Newly published by the Institute of General Semantics:

Not A, Not Be, &c by Lance Strate

Available in paperback and ebook editions from the IGS store and other online booksellers.

Not A, Not Be, &c is a wonderful intellectual playground. Strate crafts complex systems of ideas into a delightful landscape that will be a joy for any curious mind to roam. ‒Lera Boroditsky, Professor of Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego

In this cryptically titled collection of essays, Strate shows how word play is a serious matter, maps are creative as much as accurate, and logic is often misleading. Despite the initially opaque title, the writing is clear and the argument compelling, demonstrating how language and media are central to the human condition. The book explains and extends upon the insights of Korzybski and general semantics and McLuhan and media ecology, tracing their influence and showing their contemporary relevance. ‒Chris Chesher, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of Sydney

Not A, Not Be, &c invites you to rethink the very constructs that shape our understanding of existence, communication, and human potential. Strate challenges conventional thinking, guiding readers through a nuanced examination of symbolic communication, the limitations of language, and the profound impact of our conceptual frameworks on reality. ‒Heather Maloney-Stassen, Founding Dean, College of Arts, Sciences, & Education, Daemen University

Lance Strate reveals the relevance of general semantics for readers familiar with and new to the field and identifies its link with media ecology. Along the way, Strate establishes how the non-Aristotelian character of general semantics suits the speed and connectivity of our “E” world. The pages are packed with references to ancient wisdoms, scholarly insights, adages of public intellectuals, and pertinent practices of cultural icons—we meet Popeye indexed alongside Plato, Lady Gaga next to Alfred Korzybski himself. The text unsettles conventions, applying the disruptive energy of general semantics to show there is always more: etc. or “&c.” Once you read this book, you won’t hear the phrase “it is what it is” the same way—schooled by Strate to adopt Korzybski’s perspective where nothing is definitive, and more is resident and forthcoming. ‒Jaqueline McLeod Rogers, Professor & Chair, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Communications, University of Winnipeg

Lance Strate is without a doubt our foremost thinker and writer about general semantics and media ecology, and how these two thought systems are so wholly interconnected and overlapping. In this bold collection of essays, he again seeks to move our understanding a great leap forward with respect to what we know about both systems, and with his extensions of what Korzybski, McLuhan, Postman, Bateson, Ong, and so many others, as his giants, have taught us. With each superbly written chapter, he reminds us how his endeavor is nothing more and nothing less than understanding the nature of our human experience as the languaging and symbol-making species. ‒Thom Gencarelli, Professor of Communication, Sound & Media Arts, Manhattan University