Communication constitutes reality rather than merely representing it

Evidence

The being of man is found in lan- guage … by which mankind continually produces and contemplates itself, a reflection of our species being. … Meaning in this view is not representation but a constituting activity whereby humans interactively endow an elastic though resistant world with enough coherence and order to support their purposes. … This is a ritual view of communication emphasizing the production of a coherent world that is then presumed, for all practical purposes, to exist. It is to emphasize the construction and mainten- ance of paradigms rather than experiments; presuppositions rather than pro- positions; the frame, not the picture. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 382

Communication simply constitutes a set of historically varying practices and reflections upon them. … This is a ritual view of communication emphasizing the production of a coherent world that is then presumed, for all practical purposes, to exist. It is to emphasize the construction and mainten- ance of paradigms rather than experiments; presuppositions rather than pro- positions; the frame, not the picture. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 382

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ritual view of communication as world-constituting rather than representational.
• XREF: This is the core distinction set up against the transmission view of communication defined in the Introduction. — connects to: The Chicago School defined communication as culture-making, not information transfer — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 581; Structures of consciousness parallel structures of communication — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 624; Communication is a symbolic process producing and maintaining reality. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 180 (+22 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 382

Broader Connections

• Communication does not report reality but inverts the reported relation to it #expands (0.85) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 187
• Modern communications technology has fundamentally reshaped human consciousness and social relations #exemplifies (0.80)
• Language enables meanings rather than passively carrying them #corroborates (0.80)