Context exits as an abstraction — without time, place, or form. It is not a thing.
Context has several definitions. The first: the parts of discourse that surround a word, phrase, or passage that helps to explain it’s meaning. The second definition: a situation or circumstance in which something happens.
The first definition sets forth the idea that a conversation informs the meaning of the words, phrases, and passages in the conversation. We have all been in a meeting when a word or phrase pops up in the discussion that doesn’t ‘fit’. Usually the meaning of the word or phrase is dissonant with the content of the conversation or the comment appears irrelevant. It doesn’t belong in the discussion.
The use of the word ‘surround’ in the definition suggests that a conversation has space around it. Another word for space, context encircles the use of words to comply with the meaning found in the conversation.
The second definition more aptly suits the common usage of the term context today. There exists a set circumstances or situations and something happens. Anything could occur within the context of circumstance or a situation. What happens has a range of possibility from a disagreement or an events of some kind. What happens though binds to the the circumstance or situation and means something in that moment.
In an effort to establish a working distinction of context for this and the ongoing inquiry into Context I propose this synthesis of the two definition above. The first definition provides a link to meaning and the second addresses circumstances or situations in which something happens:
Let’s try this definition on for size. How about life…life is the space where things happen that have meaning. That works. How about career. Career is the space where things happen that have meaning. That works, too. So, we could go one, but life is too short. Life and career, as test cases, meet the level of the distinction Context. Given this generous definition, everything we do has a context.
How does this really work then?
Well, let’s start here. Something in the world happens and has an impact, creating circumstances. Circumstances eventually lead to a situation. We use words (whether inside our head or with others) to discuss what happened and the circumstances that came about. In that moment, having re-experienced the happening…using language to relive the circumstances, we land on, “What does this mean?” That question of course, creates the meaning-making and we have just generated a context. The context, based on our definition provides the space for whatever the meaning brought forth, to show up.
