Can a piece of writing " make something happen"?

xoxo_chanel

xoxo_chanel

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Aug 7, 2006
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#1
this question got me thinking during class today...what are your opinions? i think that a piece a writing can certainly make something happen...so many things are done/happen after something is read or written. i mean isnt that what newspapers are for? certain articles are there to motivate people. like an excellent essay about for example how to prevent cancer can certainly motivate people to take measures to prevent therefore change their lifestyle.
can you guys think of any real life experiences?
 
#3
Martin Luther's 95 Theses sparked the Protestant revolution.

Pretty much anytime a new idea is put into writing/print, it allows for the dissemination of that idea. The spreading of new ideas leads to social change.
 
#4
I make wishlists all the time and then bury them in my bedside table. They can be things I would like to do, or things I want to accomplish or just things I want to get done in different rooms of the house...like buying new drapes or repainting etc.

When I go back and clean out my drawer in a year or so, it's amazing how much I've accomplished!!


This is a much smaller scale than the previous posts, but it happens here, so it must be possible!
 
#5
The phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword" is there for a reason.

Machiavelli's The Prince has impressed people like Shakespeare. Shakespeare used some of Machiavelli's concepts to create a few of his most infamous characters including Richard III, Edmund, Don John, Claudius, and Iago.



(wikipedia)
 
#8
Pretty much every piece of philosophy - both ancient and modern. The ancient Greek philosophers influenced pretty much all of Western thought, including a lot of our ideals in America today. In every era, one can find philosophers that were talking about something - and writing things that were sometimes able to move those figurative mountains.

The thing to remember is that saying the above doesn't mean everyone has a unified way of thinking. It's well known that the study of philosophy involves raising questions based on things we read and talk about...which can prompt us to form our own responses in a philosophical manner to a thesis that already exists. So many ideas throughout time have been responses to other things previously said or written. Therefore, we can see that the very idea of philosophical study involves difference in thought and opinion. This is very important to remember.
 
#11
Can writing make something happen?? Are you kidding me?

The press is not called the 4th Estate for nothing, it has enormous influence in making events happen...both positive and negative...

On a smaller scale, I think certain novels and poems can change people's outlooks, making changes in the way we feel about an issue and subsequently changing the way things get done..
 
#12
Accessory Obsessory said:
I make wishlists all the time and then bury them in my bedside table. They can be things I would like to do, or things I want to accomplish or just things I want to get done in different rooms of the house...like buying new drapes or repainting etc.

When I go back and clean out my drawer in a year or so, it's amazing how much I've accomplished!!
Click to expand...

I have noticed this, too. I think writing things down helps you refocus your energy in the direction of that goal, so you have a better chance of achieving it.
 
#13
Yeah agree. A few years ago I was advised to write an objective (of what I was looking for) to a resume that I was writing to apply for jobs. I just let the thoughts flow - and I was really happy with what I produced - it was spot on. So many people (recruiters, companies etc) - seriously questioned it - saying it was vague etc. I think that it probably put them off me. But something in me felt that it was important - so I wanted to keep it in there.

Anyway - I get a job - and about six months later I happened to look at the resume; the job met my objective completely.

I think that when you put things into words it clarifies your thoughts. And I do believe that thought (especially clear thought) creates actions.
 
#15
words have more power than perhaps any other tool or force available to man.

read "the book thief" by marcus zusack. not only is it an amazing story, but this topic precisely is one of its major themes.
 
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