Editors Corey Anton and Lance Strate culled sixteen essays for the long-awaited multidisciplinary volume titled Korzybski And..., which is now available in the IGS Store.

About the Book

In this volume, Corey Anton and Lance Strate have carefully crafted a collection of comparisons of Korzybski's thoughts to other key philosophers and their ideas. Media, semiotics, imagination, rational thought, cultural studies, and cyberculture are only a sample of the many stimulating topics that come to life in this book ... With freshness and vision, this edited collection takes us on a thought-provoking journey connecting us to the essence of Korzybski's contribution. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.

- Karen Lollar Ph.D.
Chair, Communication Arts and Sciences Metropolitan State University of Denver
Author of The Talk Within: Its Central Role in Communication (2012)

The collection of essays contained within this book represent a gallant and exquisite attempt to backtrack, as well as to sidetrack and track ahead, and show how Alfred Korzybski's enterprise is indeed aligned not only with various strains and traditions in academic thought and scholarship, but with the work of a host of significant theorists from across the disciplines. As such Corey Anton, Lance Strate, and their contributors have done a great service to Korzybski's legacy, and to the continuation and expansion of general semantics as both an applied and a theoretical system. They have positioned Korzybski and his work as a locus, rather than an outlier.

- Thom Gencarelli
Manhattan College

Corey Anton and Lance Strate have assembled a "wild variety" of 16 erudite essays demonstrating the past, present and continuing influence and relevance of Korzybskian general semantics. Academic specialists from diverse fields explore the "connections, intersections, and divergences" between general semantics and assorted topics ranging from phenomenology to psychotherapy to philosophy; from Heinlein to Hayakawa to Heidegger; from matters of time and temporality to the nature of human happiness. Korzybski And... is a collection not to be missed, an example of time-binding at its finest.

- Jacqueline Rudig
IGS Past Vice-President

About the Editors

Corey Anton is Professor of Communication Studies at Grand Valley State University and author of dozens of scholarly papers and book chapters, as well as author of the book Communication Uncovered: General Semantics and Media Ecology (2011). His research spans the fields of existential phenomenology, media ecology, semiotics, communicology, the philosophy of communication, and multidisciplinary communication theory.

Lance Strate is Professor of Communication and Media Studies and Director of the Professional Studies in New Media program at Fordham University.  He is the author of On the Binding Biases of Time and Other Essays on General Semantics and Media Ecology as well as editor of a number of books on media ecology.

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Martin H. Levinson is back with the follow-up to his book Sensible Thinking for Turbulent Times.  Titled More Sensible Thinking, the book is now available in the IGS Store.

About the Book

In these times of rapid change and constant upheaval, can we learn to think and communicate more effectively-at home, in school, on the job, and as citizens of the larger world?

This book (like its predecessor Sensible Thinking for Turbulent Times), which is based on the formulations of general semantics, says yes, yes, and yes!

Topics in it include practical ways to improve your thinking ability, emotional self-management, understanding of the media, and analysis of important social issues.

About the Author

Martin H. Levinson, Ph.D., is the President of the Institute of General Semantics and the author of numerous articles and several books on general semantics and other subjects. His previous book is Brooklyn Boomer: Growing Up in the Fifties (2011).

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Volume 69, Number 4 (October 2012), of the Institute of General Semantics's quarterly journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics is arriving in the mail and is now available for download from the IGS Store in searchable PDF format.

• Click here to download ETC 69:4 from the IGS Store.

Table of Contents Preview

• "General Semantics, Science, and Medicine: A Quality Approach" by Richard Fiordo
• "Who's the Mother" by Bill Haase
• "Indexing the Religious Beliefs of America's Founders" by Martin H. Levinson
• "Fascism as a Semantic Void into the Meta-Narrative of Rational Modernity" by Alessandro Saluppo
• Two Poems:
  "Foreclosure" by Peter E. Murphy
  "Good Grief" by Peter E. Murphy
• "One God" by Ed Tywoniak and Frances Tywoniak
• "Objectivity--Does It Exist?" by Mark S. Tucker
• "Advanced Thinking: Mathematics, General Semantics ... Ways to Improve Relationships" by Milton Dawes
• "Formal Cause, Poiesis, Rhetoric: A Dialogue" by Eric McLuhan and Peter Zhang
• "Bindings and Becomings: Korzybski, Deleuze, and Ecological Thinking" by Peter Zhang and Eric Jenkins
• Metaphors in Action:
  "Two Generation Gaps" by Raymond Gozzi, Jr.
• Probes:
  "Philosophy How?" by Peter Zhang
• Plus From the Editor, Book Reviews, and Dates and Indexes.

Cover Art

The cover of ETC 69:4 is a photograph titled "Sincere Plastic Advertising" by Jeremy Wolff.

• Click here to view more work by Jeremy Wolff.

After many years of stellar service, Bill Petkanas has stepped down from his position as editor of the journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics, published by the Institute of General Semantics.

Ed Tywoniak, Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the department of Communication at Saint Mary's College, will be replacing him starting with the January 2013 issue.

• Click here to order recent issues of ETC: A Review of General Semantics.
• Click here to learn more about ETC: A Review of General Semantics.

Volume 69, Number 3 (July 2012), of the Institute of General Semantics's quarterly journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics will be out soon in the mail and is now available for download from the IGS Store in searchable PDF format.

• Click here to download ETC 69:3 from the IGS Store.

Table of Contents Preview

• "Pivotal Terms in Media Ecology: A Dialogue" by Eric McLuhan and Peter Zhang
• "Two Assignments Introducing Studetns to Mapping Problems" by Tim Lyons
• "The Meaning of Freedom: Āzādi, Alas!" by K. Narayana Chandran
• "Advanced Thinking: Mathematics, General Semantics ... Ways to Improve Relationships" by Milton Dawes
• "The Challenges of Denotative and Connotative Meaning for Second-Language Learners" by Youssif Zaghwani Omar
• Metaphors in Action:
  "Robots and Love" by Raymond Gozzi, Jr.
• Probes:
  "Numerotherapy and Its Metamessage" by Peter Zhang
• Plus Book Reviews.

Cover Art

The cover of ETC 69:3 is a work titled "The Faculties" by Dom Heffer.

• Click here to view more art by Dom Heffer.

The Drug Problem: A New View Using the General Semantics Approach, Martin Levinson's 2002 book that brings the advantages of general semantics to the drug abuse problem is now available as a PDF ebook for download from the IGS Store.

About the Book

Current approaches to the drug problem are not working and almost everyone agrees that more effective solutions are needed. This comprehensive volume offers a dynamic new approach to understanding and solving the drug problem. This text applies the techniques and formulations of general semantics to investigate and make recommendations about various aspects of drug abuse. General semantics, a process problem-solving approach based on the primacy of the scientific method and importance of language as a shaper of thoughts and perceptions, has a proven record of success in problem-solving across a wide variety of disciplines and fields.

Topics examined include American drug history and policy, the legalization issue, drugs and creativity, treatment, and prevention. A chronological overview of drug-taking in human history and a resource guide are provided. One chapter offers an in-depth description of an effective drug abuse prevention model and a program using the model.

About the Author

Martin H. Levinson, PhD, is the president of the Institute of General Semantics and vice president of the New York Society for General Semantics.  He is the author of numerous articles and several books on general semantics and other subjects.  His latest book is Brooklyn Boomer Growing up in the Fifties (2011).

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Volume 69, Number 2 (April 2012), of the Institute of General Semantics's quarterly journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics will be out soon in the mail and is now available for download from the IGS Store in searchable PDF format.

• Click here to download ETC 69:2 from the IGS Store.

Table of Contents Preview

• "The Place of the Other" by Gary Gumpert and Susan J. Drucker
• "Reflections on Writing in the Twenty-First Century and GS Strategies for Teaching It" by Philip Vasallo
• "Teaching Writing through General Semantics and General Semantics through Writing: A Stylistic Approach" by Richard Fiordo
• "A Difference That Makes a Difference" by Bruce Kodish
• "A General Semantics Analysis of the RMS Titanic Disaster" by Martin H. Levinson
• "The Language of Scam Spams: Linguistic Features of 'Nigerian Fraud' E-mails" by Deborah Schaffer
• "Hidden Divinities" by Michael Moore
• "The Rhetorical-Theatrical Sensibility as Equipment for Living" by Peter Zhang, Yi Z, and Xi Yang
• "What Is True, and What Is Real, Providing the Non-Aristotelian Tools to Orient You" by Gary M. Jaron
• "Meaning in Silence as the Quaker Tradition" by Michael H. Plugh
• "Plausible Quotations and Reverse Credibility in Online Vernacular Communities" by Quentin J. Schultze and Randall L. Bytwerk
• Metaphors in Action:
  "Is the Computer a Communist?" by Raymond Gozzi, Jr.
• "Probes: Chiasmus as a Mode of Probing of the Lord and Man" by Peter Zhang
• Plus Book Reviews and Dates & Indexes.

Cover Art

The cover of ETC 69:2 is a work titled "Jerusalem Stone" by Kyle Perler.

• Click here to view more art by Kyle Perler.

Trained engineer and communications expert Allan Laurence Brooks has recently published Think Smart, Talk Smart: How Scientists Think: A Guide to Effective Communication, a new book available in the IGS Store.

About the Book

No one doubts that science underlies every tangible aspect of our lives, but few people apply its systematic style of thinking to improve their communication styles. To get the most out of science, it’s important to understand science as a style of thinking rather than just a forbidding collection of facts and mathematics. Individuals who learn how scientists collect evidence, evaluate facts, and draw conclusions can improve their own thought processes and overcome shortcomings.

Written by a trained engineer and communications expert, this guidebook provides the tools you need to sharpen your thinking skills, hone your communication skills, refine your evaluation of data, and improve your objectivity. You’ll also learn important theories and ways of thinking from scientists and scholars such as Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Marshall McLuhan, Werner Heisenberg, and many others.

By sharing case studies and questioning assumptions, author Allan Laurence Brooks provides a roadmap that allows you to immediately improve your communication with others. Leave obstacles behind and approach life like a scientist with Think Smart, Talk Smart.

About the Author

Allan Laurence Brooks holds a master's degree in communication studies; he has forty-five years of experience as a graduate engineer. He has taught communications for more than fifteen years and was a member of the English Department of the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York. He currently lives in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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At the 13th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association, the Institute of General Semantics is sponsoring a panel presentation on the importance of general semantics to more effective human communication.

General Information

The Thirteenth Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association
"The Crossroads of the Word"
June 7–10, 2012
Manhattan College
Riverdale, New York
http://media-ecology.org/activities/index.html

IGS Panel

Moderator

Lance Strate

Panel Presenters

Corey Anton
Martin H. Levinson

Today, the Board of Trustees of the Institute of General Semantics elected two new trustees: Edward E. Tywoniak and Kristene A. Doyle.

Edward Tywoniak

Edward E. Tywoniak, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, School of Liberal Arts, of Saint Mary’s College of California.  Dr. Tywoniak has been a professor of Communication at Saint Mary's College of California for over 30 years, and the upcoming 2012-13 academic year marks his third appointment as Chair of the department of Communication. He currently sits on the Core Curriculum Committee and the Technology Advisory Committee, is a Faculty Fellow for Curriculum and Technology, and is a W. M. Keck Research Fellow and Director of the Digital Studies program within the School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary's College. Other current board affiliations include membership on the board of directors for the Media Ecology Association, the board of trustees of the School of Applied Theology at the Berkeley Graduate Theology Union, and the board of directors of EBI--a non-profit organization serving the developmentally disabled adult population of the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Kristene A. Doyle

Kristene A. Doyle, Ph.D., is the Director of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City.  At the Albert Ellis Institute, Dr. Doyle is also a Staff Psychologist, the Director of Clinical Services, the Director of Child and Family Services, and a Training and Development Coordinator.  She has been a clinical supervisor for both the childhood clinical track and the school psychology doctoral program at St. John's University since 2000.  She received her doctorate in combined clinical and school psychology from Hofstra University in 1999.

Our Board

• Click here for the current list of the Institute of General Semantics board of trustees.