The civilizing effects of technology

by | Friday, February 08, 2013

Martin Amis was recently interviewed in Guernica (Amis Unfiltered, Santiago Wills interviews Martin Amis). The interview covered a wide range of topics, literature, Obama, and a fascinating digression on the relationship between food and national character!  What caught my attention however, was a segment towards the end where he speaks of the civilizing effects of literature and in particular how the invention of printing (as a technology) and of the novel (as an artistic creation that emerged from that technology), could have been one of the key reasons for the dramatic “reduction of violence throughout the centuries.” Here is the key quote (though you should read the entire interview):

Look at Steven Pinker’s book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. It proves beyond any shadow of doubt that violence has declined dramatically throughout the centuries. There are various reasons for it: the rise of the state, Leviathan, the monopoly of violence, children’s rights, animal rights. They’re all positive signs. But, he says, the one he puts his money on is the invention of printing, and, funny enough, the widespread appearance of fiction. He says this taught empathy (he doesn’t like the word, but he says there is no better one). If you read a novel, you’re in someone else’s head, in three, five different people’s heads. Suddenly, the principle of “Don’t do anything to anyone that you wouldn’t want done to you” becomes real in people’s minds. That’s a fantastic achievement if fiction is indeed partly responsible for it. That’s a great thing to be a part of. In the end, then, I don’t know if writers have legislated, but they have civilized.

Note: I discovered this interview by visiting 3quarksdaily (one of my favorite sites on the web).

Topics related to this post: Art | Books | Psychology | Worth Reading

A few randomly selected blog posts…

Computer Fiction: Two new ambigrams

For one reason or another I have not been bitten by the ambigram bug for a while - till suddenly a week or two ago, two new ambigrams popped into my head. A bit of work with Freehand later... here they are. Enjoy Computer Fiction

Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022

Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022

One afternoon, back in December 2008, we made a couple of new year's videos to welcome the new year. It was not planned in any way—it was just a way to spend the afternoon since it was too cold to go outside. Thus began a tradition that goes strong even today—13 years...

Help me, find a story by Ursula Le Guin

Help me, find a story by Ursula Le Guin

 I am looking for a short story by Ursula Le Guin that I read many years ago growing up in India. The story has stayed with me but I cannot find it, despite many deep dives into the internet. I have posted on reddit, on the Ursula Le...

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Internet 40 years old today! It all started 40 years ago today, when a couple of computers were connected by a long gray cable ... Read more (and watch a video) at National Geographic

Stop motion fun

My daughter, Shreya, had some friends over yesterday and they created a short stop-motion animation film with the new setup in our basement. Enjoy [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTkhuEfTAnk[/youtube] More videos made with my kids can be seen by clicking...

Education & the Rise of AI Influencers

Education & the Rise of AI Influencers

I have been thinking hard about the nature of generative AI, what sets it apart from other technologies that have come in the past. It seems to me there are two key factors. The first is its ability to engage in dialogue, in natural language and the second are its...

Finding patterns (& creating them)

As readers of this blog know I love examples of seeing things in new ways. That to me if often the crux of creativity. Anyway here are two examples. The first curtesey of Leigh Wolf is a new advertisement from some credit card company. The ad is actually pretty...

Creativity, risk-taking, education

Creativity, risk-taking, education

EduSummIT is a global community of policy-makers, researchers, and educators working together to move education into the digital age. The last EduSummit (2019) was held in Quebec, Canada and I was a member of Thematic Working Group 3 (TWG3) on Creativity for Teachers...

Reading online & off

Nice article in the NYTimes (Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?) about today's generation and how much of their reading happens online (as opposed to reading books). I have seen a change in my reading over time as well. Most of my reading today happens...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *