>From: Slingr@aol.com >Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 03:49:15 -0400 >To: ssread-l@newciv.org >Subject: Comments, Intro to 2nd Edition Before tackling the 50-page intro, I think it helpful to first consider the organization of topics. The outline of sections comprising the Introduction to the Second Edition, written by Alfred Korzybski in March, 1941, consists of: A. Recent developments and the founding of the Institute of General Semantics. B. Some difficulties to be surmounted. 1. THE ATTITUDES OF 'PHILOSOPHERS', ETC. 2. PERPLEXITIES IN THEORIES OF 'MEANING' 3. INADEQUACY OF FORMS OF REPRESENTATION AND THEIR STRUCTURAL REVISION 4. IDENTIFICATIONS AND MIS-EVALUATIONS 5. METHODS OF THE MAGICIAN C. Revolutions and evolutions. D. A non-aristotelian revision. E. New factors: the havoc they play with our generalizations F. Non-aristotelian methods. 1. NEUROLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF EXTENSIONALIZATION 2. NEURO-SEMANTIC RELAXATION 3. EXTENSIONAL DEVICES AND SOME APPLICATIONS 4. IMPLICATIONS OF THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE G. Over||Under defined terms. H. The passing of the old aristotelian epoch. 1. 'MAGINOT LINE MENTALITIES' 2. WARES _OF_ AND _ON_ NERVES 3. HITLER AND PSYCHO-LOGICAL FACTORS IN HIS LIFE 4. EDUCATION FOR INTELLIGENCE AND DEMOCRACY I. Constructive suggestions. CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ------------------------------------------ My comments (by Section): A. Recent developments and the founding of the Institute of General Semantics. Note the two "Old Maxims" which preface Section A - "God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won't", and "When in perplexity, read on." My understanding from Pula, et al, is that AK penned these. They could be considered quite appropriate to introduce this Introduction, as the first advises that what follows in the book will concentrate on "nervous systems", the inside-the-skin goings-on of human beings; and the second cautions that the trek won't easy. I'm still mulling over the Bocher quote and its significance. The two names mentioned here seem significant to me. Professor Elwood Murray at the University of Denver was a leading academic student of Korzybski's who advanced g.s. over many years. M. Kendig (full name Marjorie Mercer Kendig Gates) read S&S after its initial publication, immediately saw its relevance in her new career as head mistress at the Barstow School for Girls in Kansas City in 1934. She began a correspondence with AK which included him making several visits to the school to discuss implementing non-aristotelian teaching methods. She left the school to join AK in establishing the Institute of General Semantics in Chicago in May, 1938. I understand that she, moreso than anyone, was the driving force in the organization, administration, and execution of the Institute and its programs. The _General Semantics Bulletin_ #50 (1983), contains several memorial articles on her life and contributions to g.s. Charlotte Schuchardt Read, still active with the Institute, joined them in September 1939 as editorial secretary. Page xxxviii, 2nd full para, AK notes the importance of the Institute's seminar programs which complement what can be derived from reading the book. I infer from this that AK felt that additional experiential training was required to derive the "internalizing" feel, more than just reading S&S. AK explains that g.s. is *not* what is ordinarily thought of as 'philosophy', 'psychology' or 'logic'. Instead, he emphasizes that g.s. is a "new extensional discipline which explains and trains us how to use our nervous systems more efficiently", and a "system of orientation". To me, this portends theories as to: 1) how we, as nervous systems, actually do what we 'do'; and 2) how we can train ourselves to 'do' it better and more naturally. As D. David Bourland, Jr., in the Fall '94 _ETC_, maintains, this constitutes nothing less than "changing 'human nature'". So two key notions: g.s. as a new system of orientation, and as a discipline of action. (my interpretation) P. xxxix, 1st para, re the 90% "success rate" (my quotes): 1) I wonder about the 10% - if they didn't directly benefit, I wonder how seriously their training was; 2) I 'think' it's significant that AK used the phrase, "those who *train themselves* seriously" (my emphasis). This reiterates to me that g.s. ain't no casual affair. The last sentence in Section A explicitly states the proviso "...provided the student is willing to work at himself seriously." If any one statement could address the most general "So what, why general semantics?" question it might be this, "These difficulties result to a large extent from the failure to use 'intelligence' adequately so as to bring *proper evaluation*." (my emphasis) That, to me, is what g.s. is 'all' about. If you remember the movie "Mr. Mom", there's a funny scene in which Jack (Mr. Mom) drives his kids to school for the first time. His wife had previously briefed him on the procedures, to which he impatiently responded, "Yea, yea, right, okay, got it." ['allness' at work] However, in the congestion of traffic, with his two kids rambunctiously distracting him, peering through rain, he enters the one-way drop-off area through the exit. A helpful PTA volunteer standing on the curb knocks on his windshield to sweetly say, "Jack, you're doing it wrong." I think AK's message to 'us' is much the same. B. Some difficulties to be surmounted. 1. THE ATTITUDES OF 'PHILOSOPHERS', ETC. 2. PERPLEXITIES IN THEORIES OF 'MEANING' 3. INADEQUACY OF FORMS OF REPRESENTATION AND THEIR STRUCTURAL REVISION 4. IDENTIFICATIONS AND MIS-EVALUATIONS 5. METHODS OF THE MAGICIAN AK offers explanations for why 'philosophers' and others have trouble understanding the scope and intent of g.s. He particularly points out their failure to grasp the negative impact of 'identity' in "*neurologically* training future generations in the pathological identifications found in the 'mentally' ill or maladusted." (p. xli, 1st para) He discusses confusions regarding "semantics", "meaning", "ethics", "morals", etc., noting that these disciplines fail to consider the optimum reactions of the human nervous system. See p.xliii, 3rd para, "In general semantics...." Great diagnosis and prescription, p. xlv, 4th para. Two notable anecdotes in Section B.4. The first deals with a classroom experiment in which students get a 'feel' for *identifying*, and the benefits of delayed evaluations. (p. xlvi, 4th para) The second concerns a professor of neurology sneezing at a movie which depicted a couple in a hay stack. AK also refers here to the later anecdote (p.128) in which a woman who is allergic to roses responded allergically to *paper* roses. [I would like to point out that some use this anecdote to illustrate the notion of 'semantic reaction'. However, in my reading I don't find s.r mentioned. The intent of this anecdote seems to be to illustrate 'identification'. I'm not saying it doesn't also constitute a semantic reaction...just trying to be accurate.] In Section B.5., the term "as if" appears - "In the meantime we react and act *'as if'* our half-truths or false knowledge were 'all there is to be known'." This term seems to be used repeatedly by the 1st generation of AK's students, and seems to me a key distinctive phrase. To underscore this importance, the first presentation at the Int'l Conference next month at Hofstra University will be made by Charlotte Read - Living in an "As If" World: Some Reflections on "The Map Is Not the Territory". C. Revolutions and evolutions. AK discusses the difficulties and pains encountered throughout history during the transitions of one historical era to another. To me, this serves as 'lubricant' to accept that a transition from aristotelian to non-A was (is) ultimately inevitable, yet exceedingly difficult. He gives a brief summary of the Socrates-Plato-Aristotle schools and their emphases and lasting contributions. D. A non-aristotelian revision. This section consists of what I deem an extremely useful comparison table which is deserving of much study and contemplation. E. New factors: the havoc they play with our generalizations This brings mathematics into the picture, and introduces the basis from which Milton derived his versions of "the calculus". (My interpretation) P.lv, 1st para in Section E: "It is well known that sometimes when a new datum is discovered it transforms the curve entirely, with a corresponding change in the equation (generalization)." In other words, one can never know 'all'; therefore one additional increment of information can dramatically change one's evaluation, opinion, attitude, inferences, etc. Important point for students regarding the g.s. lingo, and the importance of *orientation* - see p. lvi, last paragraph. F. Non-aristotelian methods. 1. NEUROLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF EXTENSIONALIZATION 2. NEURO-SEMANTIC RELAXATION 3. EXTENSIONAL DEVICES AND SOME APPLICATIONS 4. IMPLICATIONS OF THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE *EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POINT* (my judgment) - p. lviii, last paragraph, discussing the necessity to *apply* what is 'learned'. AK quotes an old Persian proverb: "He who learns and learns and yet *does* not what he knows, is one who plows and plows yet never sows." Irving Lee, in _Language Habits in Human Affairs_ and also in his video "Talking Sense", quotes Sir Norman Angell (c.1941): "If the world has nearly destroyed itself, it is not from lack of knowledge in the sense that we lack the knowledge to cure cancer ... but is due to the fact that the mass of men have not applied to public policy knowledge which they already possess, which is indeed of almost universal possession, deducible from the facts of everyday life. ...If men can disregard in their policies the facts they already know, they can just as easily disregard new facts which they do not at present know. What is needed is the development in men of that particular type of skill which will enable them to make social use of knowledge already in their possession; enable them to apply simple, sometimes self-evident, truths to the guidance of their common life." The benefits of "neuro-semantic relaxation" seem largely overlooked in g.s., probably because it's pretty useless to 'talk about' it. However, significant time is devoted to relaxation and non-verbal sensing during the Institute's summer seminar-workshop. Charlotte uses a phrase which I like to describe the process of preparing for relaxation: "come to quiet". G. Over||Under defined terms. Rather than try to add to or explain this formulation, I will simply admit to some degree of un-understanding, and quote AK's last paragraph in this section: "The problem of over||under defined terms is very difficult to explain briefly. It is discussed more fully in two of my papers presented before professional societies." H. The passing of the old aristotelian epoch. 1. 'MAGINOT LINE MENTALITIES' 2. WARES _OF_ AND _ON_ NERVES 3. HITLER AND PSYCHO-LOGICAL FACTORS IN HIS LIFE 4. EDUCATION FOR INTELLIGENCE AND DEMOCRACY In this section, I sense that AK is appealing to more global concerns, over and above and outside of individual nervous systems. I. Constructive suggestions. Since my comments are running much longer than I intended, I'll state my own "bottom line" and quote AK: "Before any lasting adjustments in the future social, economic, political, ethical, etc., fields are accomplished we have to be able to *evaluate properly and talk sense*. Otherwise, the situation is hopeless." Regards, Steve Stockdale, aka slingr@aol.com The Intrepid and Necessarily-Incomplete Abstractor