This paper, raised by L Cox, is entitled
A General Method of Evaluation
One could ask what general method will Milton Dawes be drawing on when presenting his three seminars in November 2002? I offer a brief explanation beginning with a historical account.
After World War I in 1918, some serious questions were raised as to why, or how, such tragic loss of life and resources came about. What background factors led to this slaughter and devastation?
A research period of 10 years brought partial answers.
One significant factor was found to be the way in which politicians and leaders in the capitals of pre-war Europe thought about, or evaluated, what was going on.
Some serious errors were discovered in this process. Mis-evaluation and mis-communication were found to figure prominently.
This led to the formulation of a system of more effective evaluating-communicating. This method became known as "general-semantics".
The principal researcher and formulator of this new method was a scientist and multi-linguist named Alfred Korsybski, a Polish intelligence officer attached to the Russian army. Korsybski was the one who formulated the key questions referred to above and researched them in the post-war period.
General-semantic practitioners and researchers, principally in the United States, have developed the system which is now taught at university and institute levels. It is currently applied in areas including:
Consequently, Milton Dawes has a rich body of knowledge on which to draw during his Sydney-based tour. One concern which may well be addressed is the background worry and anxiety currently generated by world terrorism.
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