Rhetoric Beyond the Mediterranean
The Teachings of Ptahhotep
"Great will be the applause on the part of the listeners..."
Instead of just focusing on what you are supposed to say, it is a great skill to listen to others. This allows for one to properly assess what someone else is saying and how to better rebut. By not listening, people would be talking past each other.
"Great is Truth"
Similarly to the Greeks, speaking from the truth is an honorable thing to do.
"Beware of making enmity by thy words, setting one noble against the other by perverting truth."
This warning stems from the earlier quote. By not speaking the truth, one dishonors themselves and others. When greatness is corrupted through lies, they have perverted their words.
"Obedience is better than all things that are; it maketh good- will."
This reminded me of the Christian doctrine book. Obedience is seen as the morally right thing to do. Above all, obedience is goodness. I think this type of speech reflects cultural and religious elements. Not to sound anti-theist (as I am not), but the call for obedience seems like a way to control the masses. An obedient population is easier to manage and manipulate. Smoother sailing, I supposed.
The “Instructions of Dua-Khety” (also known as “The Satire of the Trades”)
"Look, nothing excels writing."
This is a radically different approach compared to the Greeks and some Romans as they saw writing as corrupt or inferior. It was also accused of weakening memory. I think Socrates attributed books as akin to fetish objects if I remember correctly. Intriguingly, Egyptian culture valued writing similarly to Chinese culture. While verbal rhetoric was important, written rhetoric was seen just as essential.
"...so I would have you love writing more than your mother and have you recognise its beauty. For it is greater than any profession, there is none like it on earth."
"Look, there is no profession free of directors, except the scribe – he IS the director."
Compared to other jobs, scribes had greater treatment and status. It was a job not requiring immense toil and labor. By being a scribe, you could be among great and higher-status people and be fed well. It was a profession worthy of praise.
I did find it worth noting that the mother was mentioned. I am assuming the family was on some level better off than others to be literate. It leads me to wonder about women's roles in writing and literacy since the mother also recognizes the beauty of writing.
The Wisdom of Amenemope
"Guard your tongue from harmful speech, Then you will be loved by others. . ."
Aristotle would agree. Strategically, it is better to be careful with words and produce helpful speech than the opposite. This polite behavior is more preferable to others and is likely to garner alliances and friendships which is better than creating enemies.
"Swift is the speech of one who is angered..."
Be careful what you say angry as one is more likely to speak before thinking. However, I do want to oppose this slightly. Anger is typically seen in a negative light, but I have seen some arguments in favor of anger. Anger shows us injustice, mistreatment, and pain. Anger can conjure our courage to take action. There is something badass about saying, "I will die angry." It reminds me of the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Goodnight" which I read in a death and aging literature course.
"A man does not lose by speaking sweetly..."
It is better to be seen as a kind, soft-spoken person than one who speaks bitterly. While the sweet-spoken person may be spoken at harshly by the bitter speaker, their reputation will not be dampened if they respond kindly. The polite person is praised and raised higher while the rude is dismissed and lowered.
The Argumentative Indian
"...the need to understand the long heritage of religious skepticism in India."
I find this interesting from a historical perspective. A lot of atheists and agnostics were killed for their skepticism in Europe. Also, once the Roman empire was taken over by Christian doctrine a lot of pagans were killed. To have a country with a mixed population of religions and skepticism is fairly different. By having such a diverse population, I would argue leads to skepticism. Who is right and wrong? Also, the teachings of different religions can bleed into each other such as Buddhism and Hinduism. I am curious about the interactions between India and China when it came to Taoism as Taoism has much in common with Buddhism and Hinduism. Food for thought.
I also like the term radical doubt.
"Krishna's emphasis on doing one's duty, on one side, and Arjuna's focus on avoiding bad consequences (and generating good ones)..."
In this argument, Krishna is on the side of dharma while Arjuna is on the side of karma. Does one follow their duty and damn the consequences or avoid the consequences and damn their duty?
Every time I hear the Americanized version of karma, I cringe a little. Karma is about liberation/enlightenment, reincarnation, and actions. Your karma is the accumulation of your choices in this life and before. The idea of karma as punishment is flawed as Hindu and Buddhist beliefs see it as cause and effect. You can have good karma. The Americanization and capitalist paint job over Buddhist traditions is so strange.
"J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the American team that developed the ultimate 'weapon of mass destruction' during the Second World War, was moved to quote Krishna's words ('I am become death, the destroyer of worlds') as he watched, on I6 July I945, the awesome force of the first nuclear explosion devised by man. 6 Like the advice that Arjuna had received about his duty as a warrior fighting for a just cause, Oppenheimer the physicist could well find justification in his technical commitment to develop a bomb for what was clearly the right side."
The ends justify the means taken to a horrifying extreme. It's not a war crime if you're the good guy, right? Or at least, the victor.