Journal 5: The Importance of Silence

According to Stuart Sim, a politician and author of Manifesto for Silence, human beings today are living in a Culture of Noise and are victims of the Politics (and, arguably, the Economics) of Noise. Although one should never be silenced (meaning, forced to be silent against one’s will), Sim argues, silence is necessary for people individually and for society as a whole, because, reminiscent of the ideology of philosopher Max Picard, silence is key to our humanity. Without silence, one is less human and indeed, even inhuman. Thus, we need to ‘turn down the volume’ on our society.
Sim gives several reasons for his defense of silence. First, he claims that too much noise is detrimental to a person’s physical health. Most obviously, exposure to chronic noise or extremely loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss or "tinnitus – hearing loss accompanied by an incessant ringing noise in one’s head." Both fates are ominous and maddening because while the first forces one into constant silence, the second forces one into constant noise. Second, Sim mentions that studies have shown a connection between exposure to chronic noise and the likelihood of heart attacks. Noise can be harmful in other ways, too. For instance, psychologically, noise pollution can cause panic, stress, and anxiety that can be disturbing and infuriating. Indeed, in extreme cases, loud noises are deliberately used in wars to confuse, terrorize, subdue and pacify those against whom war is being waged. A constant din of noise can also be used in capitalistic societies for advertising purposes: the more noise there is, the less one is able to think. If there is less pondering, there will be more buying. Truly, there are many reasons why extreme amounts of noise can be detrimental to human beings, whether it is used purposefully or not.
The author also demonstrates the virtues of silence. According to Sim, silence surrounds us with a spirit of humanity that is lost when noise constantly intrudes in our lives. First of all, silence helps people to think. The quieter the atmosphere, the more a person is able to contemplate. Expanding on this idea, silence can aid in the reflection on oneself, on society as a whole, and on life in general. Most religions, Sim points out, call for times and places of silence for the purpose of contemplative prayer and reading. Sim also holds that silence is key to philosophy and art as well, for both fields require much thought. Indeed, without thought, and especially without self-awareness reflection, a person’s sense of humanity dwindles away. Thus, Sim concludes, silence is imperative for human beings to be truly human.
Yet, as Sim extols the virtues of silence and the problems of noise, philosopher Marshall McLuhan tells his readers that the people of the world are moving towards a basically oral society (as discussed in my last journal). If, indeed, we are living in an oral culture (or are at least on our way into one), noise is the primary way in which we communicate, which would mean that the world will have to become much more noisy than it is already. However, noise, Sim says, is so detrimental to us, not only physically and psychologically, but also in the fact that it gets rid of silence, which is key to our humanity. What, then, is McLuhan trying to tell us when he says that we are living in an oral society due to technology? What does he mean when he says we should not worry about the changes but allow them to happen, as they are inevitable? Is it inevitable, then, that we are becoming ‘less human’ human beings? Could anyone just sit around and allow ourselves to become mere shells of what we once were? Of what we could be? For the sake of each individual and for the world as a whole, I hope McLuhan is incorrect in his ideas about the transformation of human society from visual to oral. Yet, if he is not, I know I will want to fight against the dehumanization of society, even though the battle be futile.