Phaedrus (dialog)
The Phaedrus (/ˈfiːdrəs/; Greek: Φαῖδρος), written by Plato, is a dialogue between Plato's protagonist, Socrates, and Phaedrus, an interlocutor in several dialogues.
History
The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 BC, about the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium.
Writing and memory
Socrates tells a brief legend, critically commenting on the gift of writing from the Egyptian god Theuth to King Thamus, who was to disperse Theuth's gifts to the people of Egypt.
After Theuth remarks on his discovery of writing as a remedy for the memory, Thamus responds that its true effects are likely to be the opposite; it is a remedy for reminding, not remembering, he says, with the appearance but not the reality of wisdom.
Future generations will hear much without being properly taught, and will appear wise but not be so, making them difficult to get along with.
No written instructions for an art can yield results clear or certain, Socrates states, but rather can only remind those that already know what writing is about.
Furthermore, writings are silent; they cannot speak, answer questions, or come to their own defense.
