The Other Side of Language

by Fiumara,Gemma Corradi

• ISBN13: 9780415049276
• ISBN10: 041504927X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1995-12-18
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Our philosophy is grounded in only half a language, in which the power of discourse is deployed whilst the strength of listening is ignored. We inhabit a culture that knows how to speak but not how to listen; so we mistake warring monologues for genuine dialogue. Western philosophies have consistently endowed expressive language with the power of communication, reducing the unspeaking, non-expressive Other to a void. In this remarkable book, Gemma Corradi Fiumara redresses the balance by looking at the other side of language--listening. Synthesizing the insights of Wittgenstein, Heidegger and Gadamer, among many others, she puts forward a powerful argument for the replacement of "silent" silence of Western thought with the rich openness of an authentic listening.

Author Biography

Gemma Corradi Fiumara is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Third University of Rome.

Table of Contents

Towards a fuller understanding of logos	p. 1
The logocentric system of culture	p. 18
A philosophy of listening within a tradition of questioning	p. 28
The power of discourse and the strength of listening	p. 52
Listening to philosophical tradition	p. 72
The philosophical problem of benumbment	p. 82
Silence and listening	p. 95
Dialogic interaction and listening	p. 113
On inner listening	p. 127
Midwifery and philosophy	p. 143
Paths of listening	p. 169
The philosophy of listening: an evolutionary approach	p. 184
Notes	p. 199
Bibliography	p. 215
Subject index	p. 223
Name index	p. 229
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