The argument elaborated here is that fundamental syntactic distinctions exist between the structure of classification systems and the structure of categorization systems; that these distinctions lead to meaningful differences in the contexts within which information can be apprehended; and that these differences, in turn, influence the semantic information - the information about reality - that is available to the individual.

Examination of the systemic properties and forms of interaction that characterize classification and categorization reveals fundamental syntactic differences between the structure of classification systems and the structure of categorization systems. These distinctions lead to meaningful differences in the contexts within which information can be apprehended and influence the semantic information available to the individual. Structural and semantic differences between classification and categorization are differences that make a difference in the information environment by in- fluencing the functional activities of an information system and by contributing to its constitution as an information environment.

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