on a conceptual plane

It is a strange and rather commonplace idiomatic phrase, but it creates an occasion to make some remarks and that is why I use it. Why "plane"; similarly, there are expressions in other languages that refer to "a conceptual space" or "a field of associations", which all have the common element of linking concepts to a certain place as we do things, living creatures or certain spaces that can be rendered for our sensual impressions. These phrases imply an ambition that links "conceptuality" to some kind of "concrete idea" and makes it manageable (moreover static) adding to it the features of being a situation rather than a continuously changing entity. Let us look at how strangely it would sound to say: "in conceptual time". Although, when thinking about it more deeply, one can definitely seize a certain plane (e.g. that of a sheet) or that space (e.g. where the reader is presently situated) is conceivable, yet these are not less conceptual generalizations than those concerning time. According to its nature, however, human thinking strives for the localization of concepts rather than their perception in time (until I understand something, it means that I search for its place in my knowledge, thus time is spent on the process of searching). Perception in time would mean that this place does not exist or more precisely that constantly changes, depending on the time spent on it (a familiar phenomenon is when I keep on repeating a word over and over again to myself or when I concentrate strongly on it, it loses its "original" meaning and appears to be somehow inconceivable or unknown, while somewhere else completely different (here I should remark that instead of "somewhere" I could have written "sometimes" also).
Compared to the passive attitude of comprehension = placing = the act of overstepping, this is rather an act of perception = spending of time = recreation/reconceptualiztion.