Blog Post #1

Hearing vs. Listening

When it comes to Chapter four in the book, Communication A Critical/Cultural Introduction, a passage that really catches my attention is the explanation that us as humans could “begin to develop a more complex and inclusive understanding of listening if we thing of it as a stance, or an approach to experience, rather than simply a matter of hearing or listening in ways that are passive or active, or as skill in need of development” (p. 65). After reading further into the chapter, we understand that if we do this, or learn to, we can view the position of listening as a way to look at the world as fully present within ourselves. It is explained that doing this would help us to view hearing and listening, not as something inattentive, but as a stance and how we can learn to make sense of the world around us.

As I read further into the chapter, it made me truly realize how much I do not listen to the world around me, because I choose not to. I spend my day wearing my headphones and ignoring the things around me. I can hear many things, as I think about it, but like the chapter later explains, I choose to listen to the things that only benefit myself. I believe that if I could learn to understand the complex meaning of listening that the chapter explains, I could possibly become more attentive to the things around me.

A way we could understand this is to take our headphones out, choose the stance of listening to more than just the benefit for ourselves. This chapter was very interesting to me, because I truly hate to listen to the things around me, which is not a good practice, as it is a very beneficial way of understanding and viewing everything around us.