Manhood of humanity
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| Manhood of humanity - Alfred Korzybski |
the science and art of human engineering
From introduction;
This book is primarily a study of Man and ultimately embraces all the great qualities and problems of Man. As a study of Man, it takes into consideration all the characteristics which make Man what he is.
If some readers do note the absence of certain expressions familiar to them, it does not mean that the author does not feel or think as many other people he does and very much so; but in this book an effort has been made to approach the problem of Man from a scientific-mathematical point of view, and therefore great pains have been taken not to use words insufficiently defined, or words with many meanings.
The author has done his utmost to use such words as convey only the purpose intended. In the case of some words, such as "spiritual," there has been superadded the word "so-called," not because the author has any belief or disbelief in such phenomena; there is no need for beliefs because some such phenomena exist, no matter what we may think of them or by what name we call them; but because the word "spiritual" is not scientifically defined, and every individual understands and uses this word in a personal and private way.
To be personal the author has had to indicate this element by adding "so-called." I repeat once again that this book is not a "materialistic" or a "spiritualistic" book it is a study of "Man" and therefore does and should include materialistic as well as spiritual phenomena because only the complexity of these phenomena constitutes the complex of Man. The problem has not been approached from the point of view of any private doctrine or creed, but from a mathematical, engineering, point of view, which is impersonal and passionless.
It is obvious that to be able to speak about the great affairs of Man, his spiritual, moral, physical, economic, social or political status, it must first be ascertained what Man is what is his real nature and what are the basic laws of his nature.
If we succeed in finding the laws of human nature, all the rest will be a comparatively easy task the ethical, social, economic and political status of Man should be in accord with the laws of his nature; then civilization will be a human civilization a permanent and peaceful one - not before.
It is useless to argue if electricity is "natural" "material" or of "spiritual" origin. As a matter of fact we do not ask these questions in studying electricity; we endeavour to find out the natural laws governing it and in handling live wires we do not argue or speculate about them PREFACE xi we use rubber gloves, etc.
It will be the same with Man and the great affairs of Man we have, first of all, to know what Man is. Though this book has been written with scrupulous care to avoid words or terms of vague meaning and though it often may seem coldly critical of things metaphysical, it has not been written with indifference to that great, perhaps the greatest, urge of the human heart the craving for spiritual truth our yearning for the higher potentialities of that which we call "mind," "soul" and "spirit" but it has been written with the deep desire to find the source of these qualities, their scientific significance and scientific proof of them.
So that they may be approached and studied by the best minds of the world without the digressions, and misinterpretations that are caused by the colour and the confusion of personal emotions; and if the book is read with care, it will be seen that, though the clarifying definition of the classes of life has been chiefly used in the book for its great carrying power in the practical world, its greatest help will ultimately be in guiding the investigation, the right valuation and especially the control and use of the higher human powers.
Contents;
I. INTRODUCTION.
Method and Processes of Approach to a New
Concept of Life I
II. CHILDHOOD OF HUMANITY 27
III. CLASSES OF LIFE 46
IV. WHAT is MAN? 66
V. WEALTH 93
VI. CAPITALISTIC ERA
VII. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 139
VIII. ELEMENTS OF POWER 155
IX. MANHOOD OF HUMANITY 167
X. CONCLUSION 204
APPENDICES
I. MATHEMATICS AND TIME-BINDING 209
II. BIOLOGY AND TIME-BINDING 224
III. ENGINEERING AND TIME-BINDING 255
details :
Author: Alfred Korzybski
Publication date: 1921
Company: New York : E. P. Dutton & Company