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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Since words and maps aren't reality, only structure connects language to the objective world.
- In plain terms
- Structure links language to reality, not direct word-to-object identity.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on structure, not word identity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does your map differ from the territory?
- Where do you rely on structure?
Another view
Some argue content matters more than structure.
More from Alfred Korzybski
Any proposition containing the word 'is' creates a linguistical structural confusion which will eventually give birth to serious fallacies.
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