CS100 Lecture Notes - Orality, Knowledge Engineering, Walter J. Ong
Document Summary
We rely on anthropological records because there was no way to tell how people communicated. We rely on symbols so we can think: create meanings through the use of signs (sounds, smells, etc) Anything can be a sign as long as someone can interpret it . Icons: factsimilies of the thing it represents analogical to what it is (sculpture or painting) looks like what it is. Indices: can"t have smoke without a fire, thunder leads to a thunderstorm indice of what something is. General sign: a thing thrown together, it only has a meaning through an agreement shared with a collective or a group. Humans have found ways to altering their own nature. Greek letters were introduced into inscription about 700 b. c. The greeks did not just invent an alphabet they also invented literacy and modern thought. It democratized literacy/ made it possible . Has to be a commitment to develop school instruction allows for democratization.
