As I See It: The Dons of Dialogue
September 10, 2007 Victor Rozek
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Back in the 400s BC, two obscure Sicilian poets, Sophron and Epicharmus, wrote what scholars believe to be a series of two-performer plays. Although their work did not survive, it acquired an ancillary importance because it inspired the work of a more notable personage, Plato. He used the theatrical format to develop what would become known as the Platonic dialogues–instructional vignettes in which Socrates and one or more interlocutors expound on the finer points of philosophy. Beyond its dramatic appeal, dialogue proved useful as a non-threatening structure for the discussion of controversial subjects. It became, perhaps, the first communication model, |
