why?) and conceptology in consciousness (the purpose, what for?). The first is looking for the concept in the text (objectively
thing - nominalism), the second – in the discourse (subjectively in the idea - conceptualism), the third – in the sphere of
concepts (in signs connecting things with the idea – “the third way”; realism). The first proceeds from “innate ideas”, the
second - from instinct, and the third – from intuition (insight, in mental terms). In point of fact, all three positions have
completely filled the possible paradigm of real relations within the semantic triangle, the synergistic triad, the semantic
constant and the general category of causality. A fourth position is essentially impossible, since the causal sequence of
consecutive results is already filled. Aristotle, in his doctrine of the mean, asserts the four-part composition of causes, which
taken together appear as the entirety of the organism, as distinct from the mechanism – “just like it happens with the four main
principles of universal ensoulment that all coincide in one indivisible point” [10, P. 345].
The sequence in which linguistic features manifest themselves is organized as a sequence of substantive forms of the
concept: image - notion - symbol - image - notion – symbol. The sequences in which logical features manifest themselves is the
following: concrete - abstract - concrete - abstract - concrete - abstract. When the logical and linguistic features are
combined, for instance, in the cognitive sector: contensive linguistics expresses the abstract image as a reflection of the thing
(nominalism); cognitive linguistics expresses the concreteness of the notion as an expression of the idea (conceptualism);
conceptual linguistics expresses the abstract meaning as the embodiment of the sign (realism). Combining the logical and the
linguistic is the basic feature of cognitive science; the logical sequence of transitions from one state to another is the principal
characteristic defining the development of the research method that is guided by the change (but not the replacement!) in the
development of research paradigms. Such is the sequence of the described methods in their invariant forms (works of separate
scholars sometimes combine several approaches).
Thus, in the most general terms, the development of linguistics follows the “law of four causes”, which are connected with
the consecutive change of results.
The emergence of comparative-historical studies of language, by answering the “what is this?” question, formed the basis of linguistics as a science; structural linguistics, by answering the “how does it work?” question, became the condition for
further development of language studies; functional linguistics, by answering the “why does it work?” question, created the
cause for the development of a new approach – cognitive linguistics, which has removed the opposition between the linguistic
and the cognitive, and this, in the most general terms, provided the answer to the “what does it work for?” question – the
ultimate purpose of the preceding movements of the science.
Today scientific development happens so fast that within one century, or even within half a century, linguistics in different
countries has progressed significantly, and now we are able to identify the steps that were made in the field of linguistics
almost simultaneously. Contensive linguistics, studying surface notional categories, answers the “what is this?” question and
forms the basis of cognitive linguistics. Cognitive linguistics (in the narrow sense of the term), focusing on the figurative and
the metaphoric side of language, answers the “how does it work?” question and creates conditions for the development of new
research schools, particularly, cultural linguistics. Conceptology gets the insights into the essence of language, speaking about
the “engine” driving the linguistic forms (formerly represented in the vague concept of the “inner form”) and answering the
“why does language develop?” question. Now we are faced with the need to answer the fourth question, “what is all this for?”,
and to define the ultimate purpose in the development of language. Answering this question, however, will take our science to
a new level of development, with its own answers to the questions posed.
After “generating” a complete organism in the current development of ideas, “the history stops its flow.” A change in research paradigms is required. A part of the new paradigm manifests itself in conceptology – through the introduction of the
“fourth dimension”, namely, time, in an attempt to answer the “what for?” question. It can be assumed that this new paradigm
is going to be neither flatly formal nor dimensional like cognitive linguistics but rather a stereoscopically represented synthesis
of its spatial and temporal qualities, states and units.
Science is cumulative; it diligently collects all its achievements and sometimes employs old methods, depending on the
question that needs to be answered. What is more, starting scholars sometimes resort even to prescientific collecting methods,
such as used by comparative and descriptive linguistics. Theories eventually condense into methods, and these methods are
used by everyone, as they see fit. In a higher sense, however, in the philosophical sense, the movement of linguistic methods
described here reflects the onward progress of human consciousness towards getting an increasingly deeper insight into the
mysteries of language. The only requirement for fruitful research is the opportunity for a scholar to independently search for
such new turns in scientific investigation which, through combined effort, can lead to the next turn in the development of our
science.