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Visual-spatial perception, is usually considered to be a reliable way to look at and to understand the world. During a study with laryngectomised patients, I noticed that there were exceptions. Visual observation, for example in the interpretation of X-rays, was at best incomplete and often misleading. The most valuable discoveries were made by accurate listening, thus avoiding visual deceptions. The French philosopher and columnist, Alain (nom de plume of E.A.Chartier), apparently agreed, as is witnessed by this line: "Voir n'est qu'une bâtarde façon de connaitre" (seeing is a spurious way of knowing). I took this as a motto for my thesis (1958) on "Oesophageal Speech", a substitute way of voice production used by laryngectomised people. Although Alain's quote is on the cover-page, nobody has ever asked for an explanation. Let me give it now.
With our eyes we perceive spatial relations between objects: small differences in size, in measured time. The visually oriented person is staring at proximal causes; the auditorily oriented person grasps the ultimate cause. With our ears we perceive temporal relations: we recognise and remember intricate rhythmic figures, melodic lines, complex harmonies, and we learn to integrate these into a meaningful auditory Gestalt. The skill to discern "Gestalts in time" assists us to recognise patterns of development, even if the time-scale is stretched or shortened by a factor 10 or a multiple of 10. J.Pringle has remarked that complexity of matter cannot explain life, it can only be understood as complexity in time.
Through listening much is revealed that is not noticeable to the eye. When one looks at an object only features within one's field of vision are perceived. When listening however one perceives all surrounding sources of sound, also those that hide behind other objects. To the visual world of surfaces, auditory perception adds understanding of the inner structure of objects and the core of things. A crack in a porcelain or crystal vase may be hardly visible, but will always be heard. A "crack" in the voice of a patient is understood, not so much by fiberoptic laryngoscopy, nor by X-rays, but by listening [1] to the way he uses his voice and [2] to the story of his life. The "visual" person is liable to limit his scope of attention to one particular preconceived area. A visual orientation may be a handicap for a diagnostician. The "listening" person on the contrary notices hidden cues and will be well disposed to make sense of them.
In an essay for the journal Hospital Practice, Morowitz has defined the difference between "Splitters" and "Lumpers". The former concentrate on a detail which they study for a lifetime; the latter take an encompassing bird's eye view and discover connections and grand patterns. The lumper and the splitter can ideally combine into one person. Since I have done a significant amount of splitting in my younger years, I now feel the need to overview vast areas. We must develop comprehensive theories that connect various disciplines. With increasing differentiation, specialists grow ever more wide apart and tend to lose touch. I am driven by a counteracting force destined to effect integration and I hope that my readers will share this attitude. We have discussed such questions as :
how body and mind cooperate
how form and function relate
how matter and mind relate
how information is transmitted all through the body and between the body and it's environment
how it is that people vary greatly in physical and temperamental characteristics
how this variability helps to form cohesive societies
how a child develops into a healthy adult person
how a moral system for adaptation and defence develops in ever widening layers
how language evolves as a human system for adaptation and defence
what is the matter with stutterers
what is the matter with neurotic voice disorders
12.7 Theory is the essence of experience; theories improve by being tested.
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