Deliver us from definitions: A fresh way of looking at public relations

Abstract

Public relations (PR) is caught up in a seemingly endless quest to define its identity through locating the essence of its practice. This article not only questions the value of the quest but also offers an alternative ‘apophatic’ path – one based on what may not be said about the profession. This way of building understanding through negation is found in various religious traditions and also in the works of some modern philosophers and poets. Rather than adding to the multiple efforts to define PR’s essence – most recently by the Public Relations Society of America – an apophatic approach could help clear the profession’s field of vision by removing some accumulated definitional debris. In this way, it could serve as an alternative strategy to assist those both inside and outside the profession to better describe what PR does.