Worst development in history?
I think in the past I've identified the advent of conceptual thought as the worst development in history, but even before doing that I had decided that it was really the invention of writing (obviously I forgot about that decision in the interim and now, actually, I'm not sure how I was reminded of it). I'm sure some Romantic or other has written about this, possibly with a different valence. But I got it from thinking on Nelson Goodman, if you can believe that.
Particular instances of sugar highs are also bad developments, but probably of less world-historical significance.
Comments
on 2006-10-20 21:27:25.0, Jacob Haller commented:
"Particular instances of sugar highs are also bad developments, but probably of less world-historical significance." You know what's telling you that? Conceptual thought.
and, further, on 2006-10-27 9:25:46.0, Matt's mom commented:
I've had a similar thought (although, technically, it would be prehistory, and there wouldn't be any history without conceptual thought). Abstraction kills. I believe Socrates warned about the dangers of writing. More exactly, since of course he didn't write it down, Plato said he did.
and, further, on 2006-10-27 13:47:59.0, ben wolfson commented:
Wow, Matt's mom.
My real quarrel with writing isn't so much the abstraction as it is the externalization/objectification thing. (But then I start worrying that I'll end up being like the crank who wrote The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.)