| As you begin this book on writing, itmay surprise you to know that no less a person than Plato had seriousdoubts about the value of learning to write. More than 2,300 yearsago, the Greek philosopher argued in one of his works on rhetoricthat a person s education is better served by oral discussion and debatethan by writing. Unlike a speaker or teacher, he pointed out, a printedbook cannot answer its readers questions, nor can it in turn posequestions to make sure that readers have correctly understood whatthey have read. ~ccording to Plato, those who become dependent onthe written word will gradually lose their powers of memory and theability to think on their own. Believing their knowledge greater thanit actually is, they will become conceited and complacent, a burdenrather than an asset to their society. No matter what we think of Plato s doubts about the value ofwriting, we shouldn t overlook the important fact that he used writingto express those doubts. If he had not, his ideas would probably beunknown today. Plato s written attack on writing suggests in a paradoxi- ~cal way the inevitability of written communication in the exchange ~.and transmission of ideas. During the centuries since he lived, technolog- ~ical advances ranging from the development of inexpensive paper to~ the invention of the desktop laser printer have continued to underscorethe central role of writing in our civilization. Indeed, our lives wouldbe unimaginable without the written word. Try to picture a worldwith no books or newspapers, no greeting cards or instruction manuals,no bills, recipes, advertisements, or love letters, and you will realizethat we write, quite simply, because we must. |
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