ENG 303 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Thoth, Isocrates, Literary Theory
Document Summary
Reading suggestion: modern commentators philosophers, literary theorists, critics see this excerpt from phaedrus as distinct from, yet related to, socrates" better known opinions on poetry. Here, socrates (ever the oppositional, either-or thinker) works through an argument that privileges (considers better, high, first) speech over writing. This speech vs. writing might not seem like a distinction that matters much to us now, but as in so much of. Plato, the staying power of this prejudice, this privileging of speech over writing in other words, his suspicion and fear of writing, and more generally (once again! ), of painting, representation (79) pops up in a lot of what we are going to read from here on out. Very soon, we"ll read augustine, who expresses very similar assumptions. We will see it popping up, in fact, all throughout the semester. Socrates professes humility when it comes to knowing the best way to please god on this topic.
