It is amusing to discover, in the twentieth century, that the quarrels between two lovers, two mathematicians, two nations, two economic systems, usually assumed insoluble in a finite period should exhibit one mechanism, the semantic mechanism of identification - the discovery of which makes universal agreement possible, in mathematics and in life.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Many conflicts share a common semantic root, which can enable universal agreement.
- In plain terms
- Quarrels often share a language problem that can be fixed for agreement.
- What can you take from it?
- Fix semantic issues to resolve conflicts.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What semantic issues block agreement?
- How could better language solve disputes?
Another view
Not all conflicts have semantic solutions.
More from Alfred Korzybski
God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won't. (Korzybski states that it is not his quote in S&S)
Permalink to quote #12 Any proposition containing the word 'is' creates a linguistical structural confusion which will eventually give birth to serious fallacies.
Permalink to quote #14 There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.
Permalink to quote #11
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