The Power of Silence: Silent Communication in Daily Life

by Colum Kenny

Overview

This book demonstrates that silence is eloquent, powerful, beautiful and even dangerous. It surrounds and permeates our daily lives. Drawing on a wide range of cross-cultural, literary and historical sources, the author explores the uses and abuses of silence. He explains how silence is not associated with solitude alone but has a much broader value within society.

The main themes of The Power of Silence are positive and negative uses of silence, and the various ways in which silence has been understood culturally, socially and spiritually. The book's objectives are to equip people with a better appreciation of the value of silence and to enable them to explore its benefits and uses more easily for themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855758414
Publisher:	Karnac Books
Publication date:	05/28/2011
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

About The Author xv

Chapter 1 Silent types 1

Chapter 2 Busy silence 49

Chapter 3 Theories of silence 67

Chapter 4 Silence and the arts 87

Chapter 5 Film, TV, and music 113

Chapter 6 Constraints of silence 135

Chapter 7 Silence in therapy 175

Chapter 8 Sacred silence 195

Chapter 9 The silence of God 231

Epilogue 263

Bibliography 264

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

A brilliant and inspiring book that clearly illustrates how silence has shaped history and culture as much as the spoken word has.”

“Kenny moves the reader to fully appreciate the beauty in silences of peaceful interconnection, those that make music ebb and flow, and the therapeutic silences of self-knowledge. He shows the multifaceted nature of silence and the profound importance of context in understanding its meaning.”

“Kenny’s book will be invaluable for anyone who wants to explore the richness and complexity of silence in a wide range of social domains and activities. Silence emerges as a multifaceted resource with which we create meaning and a powerful metaphor through which we can gain understanding of the surrounding world. The Power of Silence will engage readers and enrich their experience of this most ineffable of all the communicative forms.”

“Engaging, thought-provoking, and full of fascinating detail, this is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the place of silence in today's increasingly noisy world. Kenny's crisp writing skillfully illuminates the many faces of silence.”

“An impressively wide-ranging and informative survey of the joys and dangers of silence as cultural concept and practice. Kenny draws the reader into this fascinating topic with the breadth of his scholarship and even-handedness of his judgements.

From the Publisher

A brilliant and inspiring book that clearly illustrates how silence has shaped history and culture as much as the spoken word has.

Gillian Wearing

Kenny moves the reader to fully appreciate the beauty in silences of peaceful interconnection, those that make music ebb and flow, and the therapeutic silences of self-knowledge. He shows the multifaceted nature of silence and the profound importance of context in understanding its meaning.

Dr Heidi M. Levitt

Kenny’s book will be invaluable for anyone who wants to explore the richness and complexity of silence in a wide range of social domains and activities. Silence emerges as a multifaceted resource with which we create meaning and a powerful metaphor through which we can gain understanding of the surrounding world. The Power of Silence will engage readers and enrich their experience of this most ineffable of all the communicative forms.

Prof. Adam Jaworski

Engaging, thought-provoking, and full of fascinating detail, this is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the place of silence in today's increasingly noisy world. Kenny's crisp writing skillfully illuminates the many faces of silence.

Dr Jolyon Mitchell

An impressively wide-ranging and informative survey of the joys and dangers of silence as cultural concept and practice. Kenny draws the reader into this fascinating topic with the breadth of his scholarship and even-handedness of his judgements.

Professor Stuart Sim