The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization [Paperback]

Robert K. Logan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book has a message: the rise in the West of codified law, monotheism, theoretical science, logic, and individualism was fostered by the phonetic alphabet. Unfortunately, the message is not substantiated. Logan shows that literacy has contributed to many "Western" innovations, but literacy is not synonymous with alphabetas witness the Chinese, the Japanese, etc. Further, the relation between the alphabet and monotheism is obscure: both the ancient Greeks and the Hindus had an alphabet and many gods. Logan may argue that the phonetic alphabet possesses "logic," but where is the logic in a random list of alphabetized words: aardvark, abacus, acrobat, admirable? Yet many Chinese dictionaries are logical, grouping related words under the appropriate sign. Not recommended. Catherine von Schon, SUNY at Stony Brook Lib.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (September 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312009933
• ISBN-13: 978-0312009939
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,561,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert K. Logan is Professor Emeritus in physics at the U. of Toronto and Chief Scientist at the Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab) at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Logan has edited collections about Canadian politics (The Way Ahead for Canada and Canada's Third Option) based on his experiences as one of Pierre Trudeau's policy advisers. He has written about media and communications (The Alphabet Effect, The Fifth Language and The Sixth Language) based on his experience of collaborating and publishing with Marshall McLuhan. His book co-authored with McLuhan sits unpublished in the Canadian Archives in Ottawa, He has also written on the origin of language (The Extended Mind). Three new books are in the works at their respective publishers: Understanding New Media and What is Information based on work at the sLab and The Poetry of Physics based on a course of the same name that Logan has taught at U of T since 1971.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Science is more complex than the alphabet, July 25, 2010

By 

J. Brew "brewbooks" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization (Paperback)

This is a curious book, it made me thinking, and also left me wanting to learn more.

The premise of the book is that the use of the phonetic alphabet led to a paradigm shift in human culture among Western Europeans, that left behind the rest of the world. "The use of repeatable, fragmented, identical elements, the letters, which began with the introduction of the phonetic alphabet is an an example of such a paradigm. The extension of this idea resulted in the development of codified law, monotheism, abstract science, and deductive logic."

I want to learn more about the development of science in China. There are a number of reference to Joseph Needham's epic work Science and Civilisation in China, which currently comprises 27 volumes. Logan primarily refers to Volume 2: History of scientific thought - which I should like to read and understand. Logan uses Needham's work to support his premise that phonetic alphabets led to abstract science and that pictographic languages do not enable the development of abstract science. Logan left me wanting to learn much more, I certainly was not convinced that his hypothesis is supported based on his research.

I don't believe that the phonetic alphabet led to the development of monotheism. Logan points out that the Greeks were the first to perfect the phonetic alphabet by adding vowels. Yet, the Greeks were polytheistic, as were the Romans.

This book does assemble a lot of interesting facts and data, which are flying together in loose formation. I think that the development of codified law, monotheism, abstract science, and deductive logic can not be explained as simple offshoots of the development of the phonetic alphabet. I believe the development of each of these areas in much more complex. In particular, mathematics must lie at the origin of abstract and deductive logic. I resonate with a quote that Logan uses:

Philosophy is written in this vast book, which lies continuously open before our eyes (I mean the universe). But it cannot be understood unless you have first learned to understand the language and recognize the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and the characters are triangles, circles,and other geometrical figures. Without such means, it is impossible for us humans to understand a word of it, and to be without them is to wander around in vain through a dark labyrinth.
(Galileo Galilei, Il saggiatore, 1623.)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History of the Alphabet, January 3, 2004

By 

John Smeltzer (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization (Paperback)

I enjoy history, but I don't often seek it out. My knowledge base of ancient history is really lacking, but this book piqued my interest to find out more. The basic idea of the book is that there is a connection between the use of the phonetic alphabet and the development of monotheism, codified law, and abstract science. I found the section on the inclusion of the zero in math to be particularly interesting. My only criticims are that he seems to make a soft case, that is he goes out of his way to point out that he's not making a causal connection, and the final chapter (on computers), at this point, is more than a little dated.

5.0 out of 5 stars The amazing "Alphabet Effect", December 29, 2011

By 

Elsnerr - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization (Paperback)

This book brings out the tremendous effect of the phonic alphabet in ways that most people do not consider. For example, in the Chinese and Japanese symbol systems, there is no way to alphabetise a list such as a telephone directory. The book is easy reading. I recommend it highly. My only criticism is that the author did not follow a smooth time sequence. The time line in the book bounced around possibly too much.