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 More Quotes by Alfred Korzybski More Quotes From Alfred Korzybski The map is not the territory. Alfred Korzybski philosophical journey philosophy If all people learned to think in the non Aristotelian manner of quantum mechanics, the world would change so radically that most of what we call "stupidity" and even a great deal of what we consider "insanity" might disappear, and the "intractable" problems of war, poverty and injustice would suddenly seem a great deal closer to solution. Alfred Korzybski war people thinking Man's achievements rest upon the use of symbols.... we must consider ourselves as a symbolic, semantic class of life, and those who rule the symbols, rule us. Alfred Korzybski use class men To use words to sense reality is like going with a lamp to search for darkness. Alfred Korzybski lamps darkness reality Words don't mean, people mean. Alfred Korzybski mean-people mean people The map is not the territory, the word is not the thing it describes. Whenever the map is confused with the territory, a 'semantic disturbance' is set up in the organism. The disturbance continues until the limitation of the map is recognized. Alfred Korzybski maps territory confused There are two ways to slice easily thorugh life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking. Alfred Korzybski education life believe These 'philosophers', etc., seem unaware, to give a specific example, that by teaching and preaching 'identity', which is empirically non-existent in this actual world, they are neurologically training future generations in the pathological identifications found in the 'mentally' ill or maladjusted. Alfred Korzybski self-esteem teaching giving As words are not the things we speak about, and structure is the only link between them, structure becomes the only content of knowledge. If we gamble on verbal structures that have no observable empirical structures, such gambling can never give us any structural information about the world. Therefore such verbal structures are structurally obsolete, and if we believe in them, they induce delusions or other semantic disturbances. Alfred Korzybski gambling faith believe Who rules our symbols, rules us. Alfred Korzybski symbols If we, who live outside asylums, act as if we lived in a fictitious world- that is to say, if we are consistent with our beliefs- we cannot adjust ourselves to actual conditions, and so fall into many avoidable semantic difficulties. But the so-called normal person practically never abides by his beliefs, and when his beliefs are building for him a fictitious world, he saves his neck by not abiding by them. A so-called "insane" person acts upon his beliefs, and so cannot adjust himself to a world which is quite different from his fancy. Alfred Korzybski insane-person faith fall A person does what he does because he sees the world as he sees it. Alfred Korzybski self-improvement doe world To regard human beings as tools - as instruments - for the use of other human beings is not only unscientific but it is repugnant, stupid and short sighted. Tools are made by man but have not the autonomy of their maker - they have not man's time-binding capacity for initiation, for self-direction, and self-improvement. Alfred Korzybski stupid self men The map is not the territory... The only usefulness of a map depends on similarity of structure between the empirical world and the map. Alfred Korzybski maps territory world If a psychiatric and scientific inquiry were to be made upon our rulers, mankind would be appalled at the disclosures. Alfred Korzybski enquiry would-be science Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words. Alfred Korzybski use science lying I am the same kind of moron as the rest of you, it's the method that does the work, for me as well as for you. Alfred Korzybski method kind doe We see what we see because we miss all the finer details. Alfred Korzybski details missing If words are not things, or maps are not the actual territory, then, obviously, the only possible link between the objective world and the linguistic world is found in structure, and structure alone. Alfred Korzybski maps links world What we call progress consists in coordinating ideas with realities. Alfred Korzybski progress reality ideas
