Do We Really Want a World Lacking of Silence—and Humanity?

The aim of this chapter is to rediscover the objective dimension of silence, which is here to be understood not only in opposition to speech or any acoustic stimulus but also precisely as a crucial element of entities in general and of the human being. Silence is thus considered a sign of unavailability (Unverfügbarkeit, H. Rosa), separation, and dignity of entities. I argue that the rediscovery of the substantiality of silence is an urgent and necessary undertaking since its disappearance can be considered “as one of the symptoms of the end of humanity” (Cioran).