Despite the historically close relationship between GIS and land-use studies, there has been little constructive dialogue on the relationship between GIS theory and land-use analysis. The distinctive feature of land-use studies is their grounding in the idea of social purpose. “Purpose”—the telic dimension—is one of four dimensions of meaning discussed by Moravcsik and based ultimately on the work of Aristotle. So far in GIS, however, only the formal dimension has been emphasised. In this paper we draw on the work of philosophers such as Searle and Goodman to show the significance of the telic and constitutive dimensions of meaning for GIS and land-use studies. We also consider the relationship between terms in natural language and GIS-based analysis. Against this background we consider how GIS applications can be classified in relation to their treatment of language — purpose” and “space — time”. We conclude by suggesting that familiar GIS problems such as the modifiable areal unit problem and the ecological fallacy are instances of more general philosophical problems and that insights from linguistic philosophy can contribute to GIS development.
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