General Semantics

VIII
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “Aristotle’s formulations of the science of his time were probably the most accurate available during his lifetime.  His followers for two thousand years subscribed to the identification that they were true for all time.  In more recent years, new systems of measurement disprove many of these ‘truths’, but they continue to be the basis of the opinions and beliefs of most people.  The two-valued logic on which such folk-thought is founded has accordingly been given the designation aristotelian―abbreviation: A ―and the many-valued logic of modern science has been given the name non-aristotelian―abbreviation: Null-A [or Ā].”
           ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.56-57

IX
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “Semantics has to do with the meaning of meaning, or the meaning of words.  General Semantics has to do with the relationship of the human nervous system to the world around it, and therefore it includes semantics.  It provides an integrating system for all human thought and experience.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.67

X
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, DATE: Do not say, ‘Scientists believe…’Say, ‘Scientists believed in 1956…’  ‘John Smith (1956) is an isolationist…’  All things, including John Smith’s political opinions, are subject to change and can therefore only be referred to in terms of the moment.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.74

XI
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, INDEX:  Do not say, ‘Two little girls…’ unless you mean, ‘Mary and Jane, two little girls, different from each other, and from all other people in the world…”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.82

XII
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, use ET CETERA:  When you say, ‘Mary is a good girl!’ be aware that Mary is much more than ’good.’  Mary is ‘good,’ nice, kind, et cetera, meaning she also has other characteristics.  It is worth remembering, also, that modern psychology―1956―does not consider the placidly ‘good’ individual a healthy personality.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.89

XIII
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, be careful not to LABEL.  Words like Fascist, Communist, Democrat, Republican, Catholic, Jew, [etc.] refer to human beings, who never quite fit any label.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.97

XIV
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, use [QUOTATION MARKS]:  for instance, ‘conscious’ and ‘unconscious’ mind are useful descriptive terms, but it has yet to be proved [1956] that the terms themselves accurately reflect the ‘process’ level of events.  They are maps of a territory about which we can possibly never have exact information.  Since  [Ā] Null-A training is for the individuals, the important thing is to be conscious of the ‘multiordinal’ ―that is the many valued―meaning of the words one hears or speaks.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.114

XV
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “A few of the operational principles of general semantics are as follows:  (1) Human nervous systems are structurally similar one to the other, but are never exactly the same.  (2) Any human nervous system is affected by events―verbal or nonverbal.  (3) An event―that is ‘a happening’―affects the body-and-mind as a whole.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.132

XVI
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, learn to evaluate an event in terms of total response.  Total response includes visceral and nervous changes, and emotional reaction, the thought about the event, the spoken statement, the reaction repressed, the action taken, et cetera.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.140

XVII
NULL ABSTRACTS

        “For the sake of sanity, be aware of SELF-REFLEXIVENESS.  A statement can be about reality or it can be about a statement about a statement about reality, [etc.].
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.144

XVIII
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, remember: ‘The map is not the territory, the word is not the thing it describes.’  Wherever the map is confused with the territory, a ‘semantic disturbance’ is set up in the organism.  The disturbance continues until the limitation of the map is recognized.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.158

XIX
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, remember:  First is the event, the initial stimulus; second is the nervous impact of the event, via the senses; third is the emotional reaction based on the past experience of the individual; fourth comes the verbal reaction.  Most individuals identify the first and fourth steps, and are not aware that the second and third exist.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.171

XX
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “For the sake of sanity, each individual should break down the blockages in his own nervous system.  A blockage is a semantic disturbance in which adequate response is inhibited.  Blockages can often be eliminated by the proper use of the thalamo-cortical ‘delayed reaction,’ by self-analysis, or by heteroanalysis.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.177

XXI
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “It is not enough to know about Null-A training techniques.  They must be learned on the automatic, that is, the ‘unconscious’ level.  The ‘talking-about’ stage must give way to the ‘doing’ stage.  The goal is flexibility of approach below the verbal level to any event.  General semantics is designed to give the individual a sense of direction, not a new set of inflexibilities.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.183

XXII
NULL ABSTRACTS

     “ General semantics is a discipline, and not a philosophy.  Any number of new Null-A oriented philosophies are possible, just as any number of geometrical systems can be developed.  Possibly, the most important requirement of our civilization is the development of a Null-A [non-aristotelian] oriented political economy.  It can be stated categorically that no such system has yet [2022] been developed.  The field is wide open for bold and imaginative men and women to create a system that will free mankind of war, poverty and tension.  To do this it will be necessary to take control of the world away from people who identify.”
          ― Van Vogt, A. E., The Players of Null-A, 1948, Gregg Press Edition, June 1977, Null-Abstracts, p.186