After Plato · answer 3 of 20 · option order 1
Plato: writing weakens memory
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C1
Response
Plato's warning in the *Phaedrus* regarding writing as a tool for external memory rather than internal understanding remains profoundly relevant to our contemporary reliance on machines, and in this context, the argument that such dependence weakens human capacities holds the greater truth. While technology undeniably acts as an aid to "reminiscence"—allowing us to retrieve vast amounts of information instantly—it risks atrophying the very cognitive muscles required for deep synthesis, critical evaluation, and the disciplined effort of true learning. If we allow machines to serve merely as external hard drives for facts, we may indeed become "hearers of many things" who appear omniscient yet lack the foundational wisdom to distinguish truth from semblance or to construct coherent understanding. Ultimately, the capacity of the human mind is defined not by the volume of data it can store, but by the depth of the connections it can forge; outsourcing this process to algorithms without active engagement leads to a superficial intellect that is knowledgeable only in appearance, thereby confirming Plato's dread that we gain the show of wisdom while losing its reality.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Plato, Phaedrus, in Benjamin Jowett's translation:
“This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.”
Project Gutenberg #1636
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines weakens human capacities; others hold that it does not. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
- Model
- Qwen3.5 9B, instruct, 8-bit mlx weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- qwen-plato-phaedrus-o1-03
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer