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WHY DEPENDABLE INTERPRETATIONS MATTER
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"If words are not things,
or maps are not the actual territory,
then, obviously,
the only possible link between the objective world
and the linguistic world
is found in structure,
and structure alone."
- Alfred Korzybski
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Here’s a clear explanation of that statement:
1. “Words are not things” / “Maps are not the territory”
These phrases emphasize symbolic abstraction:
Words are symbols we use to point to things.
Maps are representations of terrain.
They are not the things themselves. They approximate, model, or describe, but they never become the realities they refer to.
This means there is always a gap between reality and language.
2. So how do words relate to the objective world at all?
If words are not the things they represent, then the only way language can be connected to reality is through structure — the patterned relationships within language that mirror patterned relationships within the world.
Think of it this way:
The world has structures: causal chains, spatial relations, temporal sequences, functional relations, categories, patterns.
Language has structures: grammar, logical relations, subject–predicate structure, semantic categories.
The link is made possible when these two structures correspond.
3. Structure is the bridge
We cannot connect words to objects by identity (because the symbol is never the thing). But we can connect them by form or pattern.
Examples:
A sentence can reflect structural relationships in the world:
“The cup is on the table” mirrors spatial structure.
A causal explanation mirrors causal structure:
“Heat causes water to expand” mirrors physical relationships.
A taxonomy mirrors biological or conceptual structure.
In all cases, structure—not substance—is what matches reality.
4. Why “structure alone”?
Because every other possible kind of connection fails:
- Words don’t look like things → not similarity.
- Words aren’t made of the same stuff as things → not identity.
- Words don’t physically interact with things → not causation.
- Words are arbitrary sounds or symbols → no natural bond between symbol and referent.
The only thing that can connect the two worlds is:
"The pattern of relationships in language" matching "The pattern of relationships in the world."
This is the heart of general semantics, structuralism, and scientific modeling.
In short
Because language never is reality, the only way it can correspond to reality is by mirroring its structure.
If the internal structure of language (concepts, grammar, logic) maps onto the structure of the world (relations, categories, causality), then meaningful reference is possible.
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Below is a general semantics–based, Masonic, and epistemological expansion of the idea, woven together so it reads as one coherent explanation.
1. General Semantics Perspective (Korzybski)
Korzybski’s famous slogan, “The map is not the territory,” teaches that:
- Our words, concepts, and theories are maps.
- The world, with all its complexity and dynamic processes, is the territory.
- Because words are abstractions, they cannot contain the world. They can only model it.
Korzybski emphasized structural similarity as the key principle:
A map is useful only to the degree that its structure corresponds to the structure of what it represents.
Thus:
- A geographical map preserves spatial structure.
- A scientific model preserves causal or functional structure.
- A linguistic description preserves relational structure.
The match of structure to structure is what grants language any capacity to refer to the world at all.
2. Epistemological Perspective
If words are not the things they represent, then how can we know anything true about the world through language?
The answer is:
- Only by matching patterns.
- The world exhibits patterns, regularities, relations, processes, orders.
- Human cognition detects these and creates conceptual structures—mental models.
- Language encodes these conceptual structures symbolically.
- Logic and grammar constrain how these structures can be combined and transformed.
Thus the entire chain:
World → Mind → Language
is connected not by identity, but by parallelism of structure.
If our language fails to reflect reality’s structure, we produce:
fallacies, illusions, category errors, superstitions, metaphysical distortions, disagreements that cannot be resolved because the map is drawn incorrectly
Truth emerges when the structure of our descriptions faithfully mirrors the structure of what is being described.
3. Masonic Interpretation
Masonic symbolism is rooted in this very principle:
- Masonry teaches by symbols, but the symbols are not the realities they indicate.
- The square is not the virtues—but represent them.
- The light is not literal illumination—but symbolizes understanding.
- The Temple is not a physical building—but a representation of internalized disciplines and structure.
A Mason learns early that:
Symbols do not transfer truth by identity; they transfer truth by internalizing structure.
The Square, Level, and Plumb rule enact structural relationships that correspond to ethical relationships:
- Squareness → Morality and Virtue
- Levelness → Balance, equality, and fairness
- Uprightness → Unbiased, integrity, and rectitude
The Freemason internalizes these structural lessons and applies them to his inner life.
Thus, the Craft itself is an extended exercise in mapping ethical and spiritual structure onto personal conduct.
Just as in general semantics:
- The ritual is not the truth.
- The lectures are not the thing described.
- The tools are not the disciplines.
But their structure mirrors the order one must establish within.
4. The Core Insight
When abstractions (words, symbols, models) attempt to portray reality, the only possible point of contact is:
Structural correspondence.
If the structure matches, the map works. If it doesn’t, the map misleads.
This principle unifies:
semantics, cognition, philosophy of science, symbolism, Masonic teaching, all forms of representational knowledge
And it elegantly answers the original assertion:
Because words are not the things they represent, the only way language can relate to reality is through structural similarity.
That is the sole bridge between the objective world and the linguistic world.
