Universe of Discourse
Peter Bøgh Andersen frequently refers to something called a ”universe of discourse.” I became curious as it felt like it could say something about those things I’ve thought of as “constrained universes of expression.” So I googled and found this definition, which seems to be in the context of modeling biological processes:
The universe of discourse is the subject of the database or model: the part of the “world” under discussion [...]. There is no need for the universe of discourse to model concrete objects, or even part of the natural world: fantasy board games are an excellent example of discourse. Nor is there a requirement that the universe of discourse completely map all aspects of the subject world, though many databases adopt the additional assumption that they are complete representations (the “closed world” assumption).
But it seems to be a term used in linguistics, really. WordReference.com defines it as “the complete range of objects, events, attributes, relations, ideas, etc., that are expressed, assumed, or implied in a discussion.” I also found a long list of definitions on a website called called the The Virtual Centre for Peirce Studies.
I blogged about constrained universes of expression a lot in July and August last year.