The Republic of Letters

About 600 years ago, some farsighted intellectual explorers in Europe created a long-distance communication network they called the Republic of Letters; indeed, it was almost something like a network of networks (an internet!), since it connected local networks in various towns and cities with each other. The way it worked is that individual people would exchange handwritten letters and manuscripts, and eventually printed pamphlets and books, with correspondents in other parts of the network. Those correspondents would then write back to the original sender and also share insights with others to whom they were connected (whether local or distant). It was also expected that participants would help to grow the network by recruiting new members. This network, which flourished from about 1400 to 1800, played a significant role in fostering the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the early Industrial Revolution.

The primary purpose of the Republic of Letters was the individual and collective advancement of knowledge, both theoretical and practical. Toward that end, the participants committed themselves to certain core principles, which we could describe as follows: reflection, not reaction; reason, not emotion; respect, not contempt; conversation, not argument; learning, not partisanship; and upholding the highest standards of clarity in writing (mostly in Latin because that was the universal language of Europe back then).

Now consider how far the Republic of Letters is from our current modes of interaction over the Internet, especially in so-called social media apps. Unlike those pioneers of knowledge who were supremely dedicated to building a better world, we now inhabit a living hell of emotivistic reaction, mutual contempt, and partisan vitriol, too often expressed in expletives and insults. And don’t get me started on our seemingly inexorable slide into a post-literate society.

Is there hope? Perhaps. We still have people who write intelligent essays, blogs, newsletters, papers, and books. Twitter (X?) and its ilk are a mess, but there’s always the possibility that someone will create a communication app designed to lift participants up to a higher standard rather than pull them down to the lowest common denominator. If I were building such an app, I might consider the following features: words only, no images or videos; something like a 200-word minimum on posts; a 24-hour delay in posting so that people don’t write with undue heat; posts only, no comments; no like button; no repost button; no sponsored posts; no centrally-controlled algorithms for the primary interface; relatively small conversation groups (say, 15 people), consistent with Robin Dunbar’s insights into human interaction; and perhaps even smaller, 5-person learning teams focused on solving particular problems or intensively exploring particular topics.

Even if someone doesn’t offer such an app, we can behave as if they had by avoiding the social media sewer and committing ourselves to moderation and reasonableness when interacting with our fellow citizens of the intellectual republic. It’s worth a try, anyway!