When defining a meta-concept one should begin with realizing what the word “concept” means by itself. As far as I understand it a concept is a very complex notion. A concept is not only the vocabulary meaning of a lexical unit but also our own, mental associations that we attach to it. A meta-concept is then a group of words, all of them being connected to each other by means of synonymic, antonymic, or causal relations. That is why when describing a concept one can’t avoid adding personal connotations to it. You can find different dictionary definitions of the word “conflict” here: Your dictionary, Merriam Webster, Urban dictionary. For me a conflict means withstanding two or more sides that have opposite attitudes to the problem. It is always negative though it may have positive consequences. For example, when two people are quarrelling they are aggressive (a negative side) but at the same way they may find some way out of the situation during their quarrel (positive consequences). A conflict may occur on different levels. It can happen within a person. And then we are speaking about inner conflicts. For example, one wants to sleep very much but at the same time doesn’t want to be punished for the undone homework. This is a very good condition for an inner conflict to take place. On the one hand, it is better to keep writing an essay in order to avoid being reprimanded. But on the other hand, it is better to quit the work and go to bed as far as our health is more important than our study progress. And here we logically come to another type of a conflict: an interpersonal conflict. A fight. A quarrel. I suppose it is pretty clear and does not require any further explanations. So, we pass on to the next type of a conflict. And that is a conflict between small groups of people, for example, between ethnic groups or social movements like goths versus punks. And the next type of a conflict presupposes withstanding of large groups of people. And here we may speak about wars, especially the World War as its extreme representation.
