SYMBOL
Concepts and definitions
Symbols are a means of complex communication that often can have multiple levels of meaning.[5]
Symbols are the basis of all human understanding and serve as vehicles of conception for all human knowledge.[6]
Symbols facilitate understanding of the world in which we live, thus serving as the grounds upon which we make judgments.[7]
In this way, people use symbols not only to make sense of the world around them, but also to identify and cooperate in society through constitutive rhetoric.
Human cultures use symbols to express specific ideologies and social structures and to represent aspects of their specific culture. Thus, symbols carry meanings that depend upon one's cultural background. As a result, the meaning of a symbol is not inherent in the symbol itself but is culturally learned.[5]
Heinrich Zimmer gives a concise overview of the nature, and perennial relevance, of symbols.
Concepts and words are symbols, just as visions, rituals, and images are; so too are the manners and customs of daily life. Through all of these a transcendent reality is mirrored. There are so many metaphors reflecting and implying something which, though thus variously expressed, is ineffable, though thus rendered multiform, remains inscrutable. Symbols hold the mind to truth but are not themselves the truth, hence it is delusory to borrow them. Each civilisation, every age, must bring forth its own."[8]
In the book Signs and Symbols, it is stated that
A symbol ... is a visual image or sign representing an idea -- a deeper indicator of universal truth.[9]
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts and experiences. All communication (and data processing) is achieved through the use of symbols. Symbols take the form of words, sounds, gestures, ideas, or visual images and are used to convey other ideas and beliefs. For example, a red octagon is a common symbol for "STOP"; on maps, blue lines often represent rivers; and a red rose often symbolizes love and compassion. Numerals are symbols for numbers; letters of an alphabet may be symbols for certain phonemes; and personal names are symbols representing individuals.
The academic study of symbols is semiotics. In cartography, an organized collection of symbols forms a legend for a map.