Names are an important key to what a society values. Anthropologists recognize naming as 'one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.'

The quote links naming to cultural priorities: what a community chooses to label, categorize, and commemorate reveals what it considers salient or worthy of attention. By invoking an anthropological maxim—naming as a way of “imposing order on perception”—Slawson frames names not as neutral tags but as cognitive and social tools that structure how people notice differences, group experiences, and assign meaning. The implication is that debates over terminology (for places, peoples, practices, or institutions) are also debates over worldview and power, because controlling names can influence what is thinkable, normal, or legitimate within a society.