What does orality mean today?

Opinion is critically unequal to fact and the two cannot be used interchangeably.

When did opinion and fact merge?

“Orality knows no charts or figures.” (Ong)

In a culture that is only oral, remembered truth was always up to date since irrelevant matters were dropped form consciousness. It is impossible for me to imagine the past and present not being itemized in any way or having dates attached to imbue meaning – that in oral cultures the past is always felt as alive and resonant. In these terms, even current law seems outdated because of its inflexibility.

Think great thoughts

Ong also said, “fully literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a primary oral culture is like, that is, a culture with no knowledge whatsoever of writing or even of the possibility of writing”, because writing has so transformed our consciousness. What is orality now? It seems to me to have a pretty low value.

With all the information at our fingertips, how can one still justify baseless opinion as valid? Well, I think it comes down to the ability to self-market. And I think the reason for that is that because we have been steeped in capitalism for which the skill of selling ‘trumps’ the skill of critical thinking. I am hoping beyond hope that the digital natives, with their open access philosophy, will be the ones to usher in the new “era of discernment”. It looks hopeful through the lens of transparency, accountability and peer review. This way perhaps the cream will rise to the top once again.