[Neurons] 2019 Neurons #2 KORZYBSKI ON UNLEASHING HUMAN POTENTIALS

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2019 Neurons #2

January 7, 2019

Executive Thinking and Korzybski (#7) 

 

 

ALFRED KORZYBSKI ON

UNLEASHING HUMAN POTENTIALS

 

Korzybski created General Semantics because he had a vision for mankind -a
vision of human beings growing up out of the "childhood" of humanity.  His
vision was also beyond the power of any single individual-a vision that
required the collaboration of many, many people (Science and Sanity, pp.
560-561).

 

That vision grew from a question.  As a engineer, he readily recognized that
year after year, decade after decade, century after century-our ability to
engineer better buildings and bridges kept improving.  It gets better
because we build on the previous discoveries and understandings of those who
went before us.  

"So why are we not getting better and better in the 'soft' sciences?  How is
it that we keep improving in science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc.
but not in psychology, sociology, politics, anthropology, etc.?  What is the
difference?"

 

Korzybski's answer, in part, was that in the sciences that are progressing,
we have developed specialized language that is precise.  But we have not
done that in the others.  A science that develops precision language and
that can be productively critical of itself (receiving feedback from
experiments that show what doesn't work) keeps developing.  Where we have
learned how to be specific, we are able to build on previous knowledge.
Understanding, knowledge, skills, etc. can grow and develop when we have a
way to be precise and self-critical.  That allows us to tap into human
potentials in a new way.

"The origin of this work was a new functional definition of 'man' ... based
on an analysis of uniquely human potentialities; namely, that each
generation may begin where the former left off.  The characteristic I call
the 'time-binding' capacity." (Korzybski, Science and Sanity, 5th Ed. 1993,
p. xxxxii) 

 

Starting where the former generation left off- that was the idea.  Yet for
that to happen, we have to be able to both effectively communicate the
information that's developed and test that information.  If we can't put it
to the test, we can't find out if it is just fluff and imaginary.  We can't
develop robust information that can serve as foundational.  We also have to
be able to reflect on what we already know, have learned, and think to keep
improving it.  For this, Korzybski offered a Theory of Multi-Ordinality
which he contended was the basis of sanity.

 

All of this explains the importance of critical thinking.  It is not enough
to just think- we have to examine and re-examine our thinking.  We have to
test our thinking and question it against the facts and the criteria of
credibility.  And that's what the executive functions in your brain were
designed to do.  But you also have to learn how to use the higher executive
functions in order to do that.  And that's where we typically need a
cognitive make-over.

 

I like what Joseph Yeager wrote about thinking: "There are always options if
we know how to think of them." (Thinking about Thinking with NLP, 1985, p.
25).  Yet that's the crucial factor- knowing how to think of something.  So
what stops you?

 

Surprising one big thing that stops us is- previous thoughts.  It works this
way.  Once you think about something-your thinking itself becomes a way of
thinking.  And then, as a way of thinking (a thinking style or pattern) it
gives you a format, a template, and/or a frame for future thinking.  That's
good.  It is also bad if you get locked into that way of thinking.  When
that happens, you become stuck.  You become stuck in your thinking, boxed-in
to that way of thinking.  That's why you need to get out of that box.  And
there are ways to do that.

 

Here's another factor that can stop you.  What can stop you is that you are
not even aware that your thinking is the problem.  You are thinking, but not
thinking about your thinking- and without doing that, you can't manage your
thinking.  And that means you can't tap your thinking potentials of
creativity, innovation, wise decision-making, etc.  This is why
meta-thinking (meta-cognitive) skills are so important.  So while unleashing
potentials requires numerous things- I mentioned some 25 factors in the book
Unleashed (2007).  Yet at the heart of unleashing, it involves a cognitive
make-over.

 

 

 

                            

 

              

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director 

Neuro-Semantics 

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

                    Dr. Hall's email:
<mailto:meta at acsol.net\hich\af31506\dbch\af31505\loch\f31506> meta at acsol.net


    cid:261CED33-4408-4124-862B-B9A4B37A367A

    

 

Dr. L. Michael Hall writes a post on "Neurons" each Monday.  For a free
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