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What does "realm of Symbolic" in the following passage mean?

1: Apparently it seems to me that the writer simply wants to say the "realm of philosophy" or the "abstract matters". As, the two questions which the writer has placed under this realm are of abstract nature.

2: "Symbolic" is used is psychoanalysis as well. But, I am hopeful that it is irrelevant here.

Feminist philosophical scholarship begins with attention to women, to their roles and locations. What are women doing? What social/political locations are they part of or excluded from? How do their activities compare to those of men? Are the activities or exclusions of some groups of women different from those of other groups and why? What do the various roles and locations of women allow or preclude? How have their roles been valued or devalued? How do the complexities of a woman’s situatedness, including her class, race, ability, and sexuality impact her locations? To this we add attention to the experiences and concerns of women. Have any of women’s experiences or problems been ignored or undervalued? How might attention to these transform our current methods or values? And from here we move to the realm of the symbolic. How is the feminine instantiated and constructed within the texts of philosophy? What role does the feminine play in forming, either through its absence or its presence, the central concepts of philosophy? And so on.

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    This is sociology or cultural studies and has almost nothing to do with philosophy. I also have no idea what 'realm of the symbolic' might mean, or why anyone would bother with the questions listed under it. . –  Dec 10 '18 at 11:11
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  • @MauroALLEGRANZA

    Thanks for your input. I would like to confirm that I have grasped your point.

    Do you mean that symbolic here means the symbolic expression of the things related to "women" in the philosophy?

    – Mushrraf Baig Ashraf Dec 10 '18 at 12:44
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    See also K.Burke's Definition of Human : "Burke's definition states: "Man is the symbol-using (symbol-making, symbol-misusing) animal, inventor of the negative (or moralized by the negative), separated from his natural condition by instruments of his own making, goaded by the spirit of hierarchy (or moved by the sense of order), and rotten with perfection." – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 10 '18 at 15:01
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    And : "Feminist scholarship has shown a use of Burke's definition as a framework by which a definition for woman can be derived. Their definition is as follows: "Woman is the symbol-receiving animal, inventor of nothing, submerged in her natural conditions by instruments of man's making, goaded at the bottom of hierarchy, and rotten by perfection" [from Condit, Celeste, "Post Burke: Transcending the sub-stance of dramatism", Quarterly Journal of Speech (1992)]." – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 10 '18 at 15:01

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