Hofstra University Conference (1996)

semantics could contribute to Developing Sanity in Human Affairs in many ways as we conclude this century and move into the next. That theme was the thread woven through the diverse presentations made at the Eleventh International Interdisciplinary Conference on Semantics at Hofstra University on Long Island Nov. 2-4, 1995. More than 40 presenters offered about 50 papers and presentations on a variety of topics. Nicholas Johnson, the Korzybski Memorial Lecturer, developed the theme in his address on General Semantics: The Next Generation. It would seem that general semantics still offers valuable tools in many ways, said Johnson, former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, currently professor of law at the University of Iowa, and son of Wendell Johnson. Johnson said the next generation of general semanticists could apply their tools in a variety of endeavors. Analysis of visuals and messages in a mediated world could afford a wonderful opportunity for application of general semantics principles, he emphasized. The variety of the presentations over the three-day conference seemed to support Johnson's contentions. The presenters were divided into five sections: Foundations of Semantics, Education/Counseling, Social/Cultural Issues, Humanism/Ethics, and Communication. Veteran general semanticists Robert Pula, C. Andrew Hilgartner, Milton Dawes, Edward MacNeal, and D. David Bourland, Jr., made presentations on the foundations. Pula made comparisons between general semantics and fuzzy logic, a very contemporary approach to recognizing the difficulties in rigid categorization. MacNeal called for repositioning of general semantics. He urged an updating of its principles to take advantage of recent scientific findings and research. Findings in linguistics, biology, and child-psychology, coming after Korzybski wrote ... suggest that we should now reposition general semantics, MacNeal noted. Heretofore, we have generally regarded ordinary-language-structure as the main cause of poor semantic habits. This paper argues that we should approach both ordinary language and mathematics not as the causes, but as the main perpetuators of innate cognitive habits bred by evolution that happen now to have become ill-suited to modern life. Bourland provoked considerable discussion and debate when he presented [sigma]EOS: Fourth Non-Aristotelian Model. Two presentations in the Social/Cultural Issues section dealt with cultural diversity. Gregg Hoffmann in his A Semantics Approach To Appreciating Cultural Diversity, contended that we can make linguistic adjustments to create semantic delays and other responses to the deep fear we may feel when confronted by a person or culture that is significantly different than our own. Laura Bertone of Buenos Aires, Argentina, made a moving presentation on the need to build A North-South Bridge of Semantics. Several speakers addressed Nicholas Johnson's appeal to use general semantics as a tool for media analysis. Hoffmann, a senior lecturer in mass communication and veteran journalist, described a media literacy program he has developed which is based on general semantics. (1) Roy F. Fox of the University of Missouri reported on a research study on the semantics of student responses to TV commercials. Jay Black of the Ethics Center of the University of South Florida, offered a paper on General Semantics and the Ethics Agenda in journalism. Lessons from Semantics can and should help inform the debate over media ethics and should benefit media practitioners and the general public, Black wrote in his abstract. …