翻自己的胡思乱想笔记的时候翻到这个摘抄:
this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.
苏格拉底在The Phaedrus中所说的一段话。反对的对象是书写。
他老人家可能没有预见到后来类似的争论焦点又移到了印刷术、以及目前的电子信息。
但不知道他老人家有没有预见到无论争论焦点移到了哪里,我们这些几千年后的后人还在不断地中枪。
说到底,自己没有追本溯源地、认认真真正儿八经地思考过吸收过的知识,再多也不是自己的。而无论是何种形式的书写,更应该作为思考吸收过后的记忆辅助工具;如果只是作为临阵磨枪的口诀,即使真的用它解决了问题,解决问题的也只是这“借来”的知识,不是“过后就忘”的我们。
时而有摘抄的习惯,总是对大图书馆心存向往,也想有个无所不包的网络数据库。
中了这枪以后实在觉得惭愧,自己也不过是想拿知识来装扮贫乏的自己罢了。
they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing;
they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing;
they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.