alfred korzybsky science and sanity

8/13/2019 Alfred Korzybsky Science and Sanity

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I want to make clear that words are not the things spoken about, and that there is no such thing as anobject in absolute isolation.We must realize that structure, and structure alone is the only link betweenlanguages and the empirical world.

We read unconsciously into the world the structure of language we use.

We shall always be ruled by those who rule symbols.

Genaral semantics is not any phylosophy or psychology or logic, in the ordinary sense. It is a newextensional discipline which explains and trains us how to use our nervous system most efficiently.

In the evolution of the human race and language there was a natural oder of evaluation established;namely, the life facts came first and labels (words) next in importance. Today, from childhood up, weinculcate words and language first, and the facts they represent come next in value, anotherpathologically reversed order, by which we are unconsciously being trained to identify words withfacts. The averege child is born extensional and then his evaluations ae distorted as the result ofintensional training by parents, teachers etc. who are unaware of the heavy neurological conseuences.

Intension vs.extension

!or instance we may verbally define man as a featherless biped, rational animal and what not, whichreally ma"es no difference, because no listing of properties could possibly cover all the characteristicsof #mith $, #mith % etc. and their inter&relations.

'y extension man is defined by exhibiting a class of individuals made up of #mith $, #mith % etc.n the surface this difference may appear unimportant; not so in living life applications. The deeperproblems of neurological mechanisms enter here. If we orient ourselves predominantly by intension orverbal definitions, our orientations depend mostly on the cortical region. If we orient ourselves byextension or fact (the natural order of evaluation) involves thalamic factors, introducing automaticallycortically delayed reactions. In other words, orientations by intension tend to train our nervous systemin the split between the functions of the cortical and thalamic regions; orientations by extension involvethe integration of cortico&thalamic functions.

rientations by extension induce an automatic delay of reactions, which automatically stimulates thecortical region and regulates and protect the reactions of the usually over&stimulatet thalamic region.

early all of us, even now, copy animals in our nervous responses, which copying leads to the generalstate of un&sanity reflected in our private and public lives, institutions and systems.The old dictum that we are animals leaves us hopeless, but if we merely copy animals in our nervousrespnses, we can stop it provided we can discover a physiological differencein these reactions.

*ny affect only gains meaning when it is conscious; or, in other words, when as actual set of relationsis present. In an ideally balanced and efficient human nervous system, the +emotions+ would betranslated into +ideas+, and +ideas+ into +emotions+ with equal facility. The semantic reactions of a givenindividual would be under full control and capable of being educated, influenced, transformed uic"lyand efficiently.


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Multiordinal terms terms devoid of meaning outside of a context; they have different meanings,depending on the order of abstraction.Semantic reaction psycho&logical responses to words and other stimuli in connection with theirmeaningsStructure configuration of relations

In Manhood of umanity I defined man functionally as a time&binder, a definition based on theobservation that the human class of life differs from animals in the fact that, in the rough, eachgeneration of humans can, at least potentially, start where the former generation left off.

The only possible content of "nowledge is structural, a fact which is the semantic factor responsible for+cultures+ and +periods+ and everything else in human development. The issues we deal with, wheneverhuman psycho&logical reactions are involved, are circular, as distinguished from animal reactions.-uman structures, in language or in stone, reflect the psycho&logical status, feelings, intuitions,structural metaphysics and other semantic responses of their ma"ers and periods; and, vice versa, oncethese structural strivings and tendencies are formulated as such, they help to uic"en and transform oneperiod into the next one.

The only content of "nowledge the world+s structure.

The human capacity for expanding indefinitely the orders of abstractions bring about the peculiarstratification of +human "nowledge+.

e must wor" out a theory of evaluation which is based on the optimum electro&colloidal action andreaction of the nervous system.

-ow chemical conditions affect the activities of the organism&as&a&whole can be well illustrated by thefollowing example. In a /ellyfish, we can increase or dicrease the locomotor activities by simplychanging the chemical constitution of the water. If we increase the number of a ions in the sea water,the rhytmical contractions increase and the animal becomes restless. If we increase the number of 0aions, the contractions decrease. In a similar way, we can change the orientation toward light in anumber of marine animals by changing the constitution of the medium. The larvae of 1olygordius,which usually go away from light into dar" corners, can be compelled to go toward light by twomethods either by lowering the temperature of the sea&water, or else by increasing the concentration ofthe salts in the sea&water. This behaviour can be reversed by raising the temperature or lowering theconcentration of the salts.

1sychogalvanic experiments show clearly that every +emotion+ or +thought+ is always connected withsome electrical currents, and that electricity seems fundemental for colloidal behaviour, and, therefore,for physical symptoms and the behaviour of the organism.In the colloidal process we find the bridge between the +physical+ and the +mental+, and the mutual lin"seems mainly electricity.

If different macrospopic, microscopic and submicroscopic lesions of the nervous system result in uitedefinite psycho&logical symptoms, which on the semantic levels appear as a lac" of evaluation ofrelations, then, vice versa, the use of linguistic systems, which systematically train the immaturenervous system of the child and of the grown&ups in delusional evaluation, must result in at least


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colloidal disturbances of the nervous system.

If we spea" in neurological terms, we may say that the present nervous structure is such that theentering nerve currents have a natural direction, established by survival; namely, they traverse the brainstem and the thalamus first, the subcortical layers next, then the cerebral cortex, and return,transformed, by various paths.

2xperience and experiments show that the natural order was +sensation+ first, +idea+ next; the sensationbeing an abstraction of some order, and the idea already an abstraction from an abstraction or anabstraction of a higher order.2xperience shows again that among humans, this order in manifestations is sometimes reversed;namely that some individuals have +idea+ first; some vestiges of memories and +sensations+ next, withoutany external reason for the +sensations+. #uch individuals are considered +mentally ill+. They +see+ wherethere is nothing to see; they +hear+ where there is nothing to hear; they have pains when there is noreason to have pains and so on. This reversal of order, but in a mild degree, is extremly common atpresent among all of us and underlies mainly all human misfortunes and un&sanity.This reversal of order in its mild form is involved in identification or the confusion of orders ofabstractions; namely, when we act as if an !idea! were an !e"perience! of our senses. This impliesnervous disturbances, since we violate the natural order of the activities of the nervous system. Themechanism of pro/ection is also connected with this reversal of order. This reversal transforms theexternal world into a uite different and fictitious entity.That the reversal of order in the manifestations of the functioning of the nervous system must beextremly harmful, becomes evident when we consider that in such a case the upper layers of ournervous system (the cortex) not only do not protect us from over&stimulation originating in the externalworld and inside us, but actually contribute to the over&stimulation by producing fanciful, yet very real,irritants. 2xperiments on some patients have shown how they benefit physically when their internalenergy is liberated from fighting phantoms and so can be redirected to fight colloidal disturbances.

hen a 3uality+ is treated physiologically as a reaction of an organism to a stimulus, it also becomes arelation.

The non&identity priciple to properly distinguish the orders of abstractions.

The cortext receives its material as elaborated by the thalamus. The abstractions of the cortext areabstractions from abstractions and so ought to be called abstractions of higher order. In neurology,similarly, the neurons first excited are called of +first order+; and the succeeding members of the seriesare called neurons of the +second order+. #uch terminology is structurally similar to the inherentstructure and function of the nervous system. The receptors are in direct contact with the outside worldand convey their excitation and nerve currents to the lower nerve centers, where these impulses arefurther elaborated and then abstracted by the higher centers.#hose individuals who overwork their thalamus and use their corte"t too little are !emotional! andstupid.This statement is not exagerated, because there are experimental data to show how through apsycho&neural training the semantic reactions, in some cases, can be re&educated, and that with theelimination of the semantic disturbances there is a mar"ed development of poise, balance and aproportional increase of critical /udgement, and so +intelligence+.hen these shifting, dynamic, affective, thalamic&region, lower order abstractions are abstracted againby the higher centers, these new abstractions are further removed from the outside world and cease tobe shifting; they become relatively static and thus more reliable. #uch higher order abstractions


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represent a perfected "ind of memory, which can be recalled exactly in the form as it was originallyproduced. !or instance, the circle, defined as the locus of points in a plane at eual distance from agiven point called the center, remains permanent as long as we wish to use this definition. e can,therefore, recall it perfectly, analyse it etc., without losing the definiteness and the stability of thismemory. Thus, critical analysis, and therefore, progress, becomes possible. 0ompare this perfectedmemory, which may last indefinitely unchanged, with memories of +emotions+ which, whether dim or

clear, are always distorted. e see that the first are reliable, that the others are not.

It seems that the so&called +ethics+, in general, +sanity+, which underlie desirable human characteristicshave a definite physiological mechanism, automatically involving on psycho&logical levels thesedesirable semantic attitudes. It appears that some of the psycho&logical problems enormously complexand difficult to reach are solved, not by preaching, but by most simple and elementaryphysiologicaltraining, a fact which has been verifid empirically.1avlov shows, in an unusually impressive variety and numbers of experiments, how +order+ and +delay+are intimately related with most fundamental processes in the higher nervous centers, and how, by thechanges or interplays of them, we can produce or eliminate pathological states of the nervous system.

4sually, one extremly fundamental semantic fact is disregarded; namely, that what on the psycho&logical level is ob/ective and in language decriptive to one person (e.g. +my toothache+), is inferential tothe other person, and vice versa. The lac" of consciousness of abstracting introduces an identificationof orders of abstractions; namely, the confusion of descriptions with inferences+ and vice versa.

Thus, if a dog was trained to respond to a bell, which was a signal for food, he could be trained furtherto lin" the signal to another neutral stimulus, let us say, the sound of a bu55er with the bell and the bellwith food. #uch a secondary auired reaction may be called of the second order. aturally, it is veryinstructive to find out if these responses could be extended to more orders. 2xperiments disclosed theimportant fact that, as far as dogs and alimentary reactions are concerned, it was impossible to gobeyond the second order. -owever, when defense reactions were tested, it was found that it waspossible to establish acuired reactions of the third order. 'ut it was impossible to go beyond the thirdorder, even in these cases.In our field, where we have to formulate sharp differences between the nervous responses of +man+ and+animal+, we say that animals stop abstracting or lin"ing of signals on some level, while humans do not.

The structure and function of the central nervous system is such that some stimulations can beconcealed and become macroscopically seemingly inactive, giving no obvious manifestation orresponse, yet preservating their active exciting characteristics which, by proper treatment, can bereleased at will. In physics we have a similar phenomenon in the case of +fro5en light+, galvanic andstorage batteries and many others, although probably the sub&microscopir mechanisms are different.

ur nervous systems registers ob/ects with its lower centers first, and each of these lower specificabstractions we call an ob/ect. 6erbal labelling of an ob/ect 7 +second order abstraction+

e define the consciousness of abstracting as awarness that in our process of abstracting we have leftout characteristics.

The consciousness of abstracting eliminates automatically identification and +confusion of the orders ofabstractions+, both applying to the semantic confusion on all levels. If we are not conscious of


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abstracting, we are bound to identify or confuse the ob/ect with its finite number of characteristics, withthe event. 0onfusion on these levels may misguide us into semantic situations ending in unpleasantshoc"s. If we acuire the consciousness of abstracting and remember that the ob/ect is not the event andthat we have abstracted characteristics fewer than, and different from, those the event has, we shouldexpect many unforseen happenings to occur; conseuently, when the unexpected happens, we are savedfrom painful and harmful semantic shoc"s.

If, through lac" of consciousness of abstracting, we identify or confuse words with ob/ects and feelings,or memories and ideas with experiences which belong to the un&spea"able ob/ective level, we identifyhigher order abstractions with lower. I call this ob/ectification, because it is genarally the confusion ofwords or verbal issues (memories, ideas etc) with ob/ective, un&spea"able levels, such as ob/ects, orexperiences or feelings. If we ob/ectify, we forget, or do not remember that words are not the ob/ects orthe feelings themselves, that the verbal levels are always different from the ob/ective levels. hen weidentify them, we disregard the inherent differences, and so proper evaluation and full ad/ustmentbecome impossible.#imilar semantic difficulties arise from the confusion of higher order abstractions; for instance, theidentification of inferences with descriptions.

*n organism may only be called adapted to life when it not only receives stimuli but also hasprotetictive means against stimuli.It is obvious that in the human organism the field for stimulations is vastly greater than in animals. eare sub/ected not anly to all external stimuli but also to a large number of permanently operatinginternal semantic stimuli, against which we have had, as yet, verry little protective psychphysiologicalmeans. #uch structurally powerful stimuli are found in our doctrines, metaphysics, language, attitidesetc. These do not belong to the external ob/ective world, and so the animals do not have them in a li"edegree.

ne ad/usts oneself by increasing the field of +consciousness+.

*s our enuiry has shown, in practically all +mental+ ills, a confusion of orders of abstractions appearsas a factor. hen we confuse the orders of abstractions and ascribe ob/ective reality to terms andsymbols, or confuse conclusions and inferences with descriptions, a great deal of semantic suffering isproduced.bviously, in a such a delusional world, different from the actualities, we are not prepared foractualities, and then always something unexpected or +frightful, may happen.*s we have seen, the general preventive psychophysiological discipline in all such cases of confusionof orders of abstractioons is found in +consciousness of abstracting+.

In infancy the confusion of orders of abstractions must be considered as an entirely natural semanticperiod. b/ects and +sense perceptions+ are the only reality the child "nows and cares about; so he doesnot and cannot discriminate between events and ob/ects. 'y necessity, he identifies un"nowingly twoentirely different levels. *s his symbol usually means a satisfaction of his wants, naturally he identifiesthe symbols with the ob/ects and events.The more the child comes in touch with +reality+, the more he learns, and in a +normal+ child +the pleasureprinciple+, which was established as a method of ad/ustment on the infantine level, is slowly displacedby the +reality principle+, which thus becomes the semantic method of ad/ustment of the complete adult.

* general underlying structure of languages they have inherent interconnection, underlying


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assumptions and implications, the analysis of which is seldom, if ever, carried far enough. ow thesestructural assumptions and implications are inside our s"in when we accept a language&any language. Ifunravelled, they become conscious; if not, they remain unconscious.It should be noticed (as this is very important) that the undefined terms, being undefined, areoverloaded with +emotional values+. *s the higher nervous centers cannot handle them, the lower nervecenters wor" upon them overtime. If we do not analyse our languages into their undefined terms and

structural postulates, our strongest +emotional+ and semantic components, which made these languages,remain hidden and unconscious. e call this the structural unconscious.

alfred korzybsky science and sanity

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