Transcendental Approach of Alfred Korzybski: An Evaluation

Abstract

The world order that came into existence after the European Renaissance period believed in conquering the nature and exploiting its resources to its maximum to fulfill the unending desires of man. To add to it, the success of the Industrial Revolution there generated a culture of consumerism which made man believe that the whole universe was for his consumption only. Secondly, Darwin’s theory of Evolution, which was based on two maxims - the ‘Struggle for Existence’ and the ‘Survival of the Fittest’- also convinced humanity of the fundamental tenets of the European civilization of the new order. No doubt, this new order had its roots in the American Independence and the French Revolution which manifested the typical human aspirations for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. In the course of time, some new ideologies like capitalism, socialism, democracy, nationalism and secularism came into existence to materialize those aspirations. However, none of them could fulfil the human aspirations for an ideal world order and each failed to make man happy and free from crises. Meanwhile, another major change in the world order came after the end of the IInd World War, which added new political aspects into the crises faced by the humanity.