The map–territory distinction separates a representation from what it represents. Maps, labels, and categories select some characteristics and omit others. Their usefulness does not make them identical with the underlying events or complete enough to settle every question about those events.
- Entry typeKey concept
- CategoryParadigms, Traditions & Metatheories
- DomainMeaning & Clarity
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Entry type
Key concept
Key concepts are the working vocabulary of the field: the terms that the models and tools rely on and that a decision about communication has to use precisely. Each entry defines the term and sends you to the brief or the self-guided audit where it is put to work.
Editorial orientation · Category
Paradigms, Traditions & Metatheories
Provides a broad intellectual perspective within which multiple concepts, theories or investigations are developed. Traditions carry histories and commitments; metatheories examine how theories themselves are organized or related.