Paidea and the sense of hearing

Abstract

The following essay deals with the relation between the notion of paideia and the sense of hearing within the ancient Greek culture. First, we point out that the idea of the particular importance of the sense of hearing in the process of the acquiring knowledge and learning is shared by Aristotle and Pythagoreans, but it is also subject of the social Greek custome of heteria and educational role of pedagogue. Second, I compare these ideas with Socratese growing interest for the close connection between the sense of hearing and learning process, clearly expressed in the famous utterance - I know that I know nothing. Given the key arguments in this text, we conclude that, according to our general perception of ancient Greek apprehension of the knowledge and learning, the sense of hearing was unfortunately often neglected either in favour of the eyesight or in favour of common comprehension of the importance of the culture of speaking and rhetorical skills.