Interdisciplinary and Cross-disciplinary Use of Concepts and Re-clarification of the Scope of the Interpretation of Concepts: Taking the Concept of “Differential Mode of Association” as an Example

Concept and practice are inseparable from each other in the research of philosophy and social science, and the integration of concept and practice should be the core issue that can not be neglected in the use and re-clarification of concepts. However, in the current academic situation in which all problem-oriented research and interdisciplinary research are put at the top priority, relevant researchers have often ignored the importance of the relationship between concepts and practice in terms of the interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary use of concepts and the re-clarification of the scope of the interpretation of concepts, which often leads to the separation between concept and practice in the research. This is reflected in the fact that the interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary use of concepts is mostly improper, which often invalidates the scientificity and effectiveness of related research. Many of the academic efforts to save a certain concept by clarifying or delimiting the field of interpretation, are often concept-centered and just made for the sake of the concept. Therefore, a wise way to better use concepts across disciplines and fields and clarify the scope of the interpretation of concepts is to avoid the rigid research orientation of using concepts for the sake of using, and defining concepts for the sake of concepts, and adopt the approach of coming from practice, and then serving practice correspondingly to improve the integration of concepts and practice. This is the theoretical prerequisite for rethinking the concept itself, and also an essential way to enhance the scientific and effective use of the concept.