Alfred Korzybski

“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.”

“Let us repeat the two crucial negative premises as established firmly by all human experience: (1) Words are not the things we are speaking about; and (2) There is no such thing as an object in absolute isolation.”

“Different ‘philosophies’ represent nothing but methods of evaluation, which may lead to empirical mis-evaluation if science and empirical facts are disregarded.”

“There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking.”

“The objective level is not words, and cannot be reached by words alone. We must point our finger and be silent, or we will never reach this level.”

“The map is not the territory.”