Symbolism
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The Spotted Swans
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:''"Symbolic" redirects here. For other uses, see [[Symbolism (disambiguation)]] and [[Symbolic (disambiguation)]].''
'''Symbolism''' is the applied use of symbols: iconic representations that carry particular conventional meanings.
The term "symbolism" is often limited to use in contrast to "[[representationalism]]"; defining the general directions of a linear [[spectrum (disambiguation)|spectrum]] - where in all symbolic concepts can be viewed in relation, and where changes in context may imply [[systemic]] changes to individual and collective definitions of symbols. "Symbolism" may refer to a way of choosing representative symbols in line with abstract rather than literal [[property|properties]], allowing for the broader interpretation of a carried [[Meaning (semiotics)|meaning]] than more literal concept-representations allow. A [[religion]] can be described as a language of concepts related to human [[spirituality]]. Symbolism hence is an important aspect of most [[Religious symbolism|religions]].
==Language==
All forms of language are innately symbolic, and any system of symbols can form a "language;" even a [[Wiktionary:binary|binary]] system. Human oral language is based on the [[phoneme]]. The written word is symbolically representative of both the symbolic phoneme and directly to the cognitive concept which it represents. The field of [[cognitive linguistics]] explores the cognitive process and relationships between different systems of phonetic symbols to indicate difference.
==Psychology==
The interpretation of abstract symbols has had an important role in [[religion]] and [[psychoanalysis]]. As envisioned by [[Sigmund Freud]] and [[Carl Jung]], symbols are not the creations of mind, but rather are distinct capacities within the mind to hold a distinct piece of information. In the mind, the symbol can find free association with any number of other symbols, can be organized in any number of ways, and can hold the connected meanings between symbols as symbols in themselves. Jung and Freud diverged on the issue of common cognitive symbol systems and whether they could exist only within the individual mind or among other minds; whether any cognitive symbolism was defined by innate symbolism or by the influence of the environment around them.
==See also==
*[[Religious symbolism]]
**[[Christian symbolism]]
**[[Jewish symbolism]]
**[[Buddhist symbolism]]
**[[Solar symbol]]s
*[[Political symbolism]]
**[[Anarchist symbolism]]
**[[Communist symbolism]]
**[[Nazi symbolism]]
*[[Symbolism (arts)]]
**[[Russian Symbolism]]
*[[Vexillology]]
*[[Symbolic system]]
*[[Symbology]]
==External links==
*[http://aras.org/ Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism website]
[[Category:Symbolism|*]]
[[cs:Symbolismus]]
[[da:Symbolisme]]
[[de:Symbolismus]]
[[el:Συμβολισμός]]
[[es:simbolismo]]
[[fa:نمادگرایی]]
[[fr:Symbolisme]]
[[nl:Symbolisme]]
[[ja:象徴主義]]
[[no:Symbolisme]]
[[pt:Simbolismo]]
[[ro:Simbolism]]
[[sk:Symbolizmus]]
[[zh:象征主义]]