Medium and Message
Essay Prompt 4
How are ideas formed? Are they formed as we wright and communicate or do
they come first from our minds and then into our words. Which came first the
chicken or the egg? Does the idea create the words or the words the idea? These
are questions that come into play because of the creation of the alphabet.
Isocrates believed that it is words and writing that make us civilized. Thus
the creation of the alphabet would be a huge advantage to the world, but not
everyone saw it this way. Socrates on the other hand gives many reasons why
writing is disadvantageous.
During the 5th to 4th centuries BC these philosophers
tampered with the ideas of medium and what was just and unjust about each.
Socrates took the stand that writing was wrong because it could make the
unlearned seem wise. He viewed knowledge as remembering. Thus writing things
down could make someone without knowledge seem learned. For example I could memorize one of Dr. Burton’s
speeches, give it and sound very professional, but are these my thoughts or
his? Well, his of course. I could regurgitate a speech I do not understand and
sound wise to an audience giving me false credibility. In writing the unlearned
are given an unfair advantage.
Writing also takes away some of the meaning given in the spoken word.
Feelings and meaning can be conveyed by body language and tone. Thus delivery
isn’t always interpreted correctly when written. It is like water going through
a filter; mind/ideas to words being one filter, spoken words to write being the
second. Eventually the water will lose some of its natural elements similarly ideas
and spoken word lose properties as they are written down.
Socrates chose to teach orally because he could then adapt to the
learners questions. Similarly a written speech can be compared to an orally
given speech. In Greece common stories like the Iliad were often told. These
stories varied slightly when told to different audiences to better captivate their
attention. Likewise Socrates one on one oral teaching was very versatile and
adaptive to the learner and allowed for greater thought and critical thinking.
Essay Prompt 1
Hiccups. Where do hiccups come from? There
doesn’t seem to be a quantifiable answer out there. I suppose we could just sum
it up with the irrational explanation of inhaling a bug that is trying to make its
grand escape. All in all there are things in life we cannot yet explain. In the
BC years there a lot more things that couldn’t logically be explained. For
example why does the sun go up and down? Or rather I should say, why does the
earth move around the sun as that is what actually occurs.
In ancient Greece play rights were used to
make since of and explore these unexplainable phenomena. Like today this would
be related to the first step of a Myth Busters film. Where instead of using
science they explained things with stories. These stories were actually theories
of how and why unexplainable events occur. These theories usually had to do
with the Gods of Greek mythology. In plays these Gods made irrational events
seem rational. When told over and over again these stories would eventually
become more and more rational in the audiences mind.
Greek mythology was also used as a way to
justify actions. In the play Electra, Orestes seemed completely justified in
killing his mother because he was guided by the Gods. Normally it would be ridiculous
for us to agree that this was okay but because the Gods were on their side it
makes it easier for the audience to justify their actions. Thus the irrational
becomes rational and the unjust just.
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