CNS 491 – Presentation
Jason Villasoto & David White
The Bias of Communication – Harold Innis
This essay discusses how each medium of communication has a particular space or time bias. This bias, Innis proposes, determines the ways in which knowledge is disseminated throughout cultures.  In this essay he discusses the significance of communication to the rise and decline of cultural traits. Innis also chronicles the rise and fall of empires and the corresponding media that influenced them.
The medium of communication has important influence on the dissemination of knowledge over space and time:
●heavy and durable --> time bias
●light and easily transported --> space bias
"The relative emphasis on time or space will imply a bias of significance to the culture in which it is imbedded" (p. 33)
"Our knowledge of other civilizations depends in large part on the character of the " (p. 33)
●eg. writing on clay or stone has been preserved more effectively than that of papyrus
"We can perhaps assume that the use of a medium of communication over a long period will to some extent determine the character of knowledge to be communicated and suggest that its pervasive influence will eventually create a civilization in which life and flexibility will become exceedingly difficult to maintain and that the advantages of a new medium will become such as to lead to the emergence of a new civilization."(34)
Innis notes that the Egyptian civilization was powerfully influenced by the Nile.  The adoption of a sidereal calendar (which is based on how long it takes for the sun to return to its original position relative to the position of the stars) allowed the monarchy to utilize the periodic flooding (which left fertile soil) of the Nile. This led to an absolute monarchy on upper Egypt.
Innis explains that the “success of the monarchy in acquiring control over Egypt in terms of space necessitated a concern with problems of continuity or time.  To address this concern, the monarchy used mummification and construction of the pyramids as devices for emphasizing control over time.
The building of the pyramids were accompanied by the development of the art of pictorial representation (hieroglyphics) and the emergence of writing.  By about 3315 B.C., writing had gradually developed toward phoneticism.  Many picture signs had a purely phonetic value and were regularly spelled out.
“The monopoly of knowledge centering around stone and hieroglyphics started getting competition from papyrus as a new and more efficient medium.” (35)
“The increasing use of papyrus and the brush was accompanied by the development of the hieratic character and the emergence of the profession of scribes.  Writing and thought were secularized.  Administration was extended following the spread of writing and reading.  The social revolution involved a shift from the use of stone to the use of papyrus and the increased importance of the priestly class imposed enormous strains on Egyptian civilization and left it exposed to the inroads of invaders equipped with effective weapons of attack.”
The Hyskos or Shepherd Kings captured Egypt, but the strength of the Egyptian cultural elements facilitated reorganization and mobilization of resources to expel the invaders.  The introduction of horse and chariots enabled Egyptian rulers to also conquer vast new territories and to build an empire.
The king extended the political organization to include people of different races and religions which temporarily solved the problem of space in government.  To address problems of continuity, or time, the king tried to make the worship of the solar disc as an imperial religion “which would overrule distinctions between Egyptians and foreigners.” (35)
Eventually, the imperial rule declined.
“A monopoly of knowledge supported by a difficult script resisted demands for change and brought the Egyptian Empire to an end.” (36)
centeringInnis contrasts the Egyptians with the Sumerians who were also a river civilization (Tigris & Euphrates). Rather than being centralized like Egypt, mesopotamia was made up of small city states where the chief priest of the temple was the direct representative of the god.
Clay was used as the medium for writing.
Difficulties of transporting the clay encouraged the development of a decentralized society.
Difficulties of writing on moist clay led to the disappearance of pictographs and led to the emergence of conventional signs or formal patterns of cuneiform.  The stylus was developed in relation to the deman
ds of clay.
There was an emphasis of mathematics in the early development of writing to meet the demands of economy and the necessity of uniformity of communication between scattered cities.  Thus, there was also an emphasis on abstractions.
Eventually, Semitic invaders were successful in conquering Mesopotamia and centralizing power in the new capital of Babylon.
“The centralized power of a monarchy favoured the architecture of palaces, and the use of stone in sculpture and as a medium of writing, particularly of laws designed to establish uniformity over vast empires.” (37)
Hammurabi made the Semitic language official.  The new language was a hybrid of the spoken Semitic language and written Sumerian.
A flexible alphabet eventually developed based on consonants.
The Greeks had a long standing oral tradition which was evident in the Homeric poems.  Eventually, the Greeks adopted the Phoenician Semitic consonantal alphabet and added vowels to mimic the spok
en word. This is very important:
●The introduction of the alphabet shifted the focus to sound rather than sight.  This shifted the written
word to become flexible in mimicking any sound regardless of the origin.
Plato attempted to preserve Greek oral tradition, but the written tradition eventually brought the vitality of the oral tradition to an end.
In the words of Nietzsche, “Everyone being allowed to read ruineth in the long run not only writing but also thinking.” (44)
The Greek oral tradition had a profound influence on the Romans.
“By the middle of the first century BC, the influence of writing became evident in the demand for codes. Laws and precedents in the oral tradition had been largely in men's minds to the time of Cicero.” (45)
As Rome spread, libraries were brought from Greece.  Supplies of papyrus were available from Egypt.  A book trade was developed and public and private libraries constructed.  The spread of writing brought an interest in the codification of laws.
Bureaucratic administration emerged and the Republic was replaced by the Empire.
The parchment and the codex came into use by Rome because of the scarcity of papyrus.  Christianity utilized the parchment for writing scriptures that also led to libraries. This brought the ban on secular learning in favor of theological studies. (47/48) In this way, religion was able to gain a monopoly of knowledge because it was the only education taught through the medium.
Innis demonstrates that despite the new medium of paper, China suffered from its shortcomings. The new medium of paper from China challenged the monopoly on knowledge of parchment. Paper made conversing with one another easier through the use of pictographs. This medium allowed the empires to be administered by scholarly class. Paper help spread Buddhism to the lower class from India into China. China was an empire organized by emphasis of space but not time which led to domination by the Mongols. (50/51) Paper making techniques were improved upon in the Middle East and spread to the west. Cities were the main sites of paper creations because of their proximity to rags and other necessary resources that created paper. Innis proposes that monasteries in rural areas lost their monopoly on knowledge because of the growth of cities, cathedrals and universities. Growth of paper created more trade and city development and increased the power of monarchies. Political organizations were strengthened at the expense of religious organizations due to the rise of lawyers a
nd vernacular language. (51/52) Older forms of communication were uprooted by new media prompting vast social change and redistribution of power.
Innis states that the parchment used by ecclesiastical organizations emphasized the control of time, while paper emphasized space through the growth of trade between cities, the rise of lawyers and the use of the vernacular. Spread of paper led to a monopoly of knowledge by copyist guilds because of the difficulties involved with creating large books. (53) New media brought the transfer of power in regards to knowledge.“The printing press became ‘a battering-ram to bring abbeys and castles crashing to the ground.’” (55)  This reduced the costs associated with printing books and provided spread of paper-based information to the masses.
“Commercialism of the publisher began to displace the craft of the printer.” (53) The initial reason for mediums change and gain a new purpose.
Publishing of scriptures in the vernacular led to reinterpretations and was instrumental in creating Protestantism. Leaks in religion’s monopoly of knowledge and the mass use of paper created fractions in the structure of churches.
The focus on the bible brought about restrictions in publications, often targeting scholastic and Aristotel
ian philosophy. This change emphasized science instead. The Royal Society was concerned with science and changing the English language by improving it as a medium for prose by creating a “mathematical simplicity.” (56) Innis was pointing out that the new media were able change the actual language.
Social change via revolutions was brought about by new media or at least facilitates by them. “With the outbreak of revolution newspapers became the artillery of ideas.” (58) England responded to effects of the newspapers in the French revolution by limiting the power of the press through repressive taxing.
Innis states that the outbreak of new technology created disarray between the European countries and caused the First World War. (59)Innis thought that the treaty of Versailles showed the divisive effects of the printing industry because of the promotion of self determination.
Printing Press ended problem of space but neglected problem of continuity and time. Newspaper has monopoly over time but not space because of its limited regional characteristics. Radio brought centralization and a concern for continuity.
Censorship was often used to maintain a monopoly on knowledge. The bias of communication was demonstrated by who it was distributed to, what way it was written and what was actually allowed to be
printed.
“The bias of communication in paper and the printing industry was destined to be offset by the bias of radio,”
(60) with the problem of space solved by the versatility of paper, radio was able to solve the problem of continuity of communication. Both mediums brought significant changes to the monopolization of knowledge by destroying some of the old and creating new ones.
Questions:
●According to Innis, who would have the monopolies on knowledge in today’s world?
●Towards which medium of communication does our current culture bias?
●According to Innis, oral culture has a time bias and written culture has a space bias.  Do we live in an
oral or written society?  What are the implications of this.
●Would Innis consider the Internet a space-biased or time-biased communications medium?
●Does our current society solve the problem of time and/or space? If not, why?
●With the openness and diversity of information sources, do monopolies of knowledge exist in the
present day?

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