29. Sight, Hearing, and the Continuous in Knowledge

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Superiority of Sight #

• Sight is superior secundum se (as such) because it apprehends many differences of things through the visible, which is found in all bodies
• The universal accessibility of the visible makes sight superior to other senses in range and applicability
• Sight operates at distance through transparent media (air, water), enabling knowledge of celestial bodies and distant objects
• Without eyes, humans would be entirely “earth-bound” with no knowledge beyond the immediate earthly realm
• This is tied to Aristotle’s (now disputed) theory that celestial bodies are not hot/cold but primarily visible

Hearing and Learning #

• While hearing knows fewer things than sight, it is superior for understanding in a specific way
• Speech is a cause of learning—not through the differences of sounds themselves, but accidentally insofar as names are symbols (signs) of things understood
• The teacher teaches by signifying to the student the conception of the teacher’s own mind
• Man can learn more from another through hearing than he could discover by himself through sight
• Among those deprived from birth of one sense, the blind are typically wiser than the deaf, suggesting hearing’s importance for learning

The Continuous as Foundational #

• The continuous is “very basic in our knowledge”
• Aristotle states: “the soul understands nothing without the continuous”
• All images are tied to the continuous; we never think without forming images
• All common sensibles pertain to the continuous in different ways:
  • Magnitude: as measure of the continuous
  • Number: according to division of the continuous
  • Figure/shape: according to termination of the continuous
  • Motion: according to distance and proximity

Common Sensibles vs. Private Sensibles #

• Common sensibles (magnitude, figure, rest, motion, number) are known by many senses
• Private sensibles (colors, sounds, tastes) are proper objects of individual senses
• Common sensibles all pertain to the continuous and are universally known
• Private sensibles are typically used metaphorically in higher discourse (e.g., “taste and see how sweet is the Lord”)
• Common sensibles, by contrast, receive new meanings that are not merely metaphorical (e.g., “beginning and end” of God)

Equivocal Terms and the Continuous #

• Words in philosophy and wisdom are equivocal by reason—they have multiple meanings ordered and connected to a primary meaning
• The primary meanings derive from the continuous; higher meanings extend from these through ordered connection
• Before/After: Originally from time (continuous), extended to ocean, road, and reason itself (“looking before and after”)
• Beginning/End: Originally from magnitude (endpoints of a line), extended to God as “Alpha and Omega”
• One: Originally means the continuous unified (one piece of chalk), extended to “one God”
• Understanding philosophical and theological language requires grasping the primary, continuous-based meanings first

The Spoken Word vs. Written Word #

• The spoken word is a more perfect tool of teaching than the written word
• The spoken word is the original word; the written word is only a sign of the spoken word
• Christ taught only by the spoken word, not by writing, exemplifying the supremacy of oral instruction (He wrote only in sand)
• Socrates similarly taught only through spoken dialogue (preserved in Plato’s dialogues), not through written texts
• Socrates and Christ resemble each other in two ways: (1) both examined those claiming knowledge and showed their ignorance, (2) both taught only by the spoken word

Memorization and Understanding #

• Memory is undermined by written texts; people rely on external records and lose the exercise of memory
• Memorization of important texts (psalms, Shakespeare) reveals depths and connections not initially apparent
• Memorized passages return to mind when relevant to current thinking, illuminating unexpected connections
• The capacity to memorize and recall is being lost in modern education; students no longer exercise memory as they once did

The Four Elements and Tangible Qualities #

• The tangible qualities (hot, cold, dry, moist) are the fundamental differences determining the elements
• These are more basic than other sensible opposites (black/white, hard/soft, sweet/bitter) because they cause changes in those qualities
• Heat affects color; moisture affects both color and hardness
• Hot and dry = fire; wet and cold = water; cold and dry = earth; hot and wet = air
• This theory lasted 2,000 years (from Empedocles through Shakespeare) because it provides an obvious, sensory-based framework for distinguishing basic matter

The Sense of Touch and Immaterial Reception #

• Touch perceives tangible qualities (hot, cold, dry, moist), the fundamental qualities of bodies as bodies
• Unlike sight and hearing, the sense organ of touch cannot be entirely lacking in its object (touch is inherently hot/cold/wet/dry)
• The sense organ has a harmony or proportion (Latin: ratio) that enables it to function
• A sense discerns sensibles when it is a mean between the contraries; the middle is able to discern
• The sense does not perceive what is at the same temperature as itself but perceives what is excessive in comparison
• Excessive sensible objects destroy the harmony of the sense organ, corrupting sensation
• This demonstrates that sensing involves immaterial reception: the form is received as the form of another, not as the sense’s own form

Key Arguments #

Why Sight is Superior #

• Universality of the visible: The visible is found in all bodies; the audible is not
• Distance: Sight operates through transparent media enabling knowledge of celestial bodies and distant objects unavailable to other senses
• Access to the continuous: Sight especially makes known the common sensibles, which are fundamentally tied to the continuous, the foundation of all knowledge

Why Hearing is Superior for Learning #

• Speech signifies conceptions of the mind, making it a vehicle for transmitting understanding
• Students learn more from teachers through audible instruction than through independent discovery
• Yet sound itself, as sound, teaches nothing; only insofar as it is a sign does it instruct
• This suggests the superiority of the living teacher present in dialogue

The Continuous as Foundational to All Knowledge #

• All human thinking involves images, and all images are continuous
• All equivocal terms in philosophy derive their primary meanings from the continuous
• Understanding higher meanings of terms (philosophical, theological) requires understanding their primary, continuous-based meanings
• This applies even to the highest terms: God as beginning, end, one

The Immateriality of Sensation and Its Limits #

• Sensing involves immaterial reception of forms (receiving the form as other, not as one’s own)
• Yet sensation is not entirely immaterial; sense organs are bodily and can be corrupted by excessive objects
• This intermediate status of sensation prepares for understanding reason’s complete immateriality
• Reason, having no bodily organ, cannot be corrupted by its objects as senses are

Important Definitions #

Common Sensibles #

Properties known by multiple senses (not proper to a single sense): magnitude, figure, motion, rest, and number. These differ from private sensibles, which are proper objects of individual senses.

The Continuous (τὸ συνεχές) #

That which is divisible into parts that are themselves continuous. The fundamental structure underlying all sensible perception, all images, and all human thought and language.

Equivocal by Reason (ἀνάλογον, analogical) #

Terms with multiple ordered and connected meanings, derived from a primary meaning and extended to higher meanings through a rational connection. Distinguished from purely equivocal terms (homonyms) which have unrelated meanings.

Immaterial Reception #

The mode of knowing in which a form is received as the form of another thing, not as one’s own form. The receiver retains its own nature while grasping the nature of another—as wax receives the imprint of a signet ring without becoming the ring.

Harmony/Proportion (λόγος, ratio) #

The proper balanced state of a sense organ that enables it to function and discern sensibles. Excessive sensible objects destroy this proportion, temporarily corrupting the sense.

Private Sensibles (ἴδια αἰσθητά) #

Proper objects of individual senses, known by only one sense: colors (sight), sounds (hearing), tastes (taste), smells (smell), tangible qualities (touch).

Examples & Illustrations #

The Continuous in Daily Language and Philosophy #

• “Looking before and after” on a road: space and time are continuous; the word “before” derives its meaning from this continuity
• “The beginning of the table” and “the end of the table”: magnitude as continuous; these terms then extend to God as Alpha and Omega
• “One piece of chalk” remaining one when continuous; becoming “two pieces of chalk” when the continuity is broken
• The road as continuous: philosophy as “knowledge over a road” derives from the continuous nature of the path

Sensory Experience and Harmony #

• Entering a cold ocean: initially feeling the cold intensely; as the body’s temperature adjusts, the cold is no longer perceived excessively
• Shower warming: when the water temperature matches the body’s, warmth is no longer sensed; turning the water hotter to feel the sensation again
• Hair and moisture: wet hair becomes dark; as it dries throughout the day, it becomes gray and “almost white,” showing how wetness and dryness affect color
• Fresh paint: bright and moist appearance changes as paint dries, demonstrating how wetness/dryness affect the sensible appearance

The Four Elements and Their Causality #

• Toaster: white bread becomes darker from heat; black metal becomes red-hot, then white-hot
• Butter: becomes hard when cold (refrigerated), softens when heated in a frying pan
• Sponge: becomes soft when wet, hard as rock when dry, can be softened again by moistening
• Bread: dries to hardness, but can be softened again by moistening
• These examples show that hot/cold and wet/dry cause changes in hard/soft and color

Learning and the Spoken Word #

• Thomas Aquinas anecdote: offered the whole city of Paris spread below him, he would trade it for a copy of John Chrysostom’s Commentary on the Gospel of St. John (a text he apparently memorized or knew extensively)
• Plato’s gratitude: thanked the gods for three things: being born a man (not a woman), a Greek (not a barbarian), and having met Socrates
• Printing office anecdote: leaving folders at the printing office and having to retrieve them, illustrating how written records can undermine memory

Memorization Revealing Depths #

• Shakespeare sonnets: as one begins to memorize, depths and connections not initially apparent become visible
• Memorized psalm passages: return to mind when thinking about something else, suddenly revealing relevance to current concerns
• Different classes: a memorized passage from one class suddenly reveals relevance to an entirely different class’s subject matter
• Modern decline: students with computers no longer memorize; they rely on external access, losing the mental benefit of memorization

Christ and Socrates as Teachers #

• Both taught only by the spoken word, not by writing
• Both examined those claiming knowledge and revealed their ignorance
• Christ: examined the Pharisees about whose son the Christ was; they could not answer His reasoning
• Socrates: his examination of those claiming wisdom got him into trouble, leading to his trial and execution
• Both were put to death unjustly, partly because they challenged pretended knowledge

Questions Addressed #

Why is sight superior to other senses? #

Because sight apprehends the visible, which is found in all bodies, giving it universal applicability. Sight also operates at distance, enabling knowledge of celestial bodies and the cosmos, whereas other senses are limited to proximate objects. Most importantly, sight makes known the common sensibles (especially magnitude and figure), which pertain to the continuous—the foundation of all knowledge.

Why is hearing superior for learning despite knowing fewer things? #

Because speech signifies the conceptions of the teacher’s mind, making it a vehicle for transmitting understanding from one person to another. Through the teacher’s spoken word, students learn more than they could discover independently through sight. The key is that sound itself teaches nothing; only insofar as it is a sign (σημεῖον) of something understood does it instruct.

How are all equivocal terms related to the continuous? #

All primary meanings of philosophical and theological terms derive from the continuous (time, space, magnitude). Higher meanings are extensions of these primary meanings through an ordered connection (analogical use). Understanding “beginning,” “end,” “before,” “after,” and “one” when applied to God requires grasping first their primary meanings in the continuous, then understanding how these meanings are extended to the divine.

Why does the sense of touch differ from sight and hearing regarding its object? #

Because the sense organ of touch is itself hot, cold, wet, or dry (the very qualities it perceives), it cannot be entirely lacking in its object as sight and hearing are. This makes touch an intermediate case between purely material reception and immaterial knowing.

How does the continuous relate to reason’s immateriality? #

Reason is completely immaterial precisely because it can understand all material things (which are continuous) without being corrupted by them. Sensation, being partly material, can be corrupted by excessive sensible objects. But reason, having no bodily organ, cannot be corrupted—it becomes more able to understand other things when understanding something very understandable, the opposite of sensation’s behavior.

Notable Quotes #

“The soul understands nothing without the continuous.” — Aristotle (De Memoria et Reminiscentia, cited by Berquist)

“The spoken word is a more perfect tool of teaching than the written word.” — Thomas Aquinas (cited by Berquist)

“He is the Alpha and the Omega… the beginning and the end.” — Revelation; cited by Berquist as example of equivocal extension of terms from the continuous to the divine

“Taste and see how sweet is the Lord.” — Psalms, cited by Berquist as an example of metaphorical use of a private sensible

“The sense being like a certain mean of the contrarieties and sensibles… For the middle is able to discern.” — Aristotle (cited by Berquist)