Abstract
There has been a long-standing tendency in Protestant theology to privilege the role of the cognitive over the conative and emotive dimensions of personhood. The assumption of this privileging of the cognitive is related to the distinct roles attributed to the human senses. In response, a dual hierarchy of the senses is suggested in which the sense of touch is the most basic and perhaps the most important, while the eye and (especially) the ear allow for more discernment. This thesis is tested and developed in conversation with Tim Ingold’s views on the relatedness of the eye and the ear. Some theological, and more specifically pneumatological, reflections are offered in order to allow for the full range of the human senses and to do justice to the theological significance of human emotions.
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Conradie, E.M. (2016). Is the Ear More Spiritual Than the Eye? Theological Reflection on the Human Senses. In: Evers, D., Fuller, M., Runehov, A., Sæther, KW. (eds) Issues in Science and Theology: Do Emotions Shape the World?. Issues in Science and Religion: Publications of the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26769-2_13
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