THE TIME-BINDING CLASS OF LIFE: MAKING SENSE OF HUMAN BEINGS AND THEIR EPISTEMIC-COGNITIVE-PERFORMATIVE FACULTIES

The article is a sociohistorical exploration into how Alfred Korzybski arrived at a functional definition of human beings as a time-binding class of life and what a wide range of possibilities this definition contains. Through the idea of time-binding, Korzybski attempted to explain our complex selv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Etc. 2022-07, Vol.79 (3-4), p.192-203
Main Author: Bini, B.S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal cognition
Animals
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Communication
Communication (Thought Transfer)
Connotation
Criticism and interpretation
Definitions
Epistemology
Ergonomic aid
Ergonomics
Ethics
Human engineering
Human Factors Engineering
Humanity
Knowledge
Korzybski, Alfred
Mathematics
Observation
Philosophers
Semantics
Teaching Methods
Time
World War I
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Summary:The article is a sociohistorical exploration into how Alfred Korzybski arrived at a functional definition of human beings as a time-binding class of life and what a wide range of possibilities this definition contains. Through the idea of time-binding, Korzybski attempted to explain our complex selves and lives through an epistemic-cognitive-performative approach. While the author of "Manhood of Humanity: The Science and Art of Human Engineering" proposed the formulation of time-binding as a unique human capacity to pass on information, knowledge, and skills across generations at an exponential rate, he was aware of the promises and perils implicit in this human prowess. The epistemic connotation of time-binding is not devoid of value and ethical underpinnings: time-binding can be interpreted as a cognitive-creative force when it contributes to the inventions that make human lives better; time-binding amounts to a moribund impulse when human expertise and skills are utilized for producing weapons of mass destruction, as it had happened during the First World War. "Manhood of Humanity" has a diagnosis-healing approach toward the grave crises of its contemporary times. The text was written as a herald of hope in desperate times as it proposed strategies for practicing conscious, cautious, and conscientious time-binding and, hence, for promoting the art and science of human engineering for a consolidation of the efforts of human beings for collective benefits and well-being of the species. The article argues that Korzybski continued this endeavor in his subsequent works as well.
ISSN:0014-164X
2168-9245