Does the Western Philosophy privilege speech over writing?
I don’t think so. Writing has the advantage of not being subject to real time criticism. Speech has the advantage that a number of people have sufficient interest in what the speaker says and can hear inflection, emphasis and see facial expressions which serve to enrich the meaning of the words being spoken. Early philosophers were often restricted to speech due to the absence of a written language or due to its limited use. A classic example of the advantage of speech over the written word is Adolph Hitler. Had he put his words down in dry prose, he would not have been as successful in gaining influence over the people as he was with his fiery rhetoric. In our history, we have heard many say that a speaker was a great orator. All this praise for just making sounds with vocal chords. Makes me wonder what people are thinking sometimes.
