Psychosomatic Medicine 7:246-248 (1945)
© 1945 American Psychosomatic Society

Implications of General Semantics for Psychosomatic Medicine

It is suggested that workers in psychosomatic medicine can find in general semantics, an empirical science dealing, among others, with organismal reactions to events and symbols and events in connection with their life-values:

1.new psychosomatic terms which psychosomatic medicine lacks, and the principles for creating a psychosomatic nomenclature and theory-system;

2. the wider, general, structural foundations, based on modern physics, mathematics and linguistics, which underlie psychosomatic considerations;

3. recognition and correction of linguistic factors which unavoidably condition our reactions and evaluations;

4. a non-aristotelian system which provides a bridging term between physico-mathematical disciplines and biological sciences; and

5. general education and therapeutic means (useful to both physician and patient) for changing from the old "body" and "mind" system to a new psychosomatic attitude. General semantics helps the physician sharpen his formulations to the patient and thus shortens psychotherapy. The extent of its psychotherapeutic usefulness is still to be determined.

Korzybski makes this summary statement (14):

General semantics is not a medical science, but like bacteriology, it is essential to general medicine and psychiatry. The orothodox medicine without psychiatry and psychosomatic considerations represents nothing but glorified veterinary science. Psychiatry [psychosomatic medicine] and psychotherapy without general semantics cannot help but involve metaphysical factors.