PUTTING ORDINARY LANGUAGE TO WORK A MIN±MAX STRATEGY OF CONCEPT FORMATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES John Gerring and Paul A. Barresi ABSTRACT This article proposes a `min±max' strategy of de®nition applicable to all con- cepts intended for general usage within some language region. The min±max strategy relies on the conjoined use of minimal and ideal-type de®nitions. A minimal de®nition identi®es the bare essentials of a concept with traits suf®- cient to bind it extensionally while maintaining all non-idiosyncratic meanings associated with it. An ideal-type de®nition includes all attributes that together de®netheconceptinitspurest,most`ideal'form.Minimalde®nitionsaremini- mal in their attributes but maximal in their phenomenal range, while ideal-type de®nitions are maximal in their attributes but minimal in their phenomenal range. This min±max strategy serves to bind a concept in semantic and refer- ential space, providing the most satisfactory general de®nition for that con- cept. We illustrate this strategy with the keyword `culture'. We identify the minimal and maximal de®nitions of `culture', within which all de®nitions developed in particular research settings fall, thus resolving the conceptual ambiguity that has plagued the use of the term `culture' and demonstrating the utility of the min±max approach as a strategy of general de®nition. KEY WORDS . culture . concept formation . de®nition . ordinary language DecadesafterGiovanniSartori'spath-breakingwork,andacenturyafterthe linguistic turn in philosophy, the process of concept formation in the social sciences is still an ad hoc, largely intuitive affair. Although scholars are aware of the importance of de®ning key terms and using those terms in a consistent manner, few of them have sought to specify the grounds on which one should prefer one term over another or one de®nition over another. Are allstipulativede®nitionsequallysoundaslongastheyareclearlyde®nedand consistently employed? Journal of Theoretical Politics 15(2): 201±232 Copyright & 2003 Sage Publications 0951±6928[200304]15:2; 201±232; 031647 London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi An expanded version of this article with the same title is posted online at http://web.bu.edu/ POLISCI/JGERRING/JGerring.html. For comments and suggestions, we are grateful to RobertAdcock,DavidWaldnerandanonymousreviewersforthe JournalofTheoreticalPolitics.