The Multi-Valued Orientation
A lot of people make the semantic mistake of ascribing two values for concepts or actions without realizing what they do is folly.
Nothing can be either/or, or in other words, have a simple two-valued orientation. There are too many indefinitely calculable actions that cannot be described at any one time. Most people fall into the semantic trap of dichotomizing likes and dislikes with absolute terms instead of considering the spectrum of views that can be held at any one time. This is commonly referred to as the multi-valued orientation.
We tend to make generalizations such as "the government is bad" or "X is a saint" when we must realize that these words are too abstract and over/under defined for us to definitively pin one, singular value to each of them. Even written words themselves have multi-valued or multi-ordinal terms, in a lexical (such as "fast" meaning both rapid and to abstain), contextual (same word, different situation) or neurological (same word, different "brain" - a different reaction is formed.)
The multi-valued orientation is the recognition that something can never be "all" - either/or, completely true or false in essence. There are degrees that can be evaluated and do not have to be sided with completely, as father of Gestalt therapy, Dr. Frederick Perls, M.D. demonstrates with an experiment to position oneself with the multi-valued orientation:
[H]old in abeyance your standard evaluations of good or bad, desirable or repugnant, sensible or silly, possible or impossible. Be satisfied to stand between them—or, rather, above them—at the zero-point, interested in both sides of the opposition but not siding with either.Examples and Applications
The ultimate "multi-ordinal" or multi-valued system is the SI system of measurement. It makes no judgments and never confuses logical levels like two-valued systems. Instead of "huge" or "small" an SI unit for length may be 20Km. This may be a long distance to walk but a relatively short distance to drive. We make our abstractions, inferences and judgments from this information alone rather than depriving it of context and making immediate, higher-order abstractions based on it.
The multi-valued orientation is useful in critical thinking as we are able to "stand between and not side with" any argument or supposed "truth" and evaluate the good and bad in every point of view, or to expand upon and explore what Hayakawa calls our "non-belief system." This also promotes mental health, as it provides clarity in our thoughts and interactions with the world - thinking in absolutes can effect beliefs and behavior and can become one of the many ideas that cause and sustain neurosis. The multi-valued orientation makes the world a much more involving, vibrant and interesting place to live.
References
Science and Sanity: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics, Alfred Korzybski, Institute of General Semantics, 1950, 4th edition.
Language in Thought and Action: Fourth Edition, Samuel I. Hayakawa , Harcourt, 1972.
Steps to an Ecology of Mind, Gregory Bateson, University Of Chicago Press, 1972.
A New Guide to Rational Living, Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Robert Harper, Wilshire Book Company, 1975.
"A General Semantics Glossary" by Robert Pula in ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, Dec. 22, 1993.
Gestalt Therapy: Growth and Excitement in the Human Personality, Dr. Frederick Perls, Gestalt Journal Press, 1951.
Next week: The Structural Differential / Hayakawa's Ladder
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