Construct (philosophy of science)

In philosophy of science, a 'construct' is an ideal object (i.e., one whose existence depends on a subject's mind), as opposed to "real objects" (i.e., those whose existence is non dependent on a subject's mind). Hence, concepts (such as those designated by the sign '3' or the word 'liberty'), hypotheses (such as that designated by the sentence "Evolutionary theory refers to individuals and populations"), theories (e.g., evolutionary theory), classifications (e.g., biological taxonomy) and other conceptual items are constructs, while biologists, foxes, philosophers, rocks, computers, and pencils, among many other, are not constructs but real objects (or real things).