The story of our super-visual ocularcentric world, says the religious and cultural historian Leigh Eric Schmidt, is a story of hearing loss: our culture is hearing impaired. It’s not just that we don’t listen anymore for the voices of angels, or talk to Jesus, as enthusiastic Christians always have. It’s that we’ve accepted the Enlightenment idea (which is also the television premise) that what we see with our eyes trumps what we hear with our ears-when maybe that isn’t so at all.
Philosopher John Dewey observed that vision makes us spectators, but hearing makes us participants. Martin Luther thought his ears were the organs of his spirituality. So in his own way did Thoreau, who heard messages from crickets, brooks, bells, whippoorwills and especially the ringing of the telegraph wire which Thoreau called “my redeemer. It stings my ear with everlasting truth.” Listen up, we’re “hearing things,” this hour on The Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Religious and Cultural Historian, Leigh Eric Schmidt