General semantics
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 13:27, 3 January 2013 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 17:51, 30 November 2016 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''General Semantics''' is an [[education]]al [[discipline]] created by [[Alfred Korzybski]] ([[1879]]–[[1950]]) during the years [[1919]] to [[1933]]. General Semantics is distinct from [[semantics]], a different subject. The name technically refers to the study of what Korzybski called "semantic reactions", or reactions of the whole human organism in its environment to some event — any event, not just perceiving a human-made symbol — in respect of that event's meaning. However, people most commonly use the name to mean the particular system of semantic reactions that Korzybski called the most useful for human survival, i.e. delayed reactions as opposed to "signal reactions" (immediate, unthinking ones). | + | '''General semantics''' is a [[self improvement]] and therapy program begun in the 1920s that seeks to regulate human mental habits and behaviors. After partial launches under the names ''human engineering'' and ''humanology'', Polish-American originator [[Alfred Korzybski]] (1879–1950) fully launched the program as ''general semantics'' in 1933 with the publication of ''Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics''. |
| - | Advocates of General Semantics view it as a form of [[mind|mental]] hygiene that enables practitioners to avoid [[ideation]]al traps built into [[natural language]] and "[[common sense]]" assumptions, thereby enabling practitioners to think more clearly and effectively. General Semantics thus shares some concerns with [[psychology]] but is not precisely a [[psychotherapy|therapeutic]] system, being in general more focused on enhancing the abilities of normal individuals than curing [[pathology]]. | + | In ''Science and Sanity'', general semantics is presented as both a theoretical and a practical system whose adoption can reliably alter human behavior in the direction of greater sanity. In the 1947 preface to the third edition of ''Science and Sanity'', Korzybski wrote: "We ''need not'' blind ourselves with the old dogma that 'human nature cannot be changed', for we find that it ''can be changed''." However, in the opinion of a majority of psychiatrists, the tenets and practices of general semantics are not an effective way of treating patients with psychological or mental illnesses. While Korzybski considered his program to be empirically based and to strictly follow the scientific method, general semantics has been described by some {{By whom|date=October 2016}} as veering into the domain of [[pseudoscience]]. |
| - | According to Korzybski, the central goal of General Semantics is to develop in its practitioners what he called "[[consciousness]] of [[abstraction|abstracting]]", that is, an awareness of the [[map-territory relation|map/territory distinction]] and of how much of [[reality]] is missed in the [[linguistics|linguistic]] and other representations we use. General Semantics teaches that it is not sufficient to understand this sporadically and [[intellect]]ually, but rather that we achieve full [[sanity]] only when consciousness of abstracting becomes constant and a matter of [[reflex]]. | + | Starting around 1940, university English professor [[S. I. Hayakawa]] (1906–1992), speech professor [[Wendell Johnson]], speech professor Irving J. Lee, and others assembled elements of general semantics into a package suitable for incorporation into mainstream communications curricula. The [[Institute of General Semantics]], which Korzybski and co-workers founded in 1938,<ref>Kodish, Bruce I. ''Korzybski: A Biography'', p. 440.</ref> continues today. General semantics as a movement has waned considerably since the 1950s{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}, although many of its ideas live on in other movements, such as [[rational emotive behavior therapy]]. |
| - | Many General Semantics practitioners view its techniques as a kind of self-defense kit against [[manipulation|manipulative]] semantic distortions routinely promulgated by [[advertising]], [[politics]], and [[religion]], as well as those found in [[self-deception]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Viewed philosophically, General Semantics is a form of applied [[conceptualism]] that emphasizes the degree to which human experience is filtered and mediated by contingent features of human [[sensory organ]]s, the human [[nervous system]], and human linguistic constructions. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| + | |||
| ;Related fields | ;Related fields | ||
| * [[Cognitive science]] | * [[Cognitive science]] | ||
| Line 18: | Line 16: | ||
| * [[Linguistic relativity]] | * [[Linguistic relativity]] | ||
| * [[Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy]] | * [[Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy]] | ||
| - | + | {{multicol-break}} | |
| ;Related subjects | ;Related subjects | ||
| * [[Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture]] | * [[Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture]] | ||
| * [[Harold Innis's communications theories]] | * [[Harold Innis's communications theories]] | ||
| - | * [[List of NLP topics]] | ||
| * [[Map–territory relation]] | * [[Map–territory relation]] | ||
| * [[Maybe Logic]] | * [[Maybe Logic]] | ||
| + | * [[Neuro-linguistic programming]] | ||
| * [[Non-Aristotelian logic#Use in science fiction|Non-Aristotelian logic - Use in science fiction]] | * [[Non-Aristotelian logic#Use in science fiction|Non-Aristotelian logic - Use in science fiction]] | ||
| * [[Propaganda]] | * [[Propaganda]] | ||
| - | + | {{multicol-break}} | |
| ;Related persons | ;Related persons | ||
| * [[Gregory Bateson]] | * [[Gregory Bateson]] | ||
| Line 36: | Line 34: | ||
| * [[Robert Anton Wilson]] | * [[Robert Anton Wilson]] | ||
| * [[Wilhelm Reich]] | * [[Wilhelm Reich]] | ||
| - | + | * [[Rolfing|Ida P. Rolf]] | |
| + | * [[Albert Ellis]] | ||
| + | {{multicol-end}} | ||
| ;Related books | ;Related books | ||
| *[[Levels of Knowing and Existence]]: Studies in General Semantics, by Harry L. Weinberg. | *[[Levels of Knowing and Existence]]: Studies in General Semantics, by Harry L. Weinberg. | ||
| *[[Assignment in Eternity]], (science fiction) by Robert A. [[Alfred Korzybski#Reception|Heinlein magnifies Korzybski]] in the supermen of the "Gulf" novella. | *[[Assignment in Eternity]], (science fiction) by Robert A. [[Alfred Korzybski#Reception|Heinlein magnifies Korzybski]] in the supermen of the "Gulf" novella. | ||
| + | |||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 17:51, 30 November 2016
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
General semantics is a self improvement and therapy program begun in the 1920s that seeks to regulate human mental habits and behaviors. After partial launches under the names human engineering and humanology, Polish-American originator Alfred Korzybski (1879–1950) fully launched the program as general semantics in 1933 with the publication of Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics.
In Science and Sanity, general semantics is presented as both a theoretical and a practical system whose adoption can reliably alter human behavior in the direction of greater sanity. In the 1947 preface to the third edition of Science and Sanity, Korzybski wrote: "We need not blind ourselves with the old dogma that 'human nature cannot be changed', for we find that it can be changed." However, in the opinion of a majority of psychiatrists, the tenets and practices of general semantics are not an effective way of treating patients with psychological or mental illnesses. While Korzybski considered his program to be empirically based and to strictly follow the scientific method, general semantics has been described by some Template:By whom as veering into the domain of pseudoscience.
Starting around 1940, university English professor S. I. Hayakawa (1906–1992), speech professor Wendell Johnson, speech professor Irving J. Lee, and others assembled elements of general semantics into a package suitable for incorporation into mainstream communications curricula. The Institute of General Semantics, which Korzybski and co-workers founded in 1938,<ref>Kodish, Bruce I. Korzybski: A Biography, p. 440.</ref> continues today. General semantics as a movement has waned considerably since the 1950sTemplate:Citation needed, although many of its ideas live on in other movements, such as rational emotive behavior therapy.
See also
- Related fields
- Cognitive science
- Cognitive therapy
- E-Prime
- Gestalt Therapy
- Language and thought
- Linguistic relativity
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
- Related subjects
- Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture
- Harold Innis's communications theories
- Map–territory relation
- Maybe Logic
- Neuro-linguistic programming
- Non-Aristotelian logic - Use in science fiction
- Propaganda
- Related persons
- Gregory Bateson
- Sanford I. Berman
- Elwood Murray
- Allen Walker Read
- William Vogt
- Robert Anton Wilson
- Wilhelm Reich
- Ida P. Rolf
- Albert Ellis
- Related books
- Levels of Knowing and Existence: Studies in General Semantics, by Harry L. Weinberg.
- Assignment in Eternity, (science fiction) by Robert A. Heinlein magnifies Korzybski in the supermen of the "Gulf" novella.
