Effects on society brought about by literacy
Humanity’s greatest natural asset, the one that has
allowed us to succeed in a way that no other animal can surpass, is our
intelligence and capacity for cooperation.
It is then only logical that a human technology which amplifies both of
these traits would drive us to even greater success, as did the invention and
subsequent spread of written language.
However, before it was near-universally adopted, literary technology had
its critics –- as will anything that causes change in human societies. Ultimately, however, reading and writing
became a fundamental part of civilization as we know it, and new forms of
communications technology will continue to do so as they appear.
One
fundamental building block of modern society is the sort of displaced memory
provided by written language.
Of
course, the changes brought about by literacy did not come without trade-offs.
Others
have launched criticisms against reading based more upon the fear of change
than biology.
Despite the fact that written language deviates our
brains from their natural capabilities, our technology-augmented minds have
allowed us to build a subjectively successful global society; Whether or not
these augmentations have been objectively beneficial does not matter, as they
have become a vital part of every modern sophisticated society. From this, we can posit that new technologies
of communication, such as the internet, will become a vital part of future
societies, despite current criticisms and fears of the changes they bring about
in our brains.
1) The only divergence from the introduction to the conclusion seems to be the idea that “written language deviates our brains from their natural capabilities,” which may be something that the paper works towards proving, and is thus more relevant in the conclusion than any other part of the essay. The use of the Internet as a specific example of the types of communication technology being discussed is similarly found only in the conclusion, but this, again, may be a natural progression of the argument being proffered.
ReplyDelete2) It seems as though all of the topic sentences make pretty clear claims that work toward proving the greater thesis of the essay.
3) There seems to be a nice progression throughout the outline, in as much as written language stands as the foundation of modern society, which then brings about changes (both positive and negative), but that such negative reception is derived more from fear of change than empirical proof. I feel as though the essay might benefit from an additional paragraph explaining how the positive development of such communication technology occurs in spite of the criticism posed against such changes.
4) Again, the notion that “written language deviates our brains from their natural capabilities” seems to be lacking roots in the body paragraphs, but aside from this point, the conclusion and topic sentences do not appear to be making claims that are unfounded in their respective counterpart.