For years, historians debated the immediate consequences of the widespread adoption of the alphabetic script in ancient Greece during the eighth century BCE. Some scholars proposed the 'literacy revolution' thesis, asserting that the transition from a purely oral culture to a literate one fundamentally restructured human cognition, fostering formal logic and democratic governance. To support this far-reaching claim, these theorists often pointed to the rapid emergence of philosophical treatises in the sixth century BCE, arguing that such abstract reasoning was impossible without written language. However, recent classicists have challenged this view. They highlight that the earliest surviving Greek inscriptions, such as those on Nestor’s Cup, are poetic, informal, and deeply rooted in oral traditions of hospitality and song. This suggests that writing did not immediately replace or revolutionize oral thought, but rather served as a supplementary medium to record oral performances. Furthermore, studies of modern oral epics show that complex cognitive structures exist independently of literacy. Thus, the introduction of the alphabet did not represent a sudden cognitive rupture, but rather a gradual integration into an already advanced oral framework.
According to the passage, the classicists' reference to early, informal inscriptions such as those on Nestor's Cup serves as evidence to support which of the following claims?
- Writing was initially adopted as a secondary tool to preserve oral traditions rather than as a driver of immediate cognitive change.Answer
- BModern oral epics exhibit sophisticated narrative structures and cognitive complexity without the use of written language.
- CThe rapid emergence of philosophical treatises in the sixth century BCE shows that abstract reasoning required a written alphabet.
- DThe adoption of the Greek alphabet during the eighth century BCE initiated an immediate transition to democratic governance.