general semantics

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A discipline developed by Alfred Korzybski that proposes to improve human behavioral responses through a more critical use of words and symbols.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun a doctrine and philosophical approach to language and its relationship to thought and behavior, developed by Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), which holds that the capacity to express ideas and thereby improve one's interaction with others and one's environment is enhanced by training in the more critical use of words and other symbols; -- sometimes also called semantics.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun An educational discipline based on the notion that certain techniques can enhance one's ability to evaluate and respond to the world