Against Headphones? A Retrieval and Reflection
My First Article At Mere Orthodoxy
Today, I’m pleased to have my first article at Mere Orthodoxy called Learning the Sounds of Love.
It is the most substantive thing I’ve ever written online.
Here’s how it starts:
I recently started wearing my first completely wireless pair of earbuds. At first I would leave them in my ear even when I talked with my wife or kids. But I began to wonder, with the help of modern science, Herman Bavinck, and the Thomistic tradition, should I be wearing something designed to cut me off, auditorily at least, from those I’m called to love? If Bonhoeffer is right when he says the first service that one owes to others consists in listening to them, do headphones impede this duty?
The first two-thirds of this article will be difficult for many readers, as I am working with the terminology of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Don’t worry, though. Just keep reading, as the concepts from Thomas allow for a much richer reflection in the last third.
Here’s how one early reader/editor put it:
I think it’s very good… I’m not aware of others writing on this idea. So it has the feel of “I’m learning something new and I think I will need to change the way I live as a result” which is a lot to accomplish with just one article.
Again, here’s the link to read: https://mereorthodoxy.com/learning-the-sounds-of-love
I enjoyed this had. I have not yet fully embraced the earbud society, but the inclination of aloneness was heightened the other day at the walking track. As I donned my ear buds for the first time I felt included in conversation, my thoughts with a great podcast.
Yet, when others joined the course, I immediately felt I was excluding them.
As a result, my ear buds stay at home.