The map is not the territory | Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General...

One of the best books ever | Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics (International ... | Alfred Korzybski

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	• Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics (International ... Alfred Korzybski Institute of General Semantics, 1995 - 927 pages average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Important...but difficult to get through

This is an important, yet often overlooked book. It deserves more attention than it has so far had, and it deserves to be in a wider readership than as a source book for neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

The message of this book is important and can be summarised to the classic quote, "The map is not the territory, it is a representation of the territory and useful in so far as it corresponds to the territory" The book is the great statement of non-identity- the description of a thing or process is not the thing or process itself.

The book makes the argument fully, but sadly like Merleau-Ponty's "The Phenomenology of Perception" it's message is often lost amidst linguistic complexity.

This book is important, it does make a worthwhile argument, and it is a basic resource for those interested in NLP, general semantics and neuro-semantics.

The message from this book deserves to reach a bigger audience.

The book is worth reading, but you will need persistence and concentration to get the message out of it.

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The map is not the territory

During my junior year in college I found an original copy of "Science and Sanity" at a used-book store near Columbia University while traveling around the U.S.. I had learned that William S. Burroughs was highly influenced by it, and, being very intrigued by Burroughs and his cut-up writing method, I decided to read it while on the numerous trains that shuttled me across the country that summer.

For me the book seemed somewhat of a revelation in that Korzybski argued how language itself seems so important in defining one's perception of "reality" when at the same time it represents only a symbolic map of the actual objective(?) territory. An extreme example of this occurs in the computing field known as "automated reasoning", where the axioms of some mathematical theory can be represented as predicate-logic statements, which in turn are used by a computer to derive new true statement about the theory. In this case the territory is an abstract entity that is housed within the minds of a select group of humans, known as "mathematicians", while the map represents a collection of logical statements about the theory that represent "what is known" about it. To confuse the map with the territory in this case would represent ignoring the biological neural connections and brain patterns within the mathematician's mind that not only supports the theory by giving it meaning and relevance, but also relates it to other mathematical and scientific theories. In other words, the mathematical truths that can be discovered about the theory via automated reasoning on a computer is likely to be a subset of what will be discovered and "proved" by a human mathematician.

One of the more basic uses of this concept includes avoiding the "is" of identity. For example, "Johnny is stupid", "I'm a terrible driver", etc..
No, Johnny represents a unique, unspeakable, functional part of the universe in which we live. There may have been some behaviors that we observed in Johnny that disqualified him from being categorized as having a certain form of intelligence, but we should not identify Johnny with a word, especially such a negative and destructive one.

Then there is the idea that a given territory will likely have several different maps associated with it, and that quite often disputes arise because two parties have acquired very different maps of the same territory.

Fortunately these ideas have entered the mainstream of psychology and there seems to be much more thought being given to language and how it affects human minds; especially those of children who are always there to remind us of just how unique and miraculous the territory known as a human being can seem.

I gave the book only four stars because it does seem dated in terms of the level of science that is written about in the text.
May be it has already been done, but I would like to see someone write a follow-up book to this one that revisits Korzybski's ideas within the context of the 21st Century, and doing it with a more clear and concise approach.

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One of the best books ever

Science and Sanity seems more like a condensation and culmination of a life work than a book. The range of topics and practical details is on par with the greatest achievements of all time such as Einstein's general theory, Euclid's geometry, and Newton's calculus. Science and Sanity presents a completely workable theoretical model personal empowerment and growth through more precise language (general semantics). Clear and intentional use of symbolism is a big theme in the book and I think anyone who is thoughtful and reflective will not only greatly enjoy the read but will benefit tremendously from the brilliance and clarity of the thoughts explored.

Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics (International Non-Aristotelian Library)

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Science and Sanity

The structure of the human brain is language. Every power of the brain from consciousness to memory to imagination to thought, and even the will to act, is immersed in language. We are our language. And if we know several languages, they are prioritized 1, 2, 3, etc., in our brain. Korzybski shows how limiting the Platonic and Aristotelian notions of objectifying one's existence really are. Reason is enormously limiting. And if reason becomes the primary way in which a person is taught to perceive the world, his or her imaginative powers, which almost always begin as irrational impulses, are suppressed to the point of disfunction. The world is nearly bereft of the kinds of ideas which can only come through the imaginative powers, and which now seem so very quiet and still.

Science and Sanity introduces a much wider "logic," a much wider approach to seeing and functioning in the world. The classic Greek dualities, good OR bad, right OR wrong, logical OR illogical, no longer work alongside the growing illogical way in which modern complex societies actually operate. So we find ourselves forced into accepting good AND bad, right AND wrong, logical AND illogical, realities as societies get more and more complex.

I recommend this book to those whose mind is still pliable enough to leap over the debris of Western idealism and Manifest Destiny to a more tolerant, albeit more complex, way of life.

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