Writing's Restructuring Effect on Human Consciousness: An Analysis

This essay examines the transformative impact of writing on human consciousness, building on Walter J. Ong's argument that literacy restructures thought processes. It contrasts Ong's views with those of Plato, exploring how writing, unlike oral speech, offers permanence and facilitates complex thought. The essay analyzes how the written word influences memory, analytical skills, and the very perception of reality. It highlights the differences between oral and written communication, emphasizing writing's role as a potent cultural agency that shapes individual identity and the ability to express intricate ideas. The essay concludes that writing profoundly affects human beings' thought and consciousness, solidifying the idea that the written word is a crucial technology, enhancing memory, and providing a concrete voice to inner life.

Running head: WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
Writing restructures human consciousness
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1WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
The concept of writing is one that has undergone remarkable changes in the intelligentsia
of the Western countries in the past few decades. Due to the theories introduced by
deconstructive critics like Derrida or that of Walter J. Ong, writing is no longer regarded simply
as a substitute for oral speech. As a matter of fact, writing is not merely for the purpose or
transmission or preservation of knowledge. On the other hand, writing has emerged as a cultural
agency which is both powerful and penetrative. I agree with Walter J. Ong’s viewpoint that
writing would restructure the human consciousness. Like Ong, I believe that literacy in
human beings is not innate. Every human being acquires knowledge as part of a learning
process (Ong and Hartley 2013). There is a clear demarcation between conceiving an idea and
writing it down. Writing is indeed a technology that has revolutionized the field of
communication. In this essay, I will be discussing that the written language has a direct
impact on the mentality of an individual, transforming and restructuring his thought
process in the long run.
According to Walter J. Ong, writing has completely altered the way human beings
perceive and think. However, Greenber (2014) argues that writing is not that important, as far as
the human consciousness is concerned. This may be said to be in compliance with Plato’s theory.
Plato had claimed that writing could potentially destroy the memory of a person. One must agree
with Ong who says that a thought can only be called valid if it has been written down. He opines,
“Once reduced to space, words are frozen, and in a sense dead…removed from the living
human life world, its rigid fixity, assures its endurance and its potential for being resurrected
into limitless living contexts by a limitless number of living readers. The dead, thing like text has
potentials far outdistancing those of the simply spoken word.”

2WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
He also argues that the process of writing is a kind of humanizing technology that
develops human consciousness. I agree with Ong, who says that although human beings ignore
the importance of writing in their day to day lives, writing happens to be the most potent of the
three kinds of technologies that exist in the world. In fact, it is writing that initiated the advent of
printing and other technologies like electronics (Haas 2013). His basic argument would be that
the practice of writing down an idea would allow human beings to increasingly express more
complex and intricate thoughts. The fact that something is written endows it with a very definite
meaning (Pennington 2014). This enables human beings to communicate through utterances,
which would be impossible through graphic images or oral speech. Essentially speaking, the
process of writing would help in altering the mentality and consciousness of an individual. This
is because in the case of oral speech, the person would not actually be able to visualize or view
the language he or she is speaking. On the other hand, by writing it down, the person would be
concretizing his point of view in paper.
First and foremost, it is important to differentiate between people using written word
and those who rely on oral speech. According to Berger and Iyenger (2013), there is a common
tendency to view the process of writing as mechanical. However, that is untrue because writing
demands a more complex thought process that can be equated with technology, not mechanical
skills. The way writing affects the human thought and consciousness is quite simple. The mind
of a person can grasp truth only when it is presented in its entirety. When words are spoken, they
lack depth and wholesomeness, which can make them seem false. However, when a person
writes something down, words cease to be simply a sequence of myriad sounds. It makes the
person feel that the idea or the concept he or she is writing about is real. Moreover, it must be
remembered that oral speech is ethereal or temporary in nature. Thus, spoken words would not

3WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
be available for analysis or scrutiny in the future. On the other hand, as Tinnel (2015) argues,
writing would help a person remember better, contrary to the statements made by Plato. The
written word offers more scope for analysis and critique because it is supported in a carefully
monitored, conscious process (Kellogg et al. 2013).
According to Grabe and Kaplan (2014), Plato was of the opinion that writing is
negative and artificial and something that can easily be manipulated. He also claimed that
the process of writing was unresponsive because it reduces scope for discussion, which was
possible in the case of oral discussions. Plato also said that technology and the written word were
potentially dangerous. This is primarily because once a truth has been expressed through these
modes of communication, it is set in stone and cannot be erased, while oral speech is more
transient in nature. He was of the opinion that the practice of writing down would make a person
heavily dependent on it, thus weakening his memory. However, as Ong argues, cultures and the
people belonging to these cultures are argumentative by nature. They have an inborn desire to
defend their own perspectives. It must be admitted that the oral word cannot defend itself the
way writings can. Oral speech would involve the practice of offering an argument or
personalized opinion, without the need for elaboration or explanations. On the contrary, Bereiter
and Scardamalia (2013) argue that the written word would allow an individual to support his or
her argument and opinion with evidence and more rhetoric analysis. Ironically enough, it was the
written word that allowed Plato’s discourse to be spread out far and wide, affecting the minds of
millions across the globe. Ever since then, the process of writing has grown to be an intrinsic
aspect of all human beings, which helps to further expression and thought. In other words, men
and women tend to take the written word for granted.

4WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
According to Ong, writing alters the human consciousness in such a way that it
essentially becomes a part of one’s self and identity (Smith 2017). The technology of writing
is so pervasive that it has become completely interiorized in the minds of people. A person who
is accustomed to the process of writing would be provoked to imagine the letters and other
elements of the written word while thinking of a word. On the other hand, a person who is more
used to oral speech would consider words to be merely a series of founds. In a way, the practice
of writing would alter the perceptions of individuals. Ong has also highlighted the difference
between reading and writing, with respect to the impact it has on grammar. It must be
remembered that writing is not a natural process, whereas oral speech comes to human beings
naturally. While speaking, he or she would not be thinking twice about syntax or sentence
construction or grammar, which would come naturally. Yet, while writing, a person needs to
think, which would help in honing his analytical and critical thinking skills (Gumperz and Cook-
Gumperz 2013). For example, writing something down would enable the person to step back and
detach themselves from the topic. This would help them analyze the concept from a third person
perspective. However, it can also be argued that the written word would never truly be different
from oral speech. This is because while reading a piece of writing, human beings tend to
pronounce them verbally in their minds.
It must also be asserted that writing or the art of writing is permanent, and is timeless.
Since a piece of writing can never be extinct, it lives on through the readers. Each reader has his
or her own thought process and analyzes the writing according to his or her perspective. As a
result, writing may be endowed a variety of meanings, based on the signifiers. This process was
best explained through Roland Barthes, who was of the opinion that through writing, an author
expresses his own identity (Logie 2013). The writing, in a way, overpowers the identity or the

5WRITING RESTRUCTURES HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
consciousness of the writer. As language and writing take over, the author’s voice ceases to exist.
More than oral speech, writing gives voice to the thoughts or emotions that a person experiences.
In fact, unconscious thoughts, which a person did not know existed, may also surface through
written language. Thus, to claim that writing is artificial as Plato did, would be wrong. On the
contrary, writing may be deemed more real than oral communication. It allows a person to work
on his or her original thought and analyze it from an objective point of view. In short, writing
would enlarge the human spirit, reconstruct the thought process, enrich human psyche and
intensify the interior life of a person.
To conclude, it can be said that writing as a process would certainly have an impact on
human thought and consciousness. I believe that writing is directly associated with the way
human beings think and perceive things around them. Although oral speech comes to humans
naturally, writing would help them enhance their memory. Moreover, writing something down
has a lasting impression on the human mind, whereas oral speech is fleeting or temporary. Thus,
Walter J. Ong’s claim that the technology of writing alters human thought is true. Writing also
gives the inner life of human beings a concrete voice.

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References:
Bereiter, C. and Scardamalia, M., 2013. The psychology of written composition. Routledge, pp.
22-50.
Berger, J. and Iyengar, R., 2013. Communication channels and word of mouth: How the medium
shapes the message. Journal of consumer research, 40(3), pp.567-579.
Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R.B., 2014. Theory and practice of writing: An applied linguistic
perspective. Routledge, p.84-113.
Greenberg, S., 2014. The ethics of narrative: A return to the source. Journalism, 15(5), pp.517-
532.
Gumperz, J.J. and Cook-Gumperz, J., 2013. From Oral to Written Culture: The Transition:
Literacy. In Writing (pp. 99-120). Routledge.
Haas, C., 2013. Writing Technology. 1st ed. Routledge, pp.22-105.
Kellogg, R.T., Whiteford, A.P., Turner, C.E., Cahill, M. and Mertens, A., 2013. Working
memory in written composition: An evaluation of the 1996 model. Journal of Writing
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Logie, J., 2013. 1967: The Birth of" The Death of the Author". College English, 75(5), pp.493-
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Ong, W. and Hartley, J., 2013. Orality and literacy. 30th ed. New York: Routledge, p.22.
Pennington, M., 2014. Trends in Writing and Technology. Writing & Pedagogy, 5(2), pp.155-
179.

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Smith, C., 2017. Rhetoric and human consciousness. Routledge, pp.50-125.
Tinnell, J., 2015. Grammatization: Bernard Stiegler's Theory of Writing and
Technology. Computers and Composition, 37, pp.132-146.