| Abstract [eng] |
The aim of this thesis is to analyse the concept of CONSCIENCE and to show how it is categorised and conceptualised in the Lithuanian language, focusing on the contemporary understanding of this concept. The research was based on contexts selected from the Corpus of the Contemporary Lithuanian Language, the Lithuanian Internet Media Corpus and the social network Facebook. The research is based on the cognitive ethnolinguistics approach, which is based on the analysis of the interconnections between language and culture. The methodology of the linguistic worldview is applied. The analysis of the research material has led to the identification of the most characteristic semantic aspects of CONSCIENCE, grouped according to semantic categories (facets) on the basis of which the concept was explicated. The following categories were found to be characteristic of the linguistic representation of CONSCIENCE: subject, properties, origin, collections, oppositions, actions, CONSCIENCE as the object of actions, power, CONSCIENCE as the cause of experiences (stimulus), and localisation. The research shows that the perception of CONSCIENCE in the Lithuanian language is closely related to the inner mental and emotional self-consciousness of a person or a community, morality, moral responsibility. It can be innate or acquired, cultivated; subjective and at the same time intersubjective – uniting individual people into a community of values. The behaviour that is incompatible with CONSCIENCE often refers to the behaviour that is incompatible with the subject’s professed value system, which may vary according to different criteria (social status, position, nationality, etc.). The concept of CONSCIENCE can be seen as universal, as it is part of religious, metaphysical and secular thinking. Perhaps the most important action performed by CONSCIENCE is to encourage people to behave morally. Its action is often described in terms of physical reactions, discomfort and pain associated with its loss, as well as psychological effects. However, while it normally exerts some influence on the person under its control, the person may also drown out its voice, compromise with it, or influence it in a different way. A reciprocal relationship is created between the man and CONSCIENCE. CONSCIENCE is more associated with the spiritual world and is therefore often contrasted with material values and social orders. It is also personified and attributed human qualities. CONSCIENCE is characterised by its phrasematic nature, its meaning is revealed through other contexts, revealing the complex and multidimensional content of the concept. |
