A “biography” of the word vision
Vision is defined as an act of perception, often by means other than ordinary sight; a distinctive apprehension of a vivid, special kind; the process of seeing, whether physically or inwardly. It captures that which is not really present, or not yet actually present.
The meaning and use of the word “vision” have changed over the 700 years of its recorded history in English.
The word “vision” has existed in English since the fourteenth century, when it was primarily used to suggest an act of perception or seeing that is mystical, prophetic, or revelatory, or that can only be experienced in an altered or abnormal state of perception.
This sense of the term continues in English usage, but has become less common than two other usages -- vision as simply the act of seeing, and vision as foresight or an idea of what might be attempted or accomplished in the future. The Oxford English Dictionary shows how the meaning of the term changes. Its significance shifts from “something which is apparently seen otherwise than by ordinary sight; esp. an appearance of a prophetic or mystical character,” which remains the dominant meaning of the term from the 14th to the 19th century, to mean the “ability to conceive what might be attempted or achieved.”
Given the spiritual nature of its first meaning, it is not surprising that the word “vision” appears 123 times in the King James translation of the Bible, which was published in 1611 and became the standard English translation of the Bible. Of those instances, 76 appear in the prophetic books.
Vision is also “a mental concept of a distinct or vivid kind; an object of mental contemplation, esp. of an attractive or fantastic character; a highly imaginative scheme or anticipation” (Oxford English Dictionary). This meaning is particularly close to our usage of the term.
Many instances of this usage of the term refer to a quotation from Mishle (Proverbs 29:18), which is usually translated “without vision, the people perish.” These include an article about Senator Robert Byrd’s book Losing America ("Congress Off Track, a Senate Sage Warns," by Gail Russell Chaddock in The Christian Science Monitor, September 22, 2004) and an editorial proposing an acceptance speech for John Kerry ("Guided by History" by Ken Hechler in The New York Times, July 29, 2004). This usage may not be an accurate reflection of the meaning of the passage. The verse: באין חזון יפרע עם ושמר תורה אשרהו is translated as “For lack of vision a people lose restraint, but happy is he who heeds instruction” in the Jewish Publication Society’s Hebrew-English Tanakh (Philadelphia, 1999).
In many cases the concept of vision is used to prescribe strategies for organizations and businesses. One such institutional text, a publication for emergency workers, defines vision as “a living mission statement and values, as well as clear and well-written goals and objectives on which to base a list of expectations for their members” and encourages organizations to seek out visions in order to motivate their workers. See Mike Chiaramonte, "Crews Blind Without Organizational Vision," published in Fire Chief (March 1, 2004).
The idea of vision has in some areas come to be looked upon with dismissal or derision. This usage is captured most famously, perhaps, in the phrase “the vision thing,” which emerged from George Bush’s 1988 Presidential campaign. This usage tends to call to mind the potential for visions to be vague, poorly articulated, or meaningless. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has written an editorial entitled "Presidential vision isn’t always a good thing" (published in the Alameda Times-Star, January 25, 2004), which cautions that political visions can be dangerous and that the lack of vision in a leader is not always a problem. See also an article by Shira Springer in The Boston Globe about the “organizational vision” of the Boston Celtics, "Trying to Bring the Vision into Focus" (June 22, 2004).
An article recently published in The New York Times on Wynton Marsalis’s plans for a new performing arts complex for Jazz at Lincoln Center reveals a perspective on vision that is closer to its use in the Visions of Jewish Education Project. See Ben Ratliff, "A Home that Jazz Can Call Its Own" (October 15, 2004). The article notes that Marsalis “starts with grand theories and gradually translates them into mundane details,” a comment that resonates with the concept of moving from theory to practice. This is discussed, and applied to sports, by Seymour Fox in an excerpt from Vision at the Heart (Jerusalem: Mandel Institute, 1997).
Today “vision” describes the act of seeing and the object of sight. It is also often used to indicate the charismatic personal outlook or mission of leaders in business, politics, and other fields, or the strategic goals and aims of an institution.