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Symbols are extremely potent devices – without them life cannot exist. Their wise use enhances life. Their flawed use puts life at risk and can destroy it.

A symbol is something that represents something else by association, resemblance, of convention.

A symbol is a shared crystallized quantum of meaning. 

All sentient forms employ symbols at every level and in myriad ways. Every living cell and body uses symbols to survive and propagate amidst the continual change, which is the universe(s).

The information contained in any symbol is only an approximation or partial resemblance of reality (the constant universal transformation) because all forms are very transient amidst the universal flux.

The existence of a life form is enhanced as its symbol use better reflects reality because the organism is more able to retain vital meaning, develop resilient structures and thrive.

The existence of a life form is diminished as its symbol use fail to mirror reality because vital meaning becomes corrupted, it develops increasingly flawed structures and it dies.

This is true of the DNA symbols of cells or the advertising symbols of corporations.

Information is physical. Symbols can take myriad forms using all the vibrations that organisms are sentient of. For instance, human beings can detect different vibrations with specialist organs such our eyes (light), ears (sound), nose (smell) and tongue (taste) while our bodies are generally sensitive to touch. Our sense of touch enables us to be aware of thermal, gravitational, kinetic and other forces.   

How a particular symbol resonates in us depends on our experiences and all the millions of associated symbols within us that form our worldview. 

For instance spoken or written use of the ‘greenhouse” symbol as in “greenhouse gas” may evoke an overwhelming sensation determined by our experience of a greenhouse. 

We can only estimate how a symbol use resonates within us or with our audience because our consciousness is but a trace element of the human psyche. Thus our survival depends on continual experimentation and evaluation of our use of symbols.  

Note: All human communication involves the use of metaphors and is about the transfer of meaning. To dismiss, as some do,  their use of a symbol  as "just a metaphor" and "mere semantics" is to deny the power of symbols.

Origins
The word symbol came to the English language by way of Middle English, from Old French, from Latin, from the Greek σύμβολον (sýmbolon) from the root words συν- (syn-), meaning "together," and βολή (bolē), "a throw", having the approximate meaning of "to throw together", literally a "co-incidence", also "sign, ticket, or contract".

Page last  updated: July 2010

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