To use words to sense reality is like going with a lamp to search for darkness.
Alfred KorzybskiRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying structure of knowledge rather than merely relying on verbal expressions.
Alfred Korzybski argues that language and words are not the actual objects or concepts they refer to; instead, the structure of these words provides the true link to knowledge. He warns that relying on verbal constructs without empirical evidence can lead to misleading ideas and confusion, suggesting a need for clarity and a deeper understanding of the structures that underlie our language and knowledge.
Themes
LanguageStructureKnowledgeEmpiricalDelusions
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussing the nature of knowledge.
More from Alfred Korzybski
All quotes →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.
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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.
Alfred KorzybskiRead
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 KorzybskiRead
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