representational

(rĕp'rĭ-zĕn-tā'shə-nəl, -zən-)
adj.
Of or relating to representation, especially to realistic graphic representation.

representationalism rep're·sen·ta'tion·al·ism n.

For more information on representationalism, visit Britannica.com.

(or representationism) Generally the doctrine that the mind (or sometimes the brain) works on representations of the things and features of things that we perceive or think about. In the philosophy of perception the view is especially associated with Malebranche and Locke, who, holding that the mind is the container for ideas, held that ‘of our real ideas, some are adequate, and some are inadequate. Those I call adequate, which perfectly represent those archetypes which the mind supposes them taken from; which it intends them to stand for, and to which it refers them’ (Locke, Essay, ii. 31). The problems in this account were mercilessly exposed by Arnauld and Foucher, writing against Malebranche, and by Berkeley writing against Locke. The fundamental problem is that the mind is ‘supposing’ its ideas to represent something else, but it has no access to this something else except by forming another idea. The difficulty is to understand how the mind ever escapes from the world of representations, or, in other words, how representations manage to acquire genuine content, pointing beyond themselves. In more recent philosophy, the analogy between the mind and a computer has suggested that the mind or brain manipulates symbols, thought of as like the instructions in a machine program, and that those symbols are representations of aspects of the world. The Berkeleyan difficulty then recurs. The programmed computer behaves the same way without knowing whether the sign ‘$’ refers to a unit of currency or anything else. The elements of a machine program are identified purely syntactically, so the actual operations of the system go on without any reference to any interpretation of them (see syntax). Hence, according to critics, there is no way, on this model, for seeing the mind as concerned with the representational properties of the symbols. The point is sometimes put by saying that the mind, on this theory, becomes a syntactic engine rather than a semantic engine. Representation is also attacked, at least as a central concept in understanding the mind, by pragmatists who emphasize instead the activities surrounding a use of language, rather than what they see as a mysterious link between mind and world. See also Form of Life.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: used especially of art
  Antonym: nonrepresentational (meaning #1)

---

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - repræsentations-, virkelighedstro- (kunst)

idioms:

• representational art    figurativ kunst, naturalistisk kunst

Nederlands (Dutch)
vertegenwoordigend, uitbeeldend

Français (French)
adj. - (gén) représentatif, (Art) figuratif

idioms:

• representational art    art figuratif

Deutsch (German)
adj. - gegenständlich

idioms:

• representational art    gegenständliche Kunst

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αντιπροσωπευτικός

idioms:

• representational art    παραστατική τέχνη

Italiano (Italian)
che rappresenta la realtý

idioms:

• representational art    arte rappresentativa

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - representativo

idioms:

• representational art    a arte de representar

Русский (Russian)
репрезентативный

idioms:

• representational art    предметно-изобра- зительное искусство

Español (Spanish)
adj. - figurativo

idioms:

• representational art    arte figurativo

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - representativ

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
代表性的, 具象派的

idioms:

• representational art    表现派艺术, 具象派艺术

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 代表性的, 具象派的

idioms:

• representational art    表現派藝術, 具象派藝術

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 구상적인, 구상파의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 表象の, 再現的な, 描写的な, 具象的な

idioms:

• representational art    (芸術)具象主義, 描写的な美術

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) تمثيلي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮תיאורי (ציור)‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.