Date: 04 May 97 13:02:17 EDT
>From: "Milton L. Dawes" <102362.1465@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Copy of: semantic blockage?

"Sanity must be based on the most efficient use of the human nervous system 
inaccordance with its structure, and will thus bring about the full working of
human capacities, which at present are still semantically blocked by faulty
handling of the apparatus" ( Science and Sanity,  page 328).  

"Sanity means adjustment  and without the minimum of the best structural
knowledge of each date concerning this world, such adjustment is impossible".
Science and Sanity,  page  727.

 Among the behaviors  that Korzybski  considered  as examples of  "faulty
handling of the apparatus"  were  behaviors he labelled   "identification",
"allness", "elementalistic'',  among others. Following this,  I 'think' of
"semantic blocker/blockage"  as " anything (symbolic, chemical, physical, etc.)
that  operates against  "full working of  our capacities"  towards sanity.  And
since a fundamental  feature of that capacity is our ability to  evaluate our
evaluations, a ''semantic blocker" would be for me  "any  'thought', 'feeling',
attitude, belief, act,  etc., that blocks (in general, or in particular
instances)  our ability to evaluate our evaluations: Anything that operates to
block the attainment of structural knowledge at a date/place.  Anything that
operates to block our awareness of  identifying one thing with another.
Anything  that  operates to prevent   us from recognizing our ''allness''
tendencies   - in statemants we make, what we know,  beliefs we hold dear,
understandings we have. Anything which prevents us from recognizing that we make
maps about our world;  and that these maps (opinions, ideas, beliefs, knowledge,
observations, 'feeling',  and so on, represents inhouse nervous system
processings of what's going on the  outside) 

Here are  examples of other  potential  'blockers'. Identification of words with
the processes they represent:  cultural conditionings and trainings, personal
habits,  world view, religious convictions,   fears,  high/low levels  of
self-esteem, values (things we hold dear), social roles ( age , position,
profession, achievements, and so on),  level of education,   previous knowledge,
drugs and  alcohol  over use;  non awareness that we abstract, unawareness of
assumptions being made, confusing descriptions, with inferences,  being sure of
ourselves,  prejudices,  signal reactions ( jumping to conclusions ) cultural,
social, religious, and other  conditionings,   language,  brain lesions,
exhaustion, to name a few.  I must emphasize again that the above  do not
necessarily operate as blockers. They  qualify as  'blockers' only when they
work against  adjustments  toward sanity. 

"How 'blockers' operate at neurological levels" calls for  some speculation.
Here is one. We 'know' that neural circuits are in constant interaction with
each other, sometimes reinforcing, sometimes restraining others. I can well
imagine  that at those times when  I 'feel' afraid say,   the  more active
neural circuits related to this state,  might  send  'commands'  that
effectively  block or diminish the activities of other  circuits: circuits that
might be involved say,  in critical evaluation of the situation. Of course my
experience of fear might, at another time, trigger critical evaluating. So  I am
emphasizing again, that  it is not  so  simple a matter to say that some things
are blockers, or create semantic blockage,  and some things do not. Anything can
create semantic blockage if it functions to block evaluation of our evaluations.

Milton