Writing and Reading as Social Activities

Abstract

The form of association made possible by the complementary activities of reading and writing is examined from the perspective of each. The primary focus is on the differences in how readers and writers experience both themselves and others in the process of such mediated communication as opposed to the experience of persons in face-to-face interaction. These differences are then related to the rise of individualism and the mode of analytic thought in Western Civilization. A final section focuses on the relationship between writers and authority systems as a possible explanation for bursts of creative literary production in societies.