--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is every reason why the standards…" description: "\"“There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have \"poisoned,\" in a literal sense of the word, our minds with the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg" --- # There is every reason why the standards in our… ![“There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have "poisoned," in a literal sense of the word, our minds with the physico-chemical effects of wrong ideas.” quote by Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg) > ““There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have "poisoned," in a literal sense of the word, our minds with the physico-chemical effects of wrong ideas.”” [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that pervasive harmful ideas chemically alter our thinking, lowering societal standards. **In simple terms:** Bad ideas poison minds, lowering standards. Key Takeaway Guard against toxic ideas. Themes culture mindset standards Mood concerned critical Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - education reform - media literacy - public policy - personal development Key Concepts philosophy psychology information theory Questions to Reflect On - What ideas are poisoning your thinking? - How can you protect your mind from harmful influences? A Different Perspective Changing minds is slow and resistance is strong. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Low Poisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-poisoned-6112832/) [Poisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisoned/) [Poisoned Literal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisoned-literal-6112831/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Standards Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards-civilization-4446240/) [Wrong ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-ideas/) ## Related quotes > [“...unless our standards of civilization are comfort and contraptions, Athens from (say) 480 to 380 was clearly the most civilized society that has yet existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-f-kitto/unless-our-standards-of-civilization-are-comfort-and-contraptions/) [H.D.F. Kitto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-f-kitto/) > [War may claim for itself the power to destroy and to clear the ground. It can never construct or create. It is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maude-royden/war-may-claim-for-itself-the-power-to-destroy-and-to-clear-the-ground/) [Maude Royden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maude-royden/) > [This ego business has come from various sources, you know that, but it has to be cleansed out. Like when the river flows all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/this-ego-business-has-come-from-various-sources-you-know-that-but-it/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [It takes 50 years to get a wrong idea out of medicine, and 100 years a right one into medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hughlings-jackson/it-takes-50-years-to-get-a-wrong-idea-out-of-medicine-and-100-years-a/) [John Hughlings Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hughlings-jackson/) > [There must be a marsh in the brains of these men or there would not be so many frogs of wrong ideas gathered in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-must-be-a-marsh-in-the-brains-of-these-men-or-there-would-not/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I don't resent working long hours. I shouldn't- I'm the one who set up my life this way. I love to work. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-henson/i-don-t-resent-working-long-hours-i-shouldn-t-i-m-the-one-who-set-up/) [Jim Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-henson/) > [“Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of "wrong" ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/repressive-societies-always-seemed-to-understand-the-danger-of-wrong/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [If first of all you have a wrong idea, then it's kind of wasting time. No matter how hard that you try with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chow/if-first-of-all-you-have-a-wrong-idea-then-it-s-kind-of-wasting-time/) [Stephen Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chow/) > [It is an altogether wrong idea that the modern product of civilization is less susceptible to love. I sometimes think it is the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/it-is-an-altogether-wrong-idea-that-the-modern-product-of/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [There's usually some process by which a potentially great idea gets prostituted into something lacklustre, or by which the wrong idea gets put forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/there-s-usually-some-process-by-which-a-potentially-great-idea-gets/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-hardest-part-about-gaining-any-new-idea-is-sweeping-out-the-false/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I won't look it in the eye. As soon as I do, I get scared. You gotta walk the plank at some point, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/i-won-t-look-it-in-the-eye-as-soon-as-i-do-i-get-scared-you-gotta/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [Generally, that's what happens-a fundamental rotting of the idea. They woke up with the wrong idea. It's just like music: If you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/generally-that-s-what-happens-a-fundamental-rotting-of-the-idea-they/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [Our schools too often want to shut people up so they can't talk about real solutions. People who think differently tend to clam up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/our-schools-too-often-want-to-shut-people-up-so-they-can-t-talk-about/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I try to wait until things set up just right before I take a trade. Then, when I'm ready to take the trade, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bradford-raschke/i-try-to-wait-until-things-set-up-just-right-before-i-take-a-trade/) [Linda Bradford Raschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bradford-raschke/) ## More by Alfred Korzybski > [The objective level is not words, and cannot be reached by words alone. We must point our finger and be silent, or we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/the-objective-level-is-not-words-and-cannot-be-reached-by-words-alone/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [God may forgive your sins, but your nervous system won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/god-may-forgive-your-sins-but-your-nervous-system-won-t/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [“We humans, through old habits, and because of the inherent structure of human knowledge have a tendency to make static, definite, and, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/we-humans-through-old-habits-and-because-of-the-inherent-structure-of/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Whatever you say it is, it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/whatever-you-say-it-is-it-isn-t/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Let us repeat the two crucial negative premises as established firmly by all human experience: (1) Words are not the things we are speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/let-us-repeat-the-two-crucial-negative-premises-as-established-firmly/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [To regard human beings as tools - as instruments - for the use of other human beings is not only unscientific but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/to-regard-human-beings-as-tools-as-instruments-for-the-use-of-other/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [I am the same kind of moron as the rest of you, it's the method that does the work, for me as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/i-am-the-same-kind-of-moron-as-the-rest-of-you-it-s-the-method-that/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Who rules our symbols, rules us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/who-rules-our-symbols-rules-us/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Whatever you may say something is, it is not!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/whatever-you-may-say-something-is-it-is-not/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Second order effects, such as belief in belief, makes fanaticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/second-order-effects-such-as-belief-in-belief-makes-fanaticism/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [“Definitions create conditions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/definitions-create-conditions/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [Mathematics and logic have been proved to be one; a fact from which it seems to follow that mathematics may successfully deal with non-quantitative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/mathematics-and-logic-have-been-proved-to-be-one-a-fact-from-which-it/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [There are two ways to slice easily thorugh life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-are-two-ways-to-slice-easily-thorugh-life-to-believe-everything/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [“Philosophy, as defined by Fichte, is the "science of sciences." Its aim was to solve the problems of the world. In the past, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/philosophy-as-defined-by-fichte-is-the-science-of-sciences-its-aim/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [“There are two ways to slide easily through life: Namely, to believe everything, or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-are-two-ways-to-slide-easily-through-life-namely-to-believe/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) [Explore all 82 Alfred Korzybski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have \"poisoned,\" in a literal sense of the word, our minds with the physico-chemical effects of wrong ideas.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Korzybski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards-in-our-civilization-are-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards-in-our-civilization-are-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/alfred-korzybski-8234_civilization_there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards_797407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is every reason why the standards in our civilization are so low, because we have \"poisoned,\" in a…” — Alfred Korzybski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Korzybski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is every reason why the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards-in-our-civilization-are-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/there-is-every-reason-why-the-standards-in-our-civilization-are-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```