I first read about General Semantics in "Drive yourself Sane", followed by GS lectures by Korzybski.
When I mention GS sometimes I get comments that start with, "Without going into the merits of General Semantics...".
My questions are:
Who are the main detractors of GS?
What are the arguments?
Why isn't GS taught everywhere, but certainly at the High School level?
When I mention GS sometimes I get comments that start with, "Without going into the merits of General Semantics...".
My questions are:
Who are the main detractors of GS?
What are the arguments?
Why isn't GS taught everywhere, but certainly at the High School level?
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Thu, June 16, 2005 - 2:02 AMWho are the main detractors of GS?
Martin Gardner and Max Black originally, and a host of (loony?) people who call GS a "cult."
What are the arguments?
Too numerous to list. The ones who call it a "cult" try to tie it to Scientology.
Gardner's and Black's arguments had more to do with what they saw as Korzybski's misunderstanding of the underpinnings of Aristotlean logic, his verbosity, and his tendency to tread into metaphysical waters.
Why isn't GS taught everywhere, but certainly at the High School level?
You're kidding, right? You don't think the public schools exist to actually teach something useful, do you? I have managed to forget most of what I learned in high school, and have not missed it one bit. All that math, science, history, etc.... None of it proved useful later in life, except from the perspective of knowing more about humanity and human knowledge. But for daily usage? Most of what they teach in schools amounts to busy work to prevent kids from going buck wild in the streets, if you ask me.... -
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Thu, June 16, 2005 - 11:09 AMThanks Evan.
I knew that GS was one of the few sources cited by Hubbard. But as far as I know there is no evidence of contact between Korzybski and Hubbard.
I'll look up Gardner and Black. Martin Gardner seems to have espoused negativity publicly towards lots of stuff.
If not High School, certainly college. I don't recall being offered GS as a possible course. Alas, you may be right. -
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Thu, June 16, 2005 - 11:55 AMBased on Evan's pointer I found:
www.driveyourselfsane.com/gsart...k.html
Contra Max Black. Discusses Black, Gardner and others.
Thanks again. -
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Mon, October 17, 2005 - 10:59 AMHey, this is a great link. Or so it seems to me, anyway. Thanks!
-
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Thu, June 16, 2005 - 1:42 PMHubbard definitely started his religion with some GS involved. My understanding, however, is that by th sixties all remnants of GS had been purged from Scientology. -
-
Re: General Semantics detractors?
Tue, October 18, 2005 - 11:35 AMJust because some group adopts techniques or approaches to serve its own ends doesn't obviate the value of those approaches. Two edged swords are often encountered and
in the case mentioned GS certainly proved to be one.
-
-
-