Time-Binding
A Rational Path to Ethical Living
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.
— Neil Postman
I learned to read at an early age and fell in love with science and science fiction. I remember watching 2001: A Space Odyssey as a child with my dad, mesmerized by the monoliths and those panoramic, often silent scenes of space that created such a sense of mystery. That film opened a door to wondering about humanity's place in the universe.
Later, I devoured science fiction classics such as Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. Then I discovered Isaac Asimov's robots and Robert Heinlein's interplanetary adventures. But it was A.E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A that changed my perspective entirely. I don't remember much of the plot now, but scattered throughout that novel were quotes from a book called Science and Sanity, written by Alfred Korzybski in 1933. Those fragments intrigued me enough to seek out Korzybski's work and discover the discipline he created: General Semantics.
I read both Science and Sanity and Korzybski's earlier work, Manhood of Humanity, written in 1921. What I found there wasn't just another philosophical system, but a practical framework for understanding what makes humans unique, and why that uniqueness carries profound ethical implications.
This is the first of two articles exploring General Semantics and what it reveals about being human.
Time-Binding
In Manhood of Humanity, Korzybski approached the question of human nature by categorizing living things based on their functional differences rather than their physical characteristics. His taxonomy reveals something essential about our place in the natural order.
He called plants "chemistry-binders" because, unlike minerals, they capture and store energy through chemical processes like photosynthesis. Animals he termed "space-binders”; they share plants' ability to store energy chemically but add the capacity to move through space and establish territories.
Humans, according to Korzybski, are "time-binders." We possess both the energy-storing capacity of plants and the spatial mobility of animals, but we have an additional defining characteristic: we can accumulate knowledge and pass it to future generations. Each generation of humans can begin where the previous one left off.
This time-binding capacity encompasses not just factual knowledge but everything we create and transmit—art, music, stories, technologies, and ways of understanding the world. Your smartphone represents thousands of years of accumulated human knowledge: metallurgy, electronics, software engineering, mathematics, and countless other fields building upon one another across centuries.
When I teach Nonviolent Communication, for example, I’m participating in time-binding. Marshall Rosenberg built on the work of psychologists and philosophers who came before him, and now I pass along those insights to others who will adapt and share them further. The approaches to personal change I've written about emerged from accumulated wisdom that I've learned, tested, and now contribute back to the ongoing human conversation.
An Ethical Foundation
This understanding of human nature has profound implications for how we live and make choices.
If I see myself primarily as an animal, that is, a space-binder, I might act from short-term, territorial thinking. My focus would be on immediate self-interest: securing resources, protecting my space, and competing with others for limited goods. This perspective encourages zero-sum thinking, where your gain necessarily means my loss.
But when I recognize myself as a time-binder, my sense of self-interest expands dramatically. My actions aren't isolated events but part of an ongoing stream of human development. I'm building on the work of countless generations before me, and my contributions will influence the welfare of present and future generations.
This broader context makes ethical behavior feel natural rather than imposed. When I see my well-being as connected to the well-being of others across time, cooperation becomes enlightened self-interest. The value I create today doesn't just serve me. It becomes part of humanity's accumulated wealth of knowledge and capability.
This brings us back to Neil Postman's observation: "Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." Every choice we make, every skill we develop, every insight we gain and share becomes part of that message. We're not just living our individual lives; we're participating in the ongoing human conversation.
No Soul Required
Throughout history, many have recognized that humans are fundamentally different from other animals. Without understanding time-binding, they often attributed this difference to having a soul. They thought of humans as animals plus an additional spiritual component.
The time-binding perspective offers a more elegant explanation. We don't need to invoke supernatural elements to account for human uniqueness. Our capacity to accumulate and transmit knowledge across generations is sufficient to explain our distinctive place in nature.
This isn't to diminish the mystery or wonder of human consciousness. If anything, it enhances it. The fact that organized systems of matter and energy can develop the capacity to bind time, to learn from the past and contribute to the future, seems remarkable enough without requiring additional metaphysical components.
I've discovered that this naturalistic understanding of what it means to be human provides a solid foundation for ethics without requiring religious belief, though it's entirely compatible with various spiritual perspectives.
From Theory to Practice
Understanding myself as a time-binder has practical implications for daily choices and long-term direction.
When I create value for others through my work, I'm participating in time-binding. This doesn't require remarkable achievements. Every contribution to the present and future generations matters. The teacher who helps a student grasp a difficult concept, the developer who writes clearer code for the next developer, and the parent who models emotional regulation for their children are all binding time.
Yet I've noticed a persistent urge to do more, to share what I've learned more broadly. I think this reflects the time-binding impulse at work. It's why I created The Gentle Shift. I want to share insights about personal growth that might be useful to others on similar journeys, and encourage them to do the same.
The Gentle Way Forward
This ethical framework, based on time-binding, doesn't preclude religious or spiritual approaches to ethics. I've found it enhances rather than conflicts with various wisdom traditions, many of which emphasize our interconnection and responsibility to future generations.
What I find particularly valuable about the time-binding perspective is how it naturally leads to ethical behavior. Rather than following rules imposed from outside, ethics emerge from understanding who we are as human beings. When I see myself as a time-binder, acting for the broader good feels like enlightened self-interest rather than self-sacrifice.
What is the source of your ethics? How might your life change if you saw yourself not just as a momentary self, but as a time-binder—someone whose actions ripple forward through generations, contributing to humanity's accumulated wisdom and capability?
In my next article, I'll explore how General Semantics approaches language and meaning, and how this can transform our daily interactions and inner experience. The time-binding capacity that makes us human is intimately connected to our use of symbols and language, tools that allow us to share not just information but our ways of seeing the world.