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Categorical logic offers ways to recognize variety, from types of apples to spectrums of autism. I'm not looking for a term that represents progression, but instead, a range of possible states.

I was using 'degree' but discovered it is too aligned with progression. I'm using 'spectrum' right now, but want to make sure it's the right term. Cambridge's definition seems to match mine: "a range of different positions, opinions, etc. between two extreme points."

I'm using this term to recognize the range of variety something has, primarily in the field of psychology. For example, emotions and pain range from mild to extreme, and their causes range from external to internal--I'm using Spectrums to help describe an object and all of it's known varieties/states, or range of qualities for diagnostic/treatment purposes.

The most common use of spectrum is with autism, but I've learned that spectrum is not autism, it's conscious connectivity, and it ranges from flow (no inconsistency) to dead (no consistency)--autism is simply a range on that spectrum. Focusing on spectrums instead of objects alone helps us to see more varieties of the same thing instead of unrelated objects, which helps us isolate differences/causation and learn/benefit from that.

Bottom line, is Spectrums the right term, or is there a more commonly used/recognized term for what I'm describing?

Christopher
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  • [Spectrum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum), like degree, still has strong connotations of a single dimension and linear progression, although [political spectrum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum) is now often modeled as multi-dimensional. To emphasize multiple dimensions, "space" is sometimes used, as in [Color space](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_space), or manifold, as in [Manifold of human emotions](http://proceedings.mlr.press/v31/kim13a.pdf). – Conifold Oct 22 '21 at 21:52
  • @Conifold - I believe you are looking in the same direction I am, but I think of space as more 'opportunity' for variety, and manifold includes a range of variety but does distinguish between each difference (but now I know two more terms, tuples and gamuts!). I edited the question to include Cambridge's definition that includes your reference to political spectrum--it recognizes distinct differences as more than mathematical variation. – Christopher Oct 25 '21 at 21:38
  • I’m voting to close this question because this is about general English vocabulary, and not specific to philosophy. Seems like it should be migrated to [English Stack Exchange](https://english.stackexchange.com/). – J D Oct 25 '21 at 22:37
  • I'm asking that you don't--I believe the more we think in spectrums instead of degrees, we can learn to recognize specific varieties within ranges instead of the math alone. This not only benefits in comparative diagnostics with terminology (naming specific varieties), it also helps us focus on specific treatments. Imagine describing color with numbers alone--whereas pantone, provides 1,867 distinct shades that we further distinguish as 'shades of blue.' This is a philosophical distinction expressed as a word more than word choice. – Christopher Oct 25 '21 at 22:48

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