Terministic Screens: Reflect, Select, and Deflect.

“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).

A Terministic screen is a  screen or lens through which people come to the acknowledgement of a language system that determines an individual's perception and symbolic action in the world. For Kenneth Burke, a terministic screen is a type of lens, that is composed of terms through with humans perceive the world. He says that they direct attention away from some interpretations and toward others. They have to be used because we can't communicate without the use of terms. The terms we choose to use when we communicate create a "corresponding kind of screen" that "direct attention differently, and thus led to a corresponding different quality of observation" (Burke 49). The terms used in communication are able to shape the observations and reality of a individual.   

   
Burke says, "any given terminology is a reflection of reality, by its very nature as a terminology it must be a selection of reality, and to this extent it much function as a deflection of reality" (Burke 45) Words convey a particular meaning, conjuring images and ideas that induce support toward beliefs or opinions. Receivers interpret the intended message through a metaphorical screen of their own vocabulary and perspective to the world. The terms used by an individual "select" the realities that they want to "reflect" and "deflect", realities we deny because of our own terministic screens or reflections. Certain terms may grab attention and lead to a particular conclusion, while also directing attention away from other realities. 

A simple example of a terministic screen would be when a child is learning new words. When they learn a new word, any object that looks remotely similar to their understanding of the new word is going to be called by that new word. A child's reality is shaped by their limited understanding they have of words and the world. An example of this would be when a child hears the word car for the first time. A child will start saying everything that moves and has wheels is a car. As the child grows and is exposed to more examples of the use of the word car they realize that a truck does does not qualify as a car. Their reality about the car reflects and deflects different ideas.