What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hum of the World: A Philosophy of Listening
The Hum of the World is an invitation to contemplate what would happen if we heard the world as attentively as we see it. Balancing big ideas, playful wit and lyrical prose, this imaginative volume identifies the role of sound in Western experience as the primary medium in which the presence and persistence of life acquires tangible form. The positive experience of aliveness is not merely in accord with sound, but inaccessible, even inconceivable, without it. Lawrence Kramer’s poetic book roves freely over music, media, language, philosophy, and science from the ancient world to the present, along the way revealing how life is apprehended through sounds ranging from pandemonium to the faint background hum of the world. This innovative meditation on auditory culture uncovers the knowledge and pleasure waiting when we learn that the world is alive with sound.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published March 19, 2019
11 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Kramer
50 books10 followersLawrence Kramer is Professor of English and Music at Fordham University
and co-editor of the journal 19th-Century Music. He has held visiting
professorships at Yale, Columbia, the University of Graz, the University of
Newcastle upon Tyne, and McMaster University. His work, focused on the
interrelations of music, culture, and society, comprises numerous essays
and a series of seven books, most recently including Musical Meaning:
Toward a Critical History (2001) and Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and
Strauss (2004), both published by the University of California Press.
Next year California will bring out Beyond the Soundtrack: Representing
Music in Cinema, a collection he edited with Daniel Goldmark and Richard
Leppert on the basis of an international conference that the three
organized in 2004.
and co-editor of the journal 19th-Century Music. He has held visiting
professorships at Yale, Columbia, the University of Graz, the University of
Newcastle upon Tyne, and McMaster University. His work, focused on the
interrelations of music, culture, and society, comprises numerous essays
and a series of seven books, most recently including Musical Meaning:
Toward a Critical History (2001) and Opera and Modern Culture: Wagner and
Strauss (2004), both published by the University of California Press.
Next year California will bring out Beyond the Soundtrack: Representing
Music in Cinema, a collection he edited with Daniel Goldmark and Richard
Leppert on the basis of an international conference that the three
organized in 2004.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 26, 2024
This book is bound to simultaneously irritate and fascinate its readers.
The source of my irritation—and the book's central concept—is Kramer's neologism, 'the audiable', derived from the adjective 'audible'. This meta-concept proposes that "the audiable is to the audible what the visual is to the visible" (p. 27). If you’re already confused, you are not alone. The idea remains abstract and elusive, despite Kramer's extensive efforts to elucidate it. The 'audiable' hovers dangerously close to an axiom: a self-evident proposition that serves as the foundation of a theory; yet it is never truly proven, only assumed.
What makes this book fascinating, however, is its refusal to adhere to a traditional, linear argument. Instead, it offers a series of compelling passages that invite readers to reflect deeply on how and what they listen to. Kramer shines brightest in his exploration of the intricate relationships between literature, music, and sound. His insights are colourful and inspiring, especially for those whose own writing and thinking engage with these art forms.
You may find yourself humming along as you read.
The source of my irritation—and the book's central concept—is Kramer's neologism, 'the audiable', derived from the adjective 'audible'. This meta-concept proposes that "the audiable is to the audible what the visual is to the visible" (p. 27). If you’re already confused, you are not alone. The idea remains abstract and elusive, despite Kramer's extensive efforts to elucidate it. The 'audiable' hovers dangerously close to an axiom: a self-evident proposition that serves as the foundation of a theory; yet it is never truly proven, only assumed.
What makes this book fascinating, however, is its refusal to adhere to a traditional, linear argument. Instead, it offers a series of compelling passages that invite readers to reflect deeply on how and what they listen to. Kramer shines brightest in his exploration of the intricate relationships between literature, music, and sound. His insights are colourful and inspiring, especially for those whose own writing and thinking engage with these art forms.
You may find yourself humming along as you read.
February 18, 2026
Lawrence Kramer liefert die akustische Dimension Ihrer Arbeit: Leben und Souveränität werden erst durch das Zuhören wirklich erfahrbar. Wenn die Welt ein „Summen“ ist, dann bedeutet Unterdrückung – sei es die koloniale Stille oder das systematische Überhören afrikanischer Stimmen – einen Entzug von Wirklichkeit selbst.
Für die „Seconde Indépendance“ ergibt sich daraus eine präzise philosophische Konsequenz: Unabhängigkeit ist der Moment, in dem der eigene „Hum“, der eigene Rhythmus, wieder hörbar wird. Es ist die Wiederkehr der Präsenz. Gegen das Verstummen gesetzt, wird das Hören zu einem Akt der Befreiung – und die Stimme zum Beweis der Existenz.
Für die „Seconde Indépendance“ ergibt sich daraus eine präzise philosophische Konsequenz: Unabhängigkeit ist der Moment, in dem der eigene „Hum“, der eigene Rhythmus, wieder hörbar wird. Es ist die Wiederkehr der Präsenz. Gegen das Verstummen gesetzt, wird das Hören zu einem Akt der Befreiung – und die Stimme zum Beweis der Existenz.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews