[“E-Prime and the Future of General Semantics”, pp.

489-496, in E-Prime III: A Third Anthology,

edited D. D. Bourland, Jr. and P. D. Johnston, International Society for General Semantics, Concord,
1997.]

E-PRIME AND THE FUTURE OF GENERAL SEMANTICS

E. W. Kellogg III, Ph.D.* ©1997

For fifty years the general semantics movement has endured, where many other educational or-
ganizations of seemingly greater popularity and influence have withered and died. This longevi-
ty has not depended upon widespread public acceptance, but upon the dedication of individuals
who found that once they had taken the considerable time and effort required to understand gen-
eral semantics, that they valued what they had found far too much to give it up lightly.

In August of 1985 I attended the Tenth International Conference on general semantics in San Di-
ego, California. Although the quality of the lectures impressed me, most of them simply re-
hashed (however well) old material without adding anything new. I could not help but notice
that most speakers looked well into their retirement years. The average age of conference at-
tendees did not seem much younger, and at the time I felt that this boded ill for the future. The
continuing dedication of general semanticists argued well for the enduring value of the disci-
pline, but the dearth of younger people argued that unless the demographics changed, the move-
ment could not long survive.

Unfortunately, because of time constraints an important scheduled session on "The Future of

General Semantics - Next Steps," did not take place. I had hoped that this event would involve
several "brainstorming sessions" on different aspects of this topic, concluding with a general ses-
sion with an emphasis on developing a practical program for making sure that general semantics
had a meaningful future in a real sense. Despite the tremendous value of general semantics that I
and others had experienced in our own lives, the future did not look particularly bright. A
glance at Figure 1 shows that objective evidence exists to support this view.

Thus it seemed to me in 1985 that general semantics had yet to succeed on at least two levels.
First, after forty years it had failed in popularizing its' teachings to the general public. After
leaving the conference, I felt acutely aware of how people in the "real" world continued to see
and react in terms of black and white, and of how few people even with a college education had
even heard of general semantics. Second, and perhaps more importantly, general semantics had
apparently failed in providing a method of training that could bring about a comprehensive con-
version of Aristotelian to non-Aristotelian thinking patterns, even in those who sincerely worked
toward this goal. Even at the conference, few of the attendees I talked with seemed to have real-
ly integrated the principles of general semantics into their automatic behavior. Though they
could talk about what they should do, they routinely admitted having little success in consistently
doing it.
Times have begun to change. Since the publication of Cullen Murphy's article "To Be in Their
Bonnets" in the February, 1992 issue of The Atlantic magazine, the idea of E-Prime (English
without the verb "to be") has aroused the curiosity and interest of people across the United
States. (1) Soon after this, Robert Siegle interviewed me, as one of the few who speak fluently
in E-Prime, on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Although the NPR broadcast
provided neither a phone number or address, the International Society for General Semantics
received thousands of calls from people wanting more information. The book To Be or Not: An
E-Prime Anthology (2) has done incredibly well for a book of this type, selling almost 2,000
copies and outperforming by a wide margin all of the other books that the Society has to offer. A
year after my 10 minute broadcast I still meet people who tell me when I mention E-Prime that
they remember hearing some guy talking about it on the radio. From the response, it looks as if
E-Prime has more widespread appeal than anyone expected. Although it has aroused controver-
sy, it has also brought new life into a movement sorely in need of it.

E-Prime's seeming simplicity (just eliminate the verb "to be") may provide a much needed ave-
nue through which general semantics can at last reach the general public. Chemists use a term
called "activation energy" which basically describes the energy required to begin a reaction that
once begun will continue on its own. For example, we can use the energy of a lit match to ignite
a pile of wood. Some reactions require a great deal of activation energy, some very little. Us-
ing this metaphor, general semantics requires a high activation energy, because it takes substan-
tial intellectual effort to understand before it begins to pay off. Few people feel motivated
enough to try to understand such concepts as "orders of abstraction," multiordinality of terms,"
"elementalism," etc. On the other hand, most people find E-Prime easy to understand in both the
how and the why categories, which allows them to experiment with it in their lives almost im-
mediately, and while they still feel enthusiastic.

From personal experience I know that E-Prime can provide an organizing principle through
which to approach a deeper understanding of general semantics, as it can bridge the abyss be-
tween studying and doing that so often defeats newcomers to the field. In the past, general se-
mantics instructional materials have concentrated far more on theory than on practice. How can
someone interested in bettering their ordinary behavior in accordance with general semantics
principles accomplish this? After reading Science and Sanity (3), and a plethora of other gen-
eral semantics books, I labored with the best of intentions to incorporate the insights gained into
my life. Months of energetic efforts on my part led to very little progress. I knew what I want-
ed to do, but not how to do it.

My discovery of Dave Bourland's paper on E-Prime in 1977 (4) changed this situation radically
by providing me with a practical focus and a guiding principle through which I could coordinate
my efforts. Those familiar with my articles (5-8) know that I have made a long-term commit-
ment to training myself in a more "mindful", non-Aristotelian and phenomenological orientation
by changing the way I use language. I wholeheartedly recommend E-Prime to the serious stu-
dent of general semantics, for either short or long-term experimentation and training.

Although E-Prime continues to arouse controversy, even opponents usually agree as to its use-
fulness as a pedagogic tool that can help students gain awareness of how they overuse and abuse
the verb "to be", and of the opportunities offered by other verb choices and sentence structures
(9). For the general semantics movement to remain viable, I believe that E-Prime and the inte-
grative disciplines that evolve from it must play an ever expanding role. In order to survive, the
general semantics movement must grow and attract new members. With only minimal effort on
the part of the International Society of General Semantics, E-Prime has already helped sub-
stantially in achieving this goal. A greater investment would presumably result in correspond-
ingly greater dividends.

General semantics has long needed an at home program that students of the discipline could use
to train themselves in patterns of non-Aristotelian evaluation and behavior. As few potential
students have convenient access to general semantics courses of any description, the unavailabil-
ity of such a program in the past has proved exceptionally regrettable. Fortunately, I know from
personal experience that the discipline involved in trying to write, speak and think in E-Prime
can in itself comprise the heart of an effective self-training program for a dedicated student. It
makes sense that the general semantics movement should take better advantage of this, at least
until the development of a more comprehensive alternative (NOTE 1).

Alfred Korzybski envisioned general semantics as a discipline that would beneficially and pro-
foundly affect the whole person, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Over the years many
have forgotten this, and for some it has become an inoffensive, academic pursuit that has little
impact on their daily lives. Like Korzybski I see general semantics not only as a way of think-
ing, but as a way of living. I believe strongly in the potential value of general semantics to both
individuals as well as to society as a whole. However, for the general semantics movement to
actualize this potential, I believe that E-Prime, or something very much like it, will need to play a
major role in its future.

* Dr. E. W. Kellogg III presently serves as the Vice-President of Publications of ISGS. At pre-
sent, he has an E-Prime workbook underway which he hopes to publish in 1994. The workbook
will comprise a sort of short course (about 10 classroom sessions) aimed at high school English
classes that will allow students (and teachers) to experiment with E-Prime.

NOTE 1. Of course, general semantics (1993) should take full advantage of the technological
advances made in teaching aids over the past 50 years. Ideally, a self-training program would
consist not only of a series of readings and assignments, but of experiential training through au-
dio, video, and interactive computer programs. Paul Johnston has already made a start in this di-
rection with his "E-Primer Tutorial" in 1992, but the development of an effective multimedia
self-training program requires heavy funding as well as the volunteered expertise of qualified in-
dividuals. If you would like to contribute to this project please contact me care of the Interna-
tional Society For General Semantics for more information.

References
1. Cullen Murphy, "To Be In Their Bonnets," The Atlantic, February 1992
2. To Be or Not: An E-Prime Anthology ed. by D.David Bourland, Jr., and Paul D. Johnston
(San Francisco: International Society for General Semantics, 1991).
3. Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity (4th edition, Lakeville, CT: The International Non-
Aristotelian Library and Publishing Company, 1958)
4. D. David Bourland, Jr., "A Linguistic Note: Writing in E-Prime," General Semantics Bulle-
tin, 32-33, (1965/1966) 111-114.
5. E. W. Kellogg III, "Speaking in E-Prime: An Experimental Method for Integrating General
Semantics into Daily Life," Et cetera 44, no.2 (1987) 118-128 #
6. E. W. Kellogg III and D.David Bourland, Jr., "Working with E Prime: Some Practical Notes,"
Et cetera 47, no.4 (Winter 1990 91) 376-392
7. E. W. Kellogg III, "Reply2 to a Paper by Emory Menefee ," Et cetera 48, no.3(1991) 296-298
8. E. W. Kellogg III, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Comments on the E-Prime Symposi-
um," Et cetera 49, no.2 (1992) 205-212
9. E. W. Kellogg III, "To Do Away with 'to Be' - There Pupils, Lies the Answer," Newsday, Sep-
tember 16, 1992. Reprinted in this issue of Et Cetera.