[kurthr]

Hmmm... do you mean written versions of oral traditions? We really don't know them past one generation since all of recorded history was literally written by the winners.

How many truly illiterate people do you know?

I suppose you could say that most 5 year olds are illiterate... are they capable of rational thought, perhaps... are they wellsprings of human knowledge and culture, I personally doubt.

[carbor1]

I do fieldwork on a lamguage that lacks a written form, so I actually know quite a lot of illiterate people, and they are quite capable of complex and rational thought.

In a literate society like ours, we tend to equate language with writing, but they're not at all the same thing. I agree that language is necessary for complex thought, just not writing.