representational

Representational refers to the property of representing or depicting something else. It is used across disciplines to describe depiction, cognitive content, or governance.

In art and aesthetics, representational art depicts recognizable subjects—people, places, and scenes—emphasizing likeness to the visible world. It includes realism and naturalism and contrasts with non-representational or abstract art, which does not aim to reproduce appearances.

In philosophy and cognitive science, representationalism is the view that mental states have representational content and that perception and thought are about states of affairs in the world. Mental representations carry semantic content, and accuracy conditions determine how well they track reality. The topic intersects with debates about intention, belief, and the nature of perception.

In political theory, representational refers to systems in which elected representatives act on behalf of others. Representational democracy contrasts with direct democracy, and related concerns include mandate, accountability, and responsiveness.