Back to the lexicon
craft systems/ˈlædər əv æbˈstrækʃən/
Ladder of Abstraction
Etymology: Semanticist S.I. Hayakawa, 'Language in Action' (1939), building on Alfred Korzybski.
Theorist Origin: S.I. Hayakawa (1939) / Francis Christensen (1967)
Definition
A conceptual continuum ranking language from the most concrete sensory object at the bottom rung ('Bessie the brown cow chewing clover') to the most abstract systemic generalization at the top rung ('agricultural wealth', 'macroeconomic asset').
Mathematical or diagrammatic model:
Rung 1 (Tactile Specimen) ⟷ Rung 2 (Operational Process) ⟷ Rung 3 (Class Category) ⟷ Rung 4 (Systemic Thesis)Example from literature
“Shuttling instantly from '500 dead bodies stacked in pine boxes in a municipal hallway' (Rung 1) to 'the catastrophic failure of wartime public health communication' (Rung 4).”
Related terms
The Maker's EyeSensemakingFocalization