Semantics quotes

◆ 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 Korzybski100

◆ It is now no mystery that some quite influential philosophers were mentally ill.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ If a psychiatric and scientific inquiry were to be made upon our rulers, mankind would be appalled at the disclosures.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ Whatever you say it is, it isn't.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ The analogy between the noises we make when these noises do not symbolize anything which exists, and the worthless checks we write when our bank balance is zero

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ If we consider that all we deal with represents constantly changing sub-microscopic, interrelated processes which are not, and cannot be identical with themselves, the old dictum that everything is identical with itself becomes in [todays understanding of the universe] a principle invariably false to facts.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ A few philosophers really do important work. This applies to the so called critical philosophy and to the theory of knowledge or epistemology. This class of workers I call epistemologists to avoid the disagreeable implications of the term philosopher.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ If a psychiatric and scientific inquiry were to be made upon our rulers, mankind would be appalled at the disclosures.If a psychiatric and scientific inquiry were to be made upon our rulers, mankind would be appalled at the disclosures.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ In the rough, a symbol is a sign that stands for something Before a noise, etc., may become a symbol, something must exist for the symbol to symbolize.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ We should not be surprised that we find meaningless noises in the foundation of many old philosophies, and that from them arise most of the old philosophical fights and arguments.

- Alfred Korzybski99

◆ Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words.

- Alfred Korzybski99