The (Non) Necessity Of Literacy

The Philosophical Society of England's sister publication Philosophical Investigations (of which I am an administrator) would seem to be in the avant garde. First of all, it publishes weekly, which few (if any) other such publications do. This can be done now with the Internet, where it was virtually impossible with the old print media. Philosophical Investigations is also expanding the limits of articulated thought. Kyame Gyekye puts the classic view like this: “Literacy is a necessary condition for philosophising.” Not so with the new publication, which adds picture posts, and (as of this week) cartoons, which reflect a more recent view of articulated thought. However, about two thirds of the material continues as the printed word.