The Problems Of Knowing What Korzybski Actually Taught

The problems of knowing what Korzybski actually taught started to get complicated even during his lifetime as inadequate popularizers—the most prominent of whom was probably S.I. Hayakawa—began the process of watering it down. This became one of the major hassles at the end of Korzybski's life that he had to deal with. The not-so-pleasant details of his conflict with Hayakawa and other of his students, takes up a good part of the last section of my Korzybski: A Biography.

After Korzybski's death, Hayakawa very much became Mr. General Semantics, in the eyes of the media and general public, and through his own writing and his editorship of ETC. then published by the International Society of General Semantics (ISGS). Although, he did help promulgate knowledge and interest in Korzybski's work to some extent, at the same time his work gave the impression to many that they had gotten Korzybski's essence from reading his, Hayakawa's, and others' more limited, non-rigorous takes.

Meanwhile, the Institute of General Semantics (IGS), founded by Korzybski and run by his students and student's students, remained the center of specifically korzybskian general-semantics, with publication of the GSB and books by Korzybski and others as well as an ongoing educational training program continued for just over fifty years after Korzybski's death.

However, over the last 10 years, that korzybskian thread got snipped and lost at the Institute of General Semantics. The ISGS folded, the IGS took over its assets, mainly some bookstore books, some documents, and the journal ETC. GSB got retired with no fanfare and we now have people running the IGS who for better or worse were never significantly involved in studying, transmitting, and building upon the specific korzybskian tradition that existed there before their time. The present IGS seems more in the pattern  of the old ISGS rather than the old IGS  with, for example, ETC. now the official IGS journal. This kind of thing can happen. People die and move away, etc. Others who get involved afterwards don't know what happened before them and fail to ask necessary questions. History and tradition gets forgotten. It may happen especially to organizations that have been around for a long while. As a result, the long-term culture of the organization can  sometimes change drastically. It has happened at the Institute of General Semantics (founded in 1938). Dating. 

The fact remains that now the IGS has lost a large part of the specific korzybskian tradition (much of it 'oral') that developed there. For example, I don't see how anyone of my teachers and co-workers in the old IGS would have chosen to name a book award after S.I. Hayakawa—with all due respect to him (he did do some good work along with all the confusion he caused). I have written about this institutional loss of memory publicly, addressing the issue directly in my presentation at the 2011 IGS International Conference in New York City, where I was given the IGS's 2011 S.I. Hayakawa Book Prize (Oh, the irony). Here's a link to the audio and text of my presentation: http://korzybskifiles.blogspot.com/2011/11/korzybskis-legacy-what-is-it-how-do-we.html

As one of the few alive, like Jeff Mordkowitz and my wife Susan Presby Kodish, who apprenticed with Korzybski's students, I feel an obligation now to help inform everyone interested of what that tradition consists of. I 'inherited' (as the person appointed by Charlotte Schuchardt Read to serve as Korzybski's literary executor following her and Robert Pula) a tremendous amount of material after the IGS closed Read House in Texas in 2009 (and then the nearby rented office in 2010). I intend to share as much as I can of the material that I have from there as well the large amount of stuff I've gathered over a lifetime of korzybskian study and research. 

But people who care  and desire to learn must ask questions.

Will you dare to inquire?  

From the Korzybski Files Vaults: "What 'Is' General-Semantics? by Robert P. Pula

Robert P. Pula, my teacher, co-worker and dear friend probably qualifies as the most important post-Korzybski scholar and teacher of GS I have known. Here is a brief (three-page) handout, undated but probably from some time in the 1970s, where he succinctly answers the question, "What  'is' General-Semantics?" Worth your time to download and study.

"What 'Is' General Semantics?"

Semiotics Pioneer, Charles Morris, Describes 'General Semantics'

"The work of A. Korzybski and his followers, psycho-biological in orientation, has largely been devoted to the therapy of the individual, aiming to protect the individual against exploitation by others and by himself." 
— Charles Morris, in Signs, Language and Behavior (1946)

From the Stray Thought Bin - Watch Your 'Philosophizing'

If you want to go higher and higher,

with your head floating up in the clouds,

Head_in_the_Clouds_by_AndrewDickman
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs5/i/2004/340/1/f/Head_in_the_Clouds_by_AndrewDickman.jpg

make sure that your legs are well-tethered,

to keep both your feet on the ground.  

Looking Out My Window - The Transparency Illusion

Looking out through a window (or making a 'window frame' with your hands), notice what you see through it. Now, look at the window. What do you see of the window itself? What is on the window (smudges, reflections, glare, distortions, et cetera)? Also notice some of what gets blocked out from your view through the window. Now return to look out through the window again. As you look onto the scene, can you extend your awareness to include the window as well? Can you stay aware of what is not within your view? 

Looking through my window, it can seem easy to forget, and it sometimes takes some time to realize, that I am looking through a window. It may take some effort to look at a window I am looking through and to figure out how it may be influencing what I see. 

Each one of us is looking at the world through windows, literal windows, and metaphorical ones: the 'windows' of our 'senses', the 'windows' of our language, the 'windows' of the family and the culture we were born into, the 'windows' of our profession, the 'windows' of the doctrines we hold so dear, et cetera. Windows that we do not see. 

Neurocognitive linguist Sydney Lamb calls this the transparency illusion: 

"A window or a pair of glasses functions best when it is as invisible as possible. The person who wants to study windows must therefore make a special effort to look at the window rather than through it." (Pathways of the brain: The neurocognitive basis of Language. Benjamins, 1999, p. 12-13)

And though we may not be able to remove all of the 'windows' or 'glasses' we look through, many of us could use a radical new prescription. 

The Orphans and the Inheritance: Using the Gifts of the Past

Korzybski provided us with a most precious legacy: a framework of knowledge about human knowledge, a pathway and discipline for becoming more conscious of our consciousness in useful ways for our individual development and social advancement.

However, we must provide the proper receptacle for that inheritance, as we must provide for any gift of knowledge. This gets to an important aspect of time-binding, the potential we have as humans, the capacity we have—which may or may not operate—to benefit from and apply to the present what others have learned in the past. 

Some insight into this comes from an analysis of a saying in the Jewish Pirkei Avot: "Apply yourself to the study of the Torah, for it is not your inheritance." This appears problematic and has required explanation as it seems to contradict this passage in the Hebrew Bible: "Torah is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob." (Deut. 33:4)

A contradiction? 

In Talmudic discourse, " [Rabbi] Beis Yisrael offers a different explanation. Torah knowledge itself is an inheritance of the Jewish nation. However, one must apply himself to study the Torah, for it, [the necessary preparation one needs to acquire that precious heritage] is not yours by inheritance—one must exert himself in the preparation. This is analogous to a group of orphans who were to receive a large inheritance from their father, consisting of money and precious gems. The executor of the estate instructed them to bring luggage to carry away their shares. "What!", they exclaimed, "Such a magnificent estate and we must bring suitcases? Aren't there any among the items left to us by our father?" "No", answered the executor, "your father bequeathed you a fantastic fortune, but he didn't leave you even one basket or piece of luggage. That you must provide yourself." (Artscroll Pirkei Avot, p. 114)

This, as I hope you can see, does not just apply to Jewish Torah teachings, but to any important learning from others both living and dead. Korzybski, and others pursuing his work, have provided us with a most precious legacy. However, we must provide the proper receptacle. Without study and application—work—we cannot benefit from that inheritance. 

From the Stray Thought Bin - "Consciousness Query"

Does a brain have consciousness or does consciousness have a brain? 

"General Semantics: An Approach to Effective Language Behavior"

My friend Steve Stockdale, former Executive Director of the Institute of General Semantics (2004 through 2007) has been involved in developing this online course: "General Semantics: An Approach to Effective Language Behavior" For that reason alone, I feel confident in recommending it to anyone who wants to try an online course and would like a structured introduction to the subject.

I say this despite my qualms about the course's focus on language behavior here, which I consider too narrow and therefore potentially confusing if you want to develop a comprehensive understanding of Korzybski's work.  Because I see GS as a value-infused, applied study of human evaluation/epistemology (how we know what we know) and a non-aristotelian foundation for the human sciences, I would not describe 'general semantics' as this course description does.

I have come to this view, because such a focus on 'language' by people like S. I. Hayakawa, has historically misled students into neglecting a great deal of Korzybski's work that doesn't fit into the 'language studies' box. However, the radically inter-disciplinary nature of 'general semantics' has traditionally made it difficult to classify it in terms of traditional academic boxes. So here we are. It's an old story.

That said, we surely can't leave 'language' out of the picture. As Korzybskian scholar and former Executive Editor of the General Semantics Bulletin, Jim French has written: "As a field of study, general semantics is not predominantly about language but (one might say) about neuro-evaluating; and yet language and how we use it play a prominent role in apprehending and using the discipline." ("Editor's Essay 2001, General Semantics Bulletin, 65-68, p. 8-10)

More Radical General Semantics in India: Report on the General Semantics VII National Workshop - The Spirit of Democratic Citizenship

A report from my friends, respected political scientists Gad Horowitz and Shannon Bell of radicalgeneralsemantics.net, on their recent visit to India teaching on behalf of the Balvant K. Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences. I'm happy to have had some responsibility for getting them over there from their base in Toronto, Canada; I recommended Gad as a wonderful korzybskian resource when I went to India earlier this year, to present at the General Semantics VI National Workshop in Jaipur and other venues, including an Advanced National Workshop on General Semantics:

The Event of Radical General Semantics 2013 

in Baroda, Rajkot and Mumbai

by Shannon Bell

Gad Horowitz’s lecture “Levinas: A New Ethical Orientation,” the third in the Balvant Parekh Distinguished Lecture Series, set the tone for the four day General Semantics VII National Workshop: The Spirit of Democratic Citizenship (Radical General Semantics) Department of English & CLS, Saurashtra University, Rajkot November 13-16.  The following quote from Gad’s Levinas lecture provides an ethical imperative directing the skills and techniques of General Semantics: “The plea of the other COMPELS a response, not politically, rationally, or with force but ethically; there is no way of not responding. Obligation happens here together with every kind and degree of response. It is only in responding to the other that I am constituted as a responsible human agent, no matter to what degree I assume my responsibility.”

Gad began the Rajkot workshop: “I would like to begin by invoking the names of Mahatma Gandhi, who attended high school in this city, Shri Balvant Parekh, the great patron of general-semantics in India, and Alfred Korzybski, the founder of the general-semantics movement.”

He immediately set out what he means by coupling radical with general semantics: “GENERAL-SEMANTICS is not just one ‘human science’ among others. It was founded as a movement aimed at advancing human civilization by way of a radical transformation of its basic grammatical-cognitive-affective structures, which is why I teach it as ‘radical-general-semantics’. It is not merely one critical theory among others but a set of PRACTICES, of the kind that Michel Foucault called ‘practices of the self,’ which can and should be learned and internalized to some extent, ‘neuro-semantically,’ by every human being beginning in childhood.”

The format we followed for each of the four days was first viewing one of the eight video lectures by Gad (there are 22); the video was shown for 15-20 minutes, then I as manager of radicalgeneralsemantics.net, workshop resource person and videographer, would recapitulate central points, ask questions to which Gad himself would respond, followed by interaction from participants. Then again 20 minutes of video followed by the same process. We viewed two video lectures per day covering the following themes: event, object, label levels, structural differential, spiral circularity of human thought, non-elementalism; the devices of general semantics—index, multi-ordinal index, date, chain index, etc., quotes and hyphens—and levels of self.  What impressed me as moderator was the sophisticated placing of English Literature and Indian Philosophy into the large frame of General Semantics by several of the workshop’s senior participants; this included using the event, object, label levels and devices of General Semantics in literary textual analysis.  On day two we assigned the task of focusing attention on a natural object and describing it carefully in sensory-specific language, for example, the description of a so-called “banana” might begin with the words “a yellow elongated object turned up at both sides something like a crescent.” Among the participant’s numerous responses shared the next day was the beautiful description of a pear from Yann Martel's novel Beatrice and Virgil read out by Dr. Ravisinh Zala from the Department of English & CLS.

To ensure that the first-time practitioners of General Semantics were understanding the formulations, we began each morning session with written questions from the participants; the questions ranged from defining such terms as intensional, extensional, non-aristotelian, silent level practice, semantic blocks to questions of a more philosophical nature, such as, ‘what is meant by the “spirit of democratic citizenship”’ and questions of a more practical nature, such as, ‘how will silent practice help in a student’s study life, particularly in reading?’

Saurashtra University lived up to its well-deserved reputation for hospitality complete with the excellent catering service of Parthil Caterers, a tour of Rajkot that included Alfred High School which Mohandas Gandhi attended and the Rama Krishna Temple, a closing dinner on the rooftop terrace of Hotel Sarovar Portico, and a wonderful lunch just for Gad and me at the home of the Head of the Department of English, Dr. Kamal Mehta and Madame Mehta on our last day in Rajkot.

Our two-day General Semantics workshop at the Sir JJ School of Art (November 18 and 19) with the students in Ms. Snehal Tambulwadikar’s class “Art History and Aesthetics” was equally invigorating for us. Here we were teaching General Semantics to newcomers to the field who also happened to be artists. Art was placed in the context of General Semantics and what a perfect context in which to do so – a studio surrounded by forty-some paintings produced by the students attending.

On Day 1, after a superb introduction to General Semantics presented by Dr. Deepa Mishra, Director of a Nodal Centre for General Semantics, Smt CHM College, Gad offered an overview of the main points of General Semantics—structural differential, silent practice, the devices. Several of the art students participated very actively; reference was made to their paintings in the context of the structural differential and object and label levels.

Day 2 began with Gad linking the skills and techniques of General Semantics with Miksang Contemplative Photography http://www.miksang.org/m/index.html and the work of the American artist Charles Biederman, himself a student of General Semantics, http://www.charlesbiederman.net as foreground to Shannon Bell’s work on Shooting Theory. Shannon showed six of the twelve films she has made bringing together digital video technology and print textual philosophy/ theory through imaging philosophical/theoretical concepts. The films shown were Edmund Husserl Blind Residuum Caves https://vimeo.com/21341729,  George Bataille and Simone Weil – Beautiful Waste: Dead Sea Sinkholes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDtr_8n54Cg, Emmanuel Levinas – Shooting the Elemental https://vimeo.com/42109865, Walter Benjamin – Flâneuring Ancient Arcade Ruins https://vimeo.com/46174007, Martin Heidegger – Flashes of Perception https://vimeo.com/71183979, and Samuel Mallin – The Sinuous Turn https://vimeo.com/77701915 . Shannon located imaging theoretical concepts in the broader General Semantics framework of just seeing (pure object level) and seeing as (the level of labeled experience).

We were very pleased to have in attendance at the workshop Sir JJ Dean Vishwanath D. Sabale, Dr. S. Kahn - Director of a Nodal Centre for General Semantics and Ms. Kavita Nimbalkar - Administrator of Corporate Social Responsibilities for Pidilite Industries Ltd.

Aside from the dynamic JJ School of Art workshop, other highlights in Mumbai included the Grand Hotel (where we stayed) view of the industrial port, attempting to drive to Juhu Beach precisely at the time of the sunset water puja just after Diwali and then a walk on Juhu Beach the following day (thanks to Pidilite’s generous hospitality we has the pleasure of being driven here and there by Gajendra by far the best driver in Mumbai), a trip to the Gateway of India during a Jain festival, passing through the crowd to make our offering at the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir Ganesh Temple, skywalking on the Bandra skywalk, repeated trips on the Sea Link, lunch at Café Madras (don’t leave Mumbai without eating at Café Madras) and then on our final day a visit  with Dr. Prafulla Kar to Pidilite Corporate Office to meet and have lunch with Shri Balavant Parekh’s two sons—Madhukar and Ajay Parekh—and Balavant Parekh’s brother Narendrakumar Parekh.  Our discussion touched on Radical General Semantics (Gad had sent his introduction to the Rajkot workshop to the Parekh’s before our meeting); vibrant reminisces of their father and brother’s involvement with General Semantics, their respective experiences attending University of Wisconsin-Madison and Berkley University and ours teaching at University of Toronto and York University; we met many of the staff and had the pleasure of being part of the weekly birthday lunch in which whoever of the 1000 employees has a birthday that week is invited to lunch with the CEOs. We have a copy signed by all three Parekh’s of the Felicitation Volume, Behind the Curtain, presented to Shri Balavant Parehk on the occassion of his 75^th year. Of all the essays documenting a life of endeavor, mindfulness and generosity the most precious to me is “He Has Very Deep Interests in Many Subjects” by Kanta Parekh (his wife).  She jokingly calls him “over-wise” due to his interest and expertise in many subjects – “Psychology, Politics, Science, Gujarati literature, Medicines, etc.” (278)

Walking with Dr. Kar and Gad in The Hanging Gardens and overlooking Marine Drive and the Queen’s Necklace from Kamala Nehru Park shortly before leaving Mumbai, I wondered if Balavant Parekh use to walk here when he was poor and starting out and also when he became one of India’s leading industrialists and philanthropists. He did. One of the essays in Behind the Curtain writes about the older Parekh spending time walking and talking with leading Gujarati and Indian poets in the Hanging Gardens. After all, as Gad said in the Rajkot workshop as he directed us to walking as a silent practice: ‘walking is a sacred obligation’.