Tradition and Individuality: Essays

A volume of essays on the themes of tradition, oral communication versus literal communication, Wittgenstein, and computers. The later Wittgenstein is shown to be on the one hand a traditionalist, and on the other hand, along with Heidegger, a philosopher of postmodern — secondary — orality, yearning for bygone, premodern times — the times of primary orality. Under conditions of primary orality traditions fulfilled the specific cognitive role of conserving information — a role subsequently ...