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.
Interpretation
Words and maps represent concepts, but they are not the actual realities they depict; understanding this connection is crucial.
This quote by Alfred Korzybski emphasizes the distinction between words (or language) and the actual objects or experiences they refer to. The essence of our understanding lies in the underlying structure that connects our linguistic expressions to the real world, highlighting that our perceptions and descriptions are merely interpretations rather than the complete reality itself.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of communication in relationships, this quote can illustrate the limitations of language.
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.
To use words to sense reality is like going with a lamp to search for darkness.
I want to make clear only that words are not the things spoken about, and that there is no such thing as an object in absolute isolation.
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.
It's a mystery. That's the first thing that interests me about the idea of God. If there is one, it's mysterious and powerful and awesome to even consider the concept, and you have to take it seriously.
Only the small secrets need to be protected. The large ones are kept secret by public incredulity.
You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.
During the Great Depression, African Americans were faced with problems that were not unlike those experienced by the most disadvantaged groups in society. The Great Depression had a leveling effect, and all groups really experienced hard times: poor whites, poor blacks.
I shall be as secret as the grave.
"This - is now my way - where is yours"? Thus did I answer those who asked me "the way". For the way - it does not exist!
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