Envision a world without writing, where every education system is solely lecture-based. There would be no street signs for pedestrians and drivers, no books to educate the new generations, and most importantly, no technology to address economic and social needs. Today’s society strongly emphasizes on the ability to write as writing is a vital skill in day-to-day activities. So was Socrates wrong to claim that writing is a hindrance to the practice of self-improvement? Maybe it was not as necessary during his time period, but it is undeniably essential in today’s world. Contrary to Socrates' opposition of writing, writing is a beneficial and crucial skill to society because it improves accessibility of knowledge, increases uniformity of information, acts as a perseverance of events, and enhances communication. Without this skill, the United States civilization and many others might not have advanced to their current statuses.
Socrates is a Greek philosopher who lived in Athens from 469 to 399 B.C. He was one of the greatest philosophers of his time, raising many new ideas about life. One of the many arguments that Socrates made was his case against writing, which can be found in Plato’s except, Phaedrus. When writing was first introduced, it was presented as a technology that would help build knowledge and memory. However, as a strong believer in spoken rhetoric, Socrates thought that writing would only inhibit the ability to communicate persuasive arguments verbally. He believed that true knowledge can only be obtained during verbal exchange of ideas. He also argued that humans would build reliance towards writing, grow over dependent on it, which would ultimately destroy the human capability of memory. Furthermore, writing, to So...
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...ite to inform, while others write to remember. Either way, documentation seems beneficial to both the writer, and the reader.
In conclusion, not everyone is a good speaker, as not everyone is a good writer. With that being said, with both tools in hand, one can choose the one that is more of their expertise, instead of limiting themselves to only one that they would struggle in. Also, there are people out there who are speech impaired. They have the right to express their ideas, and if they cannot speak, the most reliable tool they can turn to is writing. The human mind is able to store up “to fifty-thousand times the amount of text contained in the U.S Library of Congress,” but can barely retain more than a few of those data (Rene 30-33). If that is the case, would it not be a better idea to use writing to the advantages of society as a form of memory storage?
Nails, Debra. “Socrates”. Stanford University. Jan 29, 2014. Web. Feb 16, 2014. Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/#SocStr
We’ve taken memory, a private aspect, and made it completely external and superficial. Writing is a prime example of a memory “aid.” Foer uses the anecdote of the Egyptian God, Theuth, who invented writing. In earlier eras, philosophers have strove to think of efficient, faster ways to approach everyday matters.
states that writing can only be improved through reading. In others words, the relations between
The first thing one must consider is whether there is any merit in writing or rhetoric. According to Socrates, speech writing is not bad. The only way it can ever be bad is if it is not done well. Therefore, one must consider what is necessary for writing well. Socrates proposes that in order to write well, one must know what is true about his subject. However, Phaedrus points out that perhaps all that is necessary to be seen as a good writer is to know what the people believe to be right about that subject and then write about it as they view it. However, Socrates shows that this is erroneous because then one can persuade others that wrong is right, and as a result rhetoric would have poor results. Instead, Socrates proposes that correct rhetoric is a tool through which knowledge is used to expertly persuade others. However, rhetoric can also be seen as, not a form of art, rather a talent. If it is thus seen, then in order to become an expert in it one must be born with the talent. Even if rhetoric were only a talent, there are steps to improve and build on it. For example, one may have talent, but without an acquaintance with the truth of the subject, one cannot give a professional speech. Once one is acquainted with his subject, th...
This quote can be used to argue what kind things he would say to our society by providing an example of what his beliefs are. He is saying that once we can only become philosophers we will be able to stop indulging ourselves with our senses and only use them when necessary. Socrates point view of philosophy is when one wants to acquire prudence and irrefutable truth, which was discussed in a classroom community among classmates, simply when wants continuously want to learn and can never be satisfied with what they know. By learning, what Socrates means is our soul 's recollecting knowledge that body hinders the soul from remembering. This is seen in Meno where Socrates shows Meno how a boy figuring out the answers to a question is actually recollecting the knowledge instead of learning something new. He would make a statement about our education system and what we currently see as knowledge what was we should see as knowledge. The way we should learn by his definition would be to have classroom discussions sessions as agreed upon by critical think by my classmates and myself in a philosophy course. Socrates would tell us how we would need to focus on recollecting and focus on feeding our soul instead of our bodies, how we would need to make major changes such as our use of technology for only necessary uses and not merely for mindless entertainment much like how we all use laptops, phones, and the
Starting in book 2 from 376d and on into book 3 of The Republic, Socrates and Adeimantus discuss the type of education the young guardians, the future rulers and protectors of the city should receive. They feel that the young men should be strong, quick, courageous and educated. They agree that they should receive a physical education for their bodies and an education in music and poetry for their souls. Unlike physical training, an education in music and poetry can begin at a very young age, at the age when most young people are very impressionable. Socrates feels that “the young are incapable of judging what is allegory and what is not, and the opinions they form at that age tend to be ineradicable and unchangeable.”(378d) Socrates feels that it is of the highest importance that the first stories young men should hear are improving stories, ones which contribute to the betterment of the individual’s mind and soul. The stories should give an idea of how they should live their lives and the types of values they should acquire. They should communicate values like fairness in their dealing with others and respect for the family and the community. The unifying principle behind Socrates’ censorship is this: anything that would contribute to the corruption of the minds of young children or that would give them false values, whether it be true or false, should be censored.
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
Neil Postman begins his article, The Judgement of Thamus. In his book Technopoly (1992), with an excerpt from Plato's Phaedrus describing how the Upper Egyptian king Thamus responds to the god Theuth's invention of writing and his description of it as "a sure receipt for memory and wisdom" (p.4). Thamus states that the discoverer of an art is not the best judge of its worth and he believes that writing will lead to recollection and the conceit of wisdom. I find it interesting that Thamus does not see the benefits that will accrue from writing, but only the deficits.
It says that Socrates feared that people are relying more on written words than using their memory. He believes that if you don’t exercise your memory, then you can become more forgetful. Carr also believes this to be true because we are using the internet to look up answers for us and not doing the research to find it ourselves. We’re not relying on our memory to remember what we read we’re just looking for the answers.
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates claimed that stories affect the souls of those who hear them. Given this, he went on to argue that censorship was not only necessary but also beneficial to society. Socrates wanted to censor portions of poetry, the arts, and sciences that were not productive or beneficial to society. He believed that poetry was neither philosophical nor pragmatic and did not lead to true knowledge. Rather, he found it to be unethical, leading to desires and passions. He thus declared it inferior to the practical arts and lacking in educational value.
In Plato’s Gorgias, Socrates discusses the nature and uses of rhetoric with Gorgias, while raising moral and philosophical perspective of rhetoric. Socrates believes that rhetoric is a kind of false knowledge whose purpose is to produce conviction, and not to educate people about the true extent of knowledge (Plato 15). On the other hand, Gorgias argues that the study of rhetoric is essential in any other professional fields, in order to provide an effective communication (Plato 19). After their discussion of rhetoric, Socrates seems to understand the true extent of rhetoric better as compared to Gorgias, as he is able to use rhetoric appeals as a device to dominate the conversation. During their discussion, Socrates seems to have use rhetorical appeals, such as ethos appeal and pathos appeal to connect and convince the crowd of audiences, and logos appeal to support his claims. His speeches seems to have shown sarcastic aspects and constantly asking questions in order to keep Gorgias busy, at the same time preparing an ambush. Since rhetoric is the art of effective communication through the form of speaking and writing, with the appropriate knowledge and virtue, it can be used for good purposes. On the other hand, rhetoric also can be used as an act of conviction because rhetorical appeals can be defined as an act of persuasion as well. Learning the true extent of rhetoric can help an individual strengthen their verbal communication skills. Socrates uses rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos appeal to win his argument against Gorgias, as he is able to get the audiences’ attention through rhetoric and cornered Gorgias into revealing the true extent of rhetoric.
A sword is no more than a sharp piece of metal, but a pen has power. A pen can argue; a pen can unravel complexities; a pen can persuade; a pen can teach; but most of all, a pen can create worlds. The gifts writing brings are almost innumerable. On par with every major study, writing – both persuasive and creative – is an incredibly valuable skill that all students should be pressed to learn, to love, and to enjoy. To allow some to find their voice while allowing others to discover who they truly are, while still generating a far more intellectual generation is certainly a necessary teaching.
Ong, Walter. “Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought.” Writing Material. Ed. Evelyn Tribble. New York. 2003. 315-335.
Pheadrus is a dialogue written by Plato. It is believed to have been composed during 370 BC. Although Plato’s piece analyzes various ideas the one in question here is writing. He explains that writing has one main problem, it lacks a speaker which he refers to as a “father”. He claims that those who read to gain knowledge will actually be gaining a false sense of education. Without someone to question about the provided information, recipients are forced to accept all they have read and interpret it based on their own experiences. This continuous dilution of the information will result in misunderstandings. He also notes ...
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are far more likely to be able to civilly come to a conclusion about a particular topic, or at least further their original concept.