For twenty-five centuries, Western knowledge has tried to look upon the world. It has failed to understand that the world is not for the beholding. It is for hearing. It is not legible, but audible.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of listening and understanding the world through sound rather than merely observing it.
Jacques Attali's quote reflects a deep philosophical viewpoint that challenges traditional notions of knowledge and perception. It suggests that Western thought has often been focused on visual observation, ignoring the vital role that sound and listening play in our understanding of the world. By stating that the world is 'not for the beholding, but for hearing,' Attali invites us to consider a more holistic approach to knowledge that encompasses auditory experiences and the complexities they bring.
In practice
In a discussion on the role of different senses in learning, this quote can highlight the significance of auditory experience.
What is called music today is all too often only a disguise for the monologue of power. However, and this is the supreme irony of it all, never before have musicians tried so hard to communicate with their audience, and never before has that communication been so deceiving. Music now seems hardly more than a somewhat clumsy excuse for the self-glorification of musicians and the growth of a new industrial sector.
Pride is one of the socially acceptable sins in some corners of the evangelical culture. It's just straight-out ego gratification - how important I am; whether my name gets on the building or on the TV program or in the magazine article.
The first question we would ask if aliens landed on this planet is not, 'What does this mean for the economy or jobs?' It would be, 'Are they friendly or unfriendly?'
The chief cause of human errors is to be found in the prejudices picked up in childhood.
Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
Every rascal is not a thief, but every thief is a rascal.
There is no way of salvation except through the cross of Christ.
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