The modern discovery of primary oral cultures Ong devotes most of his second chapter to a brief account of studies done by Milman Parry and Eric Havelock on the noetic characteristics of oral cultures. According to Ong the Greeks of Homer's age relied on such formulaic uses of language to aid in the retention of knowledge. Without writing, if thoughts were not expressed in easily remembere d forms and were not constantly repeated, they would be lost. Ong then explains that Eric Havelock, in Preface to Plato, extended Parry's conclusions to include the entirety of ancient Greek culture. In chapter three Ong provides a list of the characteristics of the way people of a primary oral culture think and express themselves through narrative and discusses them in light of memory.
Expression is additive rather than subordinative.
It is aggregative rather than analytic. There is a tendency for it to be conservative. Out of necessity, thought is conceptualized and then expressed with relatively close reference to the human lifeworld. Expression is agonistically toned. It is empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced.