Alfred Korzybski Professions : Philosopher Born : July 3, 1879 Died : March 1, 1950 Browse All Authors Top 48 quotes by Alfred Korzybski It seems evident that everything which exists in nature, is natural, no matter how simple or complicated a phenomenon it is; and on no occasion can the so-called 'supernatural' be anything else than a completely natural law, though it may, at the moment, be above and beyond the present understanding. Alfred Korzybski understanding simple law Let us repeat the two crucial negative premises as established firmly by all human experience: (1) Words are not the things we are speaking about; and (2) There is no such thing as an object in absolute isolation. Alfred Korzybski isolation two negative The present non-aristotelian system is based on fundamental negative premises; namely, the complete denial of 'identity.' Alfred Korzybski identity fundamentals negative I think therefore I seem to be. Alfred Korzybski seems thinking It is amusing to discover, in the twentieth century, that the quarrels between two lovers, two mathematicians, two nations, two economic systems, usually assumed insoluble in a finite period should exhibit one mechanism, the semantic mechanism of identification - the discovery of which makes universal agreement possible, in mathematics and in life. Alfred Korzybski two-nations agreement discovery It is a fallacy of the old schools to divide man into parcels, elements, thoughts, emotions, intuitions, etc. All human faculties consist of an interconnected whole. Alfred Korzybski old-school intuition men Different ‘philosophies’ represent nothing but methods of evaluation, which may lead to empirical mis-evaluation if science and empirical facts are disregarded. Alfred Korzybski different may philosophy Identification makes general sanity and complete adjustment impossible. Training in non-identity plays a therapeutic role with adults. Alfred Korzybski training self-esteem play I want to make clear only that words are not the things spoken about, and that there is no such thing as an object in absolute isolation. Alfred Korzybski isolation want ideas Identity is invariably false to facts. Alfred Korzybski self-esteem identity facts Whatever you might say the object "is", well it is not. Alfred Korzybski wells might knowledge Every language having a structure, by the very nature of language, reflects in its own structure that of the world as assumed by those who evolved the language. In other words, we read unconsciously into the world the structure of the language we use. Alfred Korzybski language use world Two important characteristics of maps should be noticed. A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness. Alfred Korzybski maps important two The objective level is not words, and cannot be reached by words alone. We must point our finger and be silent, or we will never reach this level. Alfred Korzybski fingers silent levels He who learns and learns and yet does not know what he knows, is one who plows and plows yet never sows. Alfred Korzybski knows doe God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won't. Alfred Korzybski forgiving may integrity One would have to say "in the end everything is a gag, etc" because everything is infinitely more than just a gag. The same applies to other "is"-statements such as "Laughter is an instant vacation" Alfred Korzybski vacation etc laughter Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise. Alfred Korzybski self-esteem men needs Second order effects, such as belief in belief, makes fanaticism. Alfred Korzybski belief faith order Mathematics and logic have been proved to be one; a fact from which it seems to follow that mathematics may successfully deal with non-quantitative problems in a much broader sense than was suspected to be possible. Alfred Korzybski logic may facts Similar Authors F. H. Bradley philosopher Irving Copi philosopher Ivan Ilyin philosopher Ivan Illich philosopher Bion of Borysthenes philosopher Bonaventure philosopher All Authors
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