to expose hidden assumptions, and to serve as a boundary object that facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue. For example, a käsitepiiri around the concept of “justice” may include fairness, equality, due process, retribution, and restorative practices, while signaling which of these notions are central versus peripheral in different subfields. By mapping the concept circle, researchers can better articulate the scope of a scientific field and identify gaps or redundancies in its theoretical architecture.