Introduction to General Semantics
by Laurie Cox, M.A.
30/05/2010
Language and
culture were formed, let us say, by people living in tribal societies, such as
hunters and gatherers. Thus, our
language had primitive beginnings.
The "classical" Greek philosophers lived and wrote
around 350BC. Aristotle was a key
figure in that society. His work is
referred to as the "Aristotelian System". But because this system is nearly 2,500 years old, it contains a
lot of out-of-date ideas. Despite this,
the Aristotelian System lives on.
Indeed, it forms a large part of our Western language and culture today.
But, in 1933, a
revision was made, and is now referred to as General Semantics. This new approach challenges and tests us,
because it asks us to drop many ways of "thinking", or evaluating,
and adapt new ways, in other words, changing habits. Some changes are:
·
Changing argument
into constructive dialogue,
·
Being aware of
the vital part language plays in decision-making,
·
Respecting,
though not necessarily agreeing with, others' opinions,
·
Firmly focussing
on the perceptions and responses of others,
·
Dropping the idea
that we have only one or two choices, when we may in fact have many choices,
General Semantics
also focusses on the use and value of conversations. We can learn a lot from these.
We can, for
example, reflect on:
·
Which
conversations went well? In what way?
·
Which
conversations did not go well, and what did we do or say to turn a simple
conversation into an argument?
·
What can we learn
from both outcomes?
Thus, from "ordinary conversations", we
learn lessons on strategies to apply in the important or complex ones.
We also need to
apply, or use, our theories or assumptions, thus testing them, as often as
possible. Therefore, the new habit of
applying or using these GS principles can teach us many things.
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What
is General Semantics?
by
Laurie Cox, M.A.
30/05/2010
One way of understanding General
Semantics is to see it as a method of assessing or examining a complex
situation, and communicating effectively about it. Both our sight and our hearing are limited. We do not pick up everything in our
immediate environment, especially other people's meanings, and we have at best,
a partial knowledge of significant world events.
So we must
necessarily carry a good deal of uncertainty and a spirit of inquiry. We can always improve our skills of:
·
Asking carefully-formed questions,
·
Listening attentively,
·
Recognising assumptions that we will
inevitably draw,
·
Knowing how to test the assumptions
that we are aware of, and remembering that we are making further underlying
assumptions of which we are not aware; (It is unconscious assumptions that can
give us a lot of trouble, even disaster!)
·
Being aware that other people are
also constantly making assumptions.
I have found these points to be a
good starting point, but of course, the discipline of GS is much wider than
this. The foregoing, that is, may be
viewed as a rough starting point, but nothing more!
For
further information, please contact
Laurie
Cox (0415) 496 483, or (02) 9713 7950
Robert
James (02) 6241 1099
Ags
soc @ hotmail . com
(without the spaces)
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