Irving J. Lee – All Videos
Professor Irving J. Lee (1909-1955) taught speech and general semantics at Northwestern University.
He was a master teacher, in part because he used so many stories and anecdotes to illustrate and augment his lectures. He was especially adept at making day-to-day events relevant to theoretical perspectives.
Professor Lee authored one of the seminal books on general semantics in 1941, Language Habits in Human Affairs. He also edited the popular reader, The Language of Wisdom and Folly. He was a frequent contributor to the GS journals, ETC: A Review of General Semantics and the General Semantics Bulletin, as well academic journals such as The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Education Trends, and Education. He contributed a chapter, “General Semantics and the Case Method,” to The Case Method of Teaching Human Relations and Administration, published by Harvard University Press in 1952.
In 1952, Professor Lee broadcast six 30-minute televised presentations in Chicago that were later distributed as the “Talking Sense” film series. These excerpts have been selected as examples of his masterful teaching and storytelling. They also relate to understanding the general orientation or point of view that this website advocates.
from A View About the World
A Scientific Attitude, Irving J. Lee (:40)
from Talking Sense
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-2-sci-behavior.flv’ width=400 height=300]
“Non-Allness,” Irving J. Lee (4:22)
from Talking Sense
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-6-maxwell-etc.flv’ width=400 height=300]
from A View About Behavior
Abstracting and Evaluating (4:15)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-1-abseval.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Consequences – Part 1 (6:11)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-1-wallonians-pike.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Consequences – Part 2 (3:13)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-2-teacher.flv’ width=400 height=300]
The Good vs Poor Observer (8:35)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-4-observer.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Behavioral Reactions to Words (5:24)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-snake-daubs.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Two Behavioral Examples (3:41)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-dentist-rabies.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Lack of Moderate Attitudes (2:30)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-bible-hater.flv’ width=400 height=300]
“I am a failure” (3:48)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-student.flv’ width=400 height=300]
from A View About Language
Words and Meaning (6:43)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-words.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Where is the Penny? (2:57)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-2-penny.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Facts vs. Inferences (:48)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-fact-inf.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Facts vs. Inferences – So What? (2:07)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-2-wisdom.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Similarities (2:19)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-4-similarities.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Differences (4:59)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-4-differences.flv’ width=400 height=300]
from Doing What We Know
Applying What We Know (4:45)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-1-angell-gs.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Look for Differences (:32)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-4-look4diff.flv’ width=400 height=300]
on Discrimination (:33)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-4-discriminate.flv’ width=400 height=300]
from Putting It Together
The Map-Territory Analogy (7:13)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-map.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Teaching the Implications (3:44)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-6-close-allness.flv’ width=400 height=300]
Words are not Things – So What? (:39)
from Talking Sense, Irving J. Lee (1952)
[flowplayer src=’http://thisisnotthat.com/ss/videos/lee-5-conclusion.flv’ width=400 height=300]