Burke, Terministic Screen

A terministic screen, according to Kenneth Buurke, is a screen of words through which humans interact with and perceive the world. He argues that through these screens – screens of specific diction and terms- affect our observations of the world. Burke theorized that these screens, when applied by any individual, affected the way the individual perceived things.

“Not only does the nature of our terms affect the nature of our observations, in the sense that the terms direct the attention to one field rather than to another” (Burke, 46).

This makes sense. One on our academic level may have even been instructed in a concept like this, only with different terms; lens. I find Burke’s analysis of Watson, Bowlby, and Augustine’s specific screens (and more importantly the similarities, differences, and reasons to them) to be the most helpful example in trying to define the role of terministic screens. The three all provided accurate accounts of mother-child relationships through basic instinctual acts, but they all came up with differing results (all credible and observable) based on their differing terministic sreens; screens that exerted influence over each of their perceptions of the exact same events. Burke indulges in the idea that screens exist within screens- and that screens can exist in the screens in the screens… (Screenception, starring Kenneth Burke).

“We must use terministic screens, since we can’t say anything without the use of terms; whatever terms we use, they necessarily constitute a corresponding kind of screen; and any such screen necessarily directs the attention to one field rather than another. Within that field there can be different screens, each with its own ways of directing the attention and shaping the range of observations implicit in the given terminology” (Burke, 50).

What I find most interesting in regards to these screens is the way it affects individuals and their interactions with others. For example, when observing an argument between a pro-choice advocate and ad pro-life advocate, the terms (due to the differences between the two’s terministic screens) being used by each side may be different. The pro-life advocate may refer to the focus as a “baby,” whilst the pro-choice advocate may refer to the focus as a “fetus.” What is most important to note in this argument, to me at least, is the fact that technically speaking; they are both correct in their references to the focus- even though they are not arguing from the same stance and do not share similar terministic screens.

Work Cited
Burke, Kenneth. "Terministic Screens." In Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966. 44-57.