110

55
th
Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture
the ALPhABet verSuS
the GoDDeSS: the conFLict
Between worD & imAGe
Leonard shLain
[Editors Note: On October 26, 2007, Leonard Shlain, author of Alphabet Versus
the Goddess, delivered the 55th Annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture. Mr.
Shlain holds the position of Chairman of Laparoscopic surgery at the California
Pacifc Medical Center in San Francisco and is an Associate Professor of Surgery
at UCSF.]
A
CHILD LEARNS a novel bit of information. A set of neurons fres in his or her
brain. With each reinforcement of the lesson, the same neurons fre again,
The surrounding neurons, sensitized to the discharges of the frst set, also begin
to join in what becomes an ever-magnifying electrochemical chorus. Learned
information becomes burned into neuronal pathways. Such is the manner by
which we acquire knowledge that will endure throughout our lives. Conversely,
what we fail to learn causes the withering of whole tracts of other neurons as a
result of their disuse. For example, a preschooler can learn a second language with
ease if taught at the right time. The same individual having to learn that second
language many years later in college will fnd it a far more diffcult task.
But what effect does the kind of learning have on the larger organization of
thehumanbrain?Separatingourspeciesfromvirtuallyallothers,wehavetwo
highlyspecializedbrainhemispheres.Eachlobeisdesignedtohandleessentially
different types of information. The left lobe in over 90% of people is the seat
of language that is perceived in a linear stream.We call this careful sequencing
grammar and syntax, without which strings of words would be incoherent. The
majorityofotherlinear,sequentialmentalprocessessuchaslogic,reason,algebra,
causality,andarithmeticalsoresideprincipallyinthelefthemisphere.Ingeneral,
themainfunctionsoftheleftproceedlinearlyonethingafteranotherintime.
Itisasifevolutiondesignedthelefthemisphereasanewsenseorganchargedwith
perceivingsequentialtime.
The right hemisphere, in contrast, is non-verbal, yet it contributes a global
awarenesstoeventsoftenendowingthemwithemotionandmeaning.Ingeneral,
therightperceivestheworldholisticallyandsimultaneously.Itrespondstobody
language, the voices infection, facial expression and is expert at grasping gestalts.
It takes in whole images in a glance. The rights primary functions are visual-
spatial. We rely on it to read a map, fgure out mazes, and discern faces all-at-once.
Evolution assigned the right hemisphere to perceive space and complement the
leftstemporalskills.
Butthisdichotomyalsocanbeappliedtothesexualduality.Addressingright-
handers (who comprise 92% of the population), each man and each woman is a
composite of both a feminine side and a masculine one. Many of the modules
locatedinthebrainthatarenecessarytocareforchildrentooyoungtouseverbal
languageresideprincipallyintherighthemisphereandthestrategy,planning,and
cooperationnecessarytohuntandkilllargemammalsresideprincipallyintheleft
hemisphere.
In general, the right hemisphere of both men and women can be said to be
theseatoftheirfemininesideandthelefthemisphereofbothmenandwomenis
wheretheirmasculinesideresides.Everycultureintheworldacknowledgesthese
differencesintheirmyths,customsandculture.Theleftsideofthebodycontrolled
by the right brain is considered female and the right side controlled by the left
brainisconsideredmale.Forexample,Toriesarecalledrightwingersbytheir
adversaries and are generally for discipline, fscal responsibility, and arms. Labour
iscalledleftistbyitsadversariesandismoresupportiveofwelfare,childcare,
andtherightsofwomen.Leftissinisterandhumanrightsarelaudable.The
samedistinctionsholdthroughouthistory.WilliamBlakewrote,Time&Space
areRealBeings,aMale&aFemale.TimeisaManandSpaceisaWoman.
All humans are born with the innate capability to learn the grammar of the
frst language he or she hears. And every human is born with an innate ability to
readthebodylanguage,gestures,andfacialexpressionsofothers.Evolutiondid
not,however,preparehumansinthesamewayfortheimmenseinnovationcalled
literacy. The invention of writing approximately fve thousand years ago, followed
bytheimprovedsystemcalledthealphabet3500yearslater,wasonequalparwith
fre, the wheel and agriculture. Alphabets, the most abstract, linear, sequential,
reductionistformsofwriting,mimicthefeaturesofthelefthemisphere.Marshall
111 the alphabet versus the goDDess
Learned information becomes burned
into neuronal pathways.
112 etc apriL 2008
McLuhan, the 1960s media theorist once wrote, The medium is the message.
Literacy,unlikeoralitywhichrequirestheuseofbothverbalandnon-verbalcues,
dependsprimarilyontheuseofonlythelefthemisphere.
Westernculture,withitsuniquemonotheisticreligions,dualisticphilosophies,
and distinctive perspectivist art, advanced science, and written legal codes,
I propose, is the direct result of changes occurring in the brains of the users of
alphabets.
Whilealphabetliteracyhasbeenanincontestableboontohumankind,womens
rightsandimageshavesufferedunderregimesnewlyinformedbyalphabetliteracy.
ItisthecentralthesisofThe Alphabet Versus the Goddess thatalphabetliteracy,
aformofinformationtransferthatreinforcesthelefthemisphereofbothmenand
womenwhiledenigratingtheroleoftherighthemisphereofbothmenandwomen,
causedthedominanceofmasculinethinkinginthecultureatlarge.Thisledtothe
downfallofgoddesses,womenlosingimportantrights,andpropertypassingnot
throughthemotherslinebutinsteadthroughthefathersline.
The Israelite adoption of the Wests frst alphabetic sacred book introduced
the Rule of Law and monotheism, but it was accompanied by an abomination
ofimagesandthegoddess,andacurtailingofwomenspropertyrights.Literate
Athens was misogynist and patriarchal, compared to Sparta that left to posterity
notasingleliterarywork.YetSpartanwomenenjoyedextraordinaryrights.
WomenenjoyedrealpowerinthenewChristianreligionfoundedontheoral
sayings of Jesus and watched it disappear following the transcription of Jesus
spokenwordsintoasacredalphabetictextbythePatriarchs.Despiteallthedetail
thegospelwriterssuppliedaboutJesus,noneincludedevenasentencedescribing
Jesusappearance.LikeYahwehandAllah,Jesusdidnothaveanimage.Toknow
Him,onehadtoreadHiswrittenwords.
The central cause of the DarkAges that followed the fall of Rome was the
lossofliteracyin99%oftheEuropeanpopulation.Itwasduringthisperiodthat
the astonishing ascendancy of Mary occurred. Her image soon dominated the
European landscape. This was also a time when abbesses headed monasteries,
theChivalricCodeandcourtlylovehonoredwomen,andtheChurchreveredits
femaleChristianmystics.Inthetimeofilliteracy,righthemisphericmodesoflove,
intuition,mysticism,romanceandmotherworshipwereinevidence.
Gutenbergs invention of the printing press in 1454 caused literacy rates to
soar. The primary motive driving literacy was peoples desire to read the New
Alphabets, the most abstract, linear, sequential, reductionist
forms of writing, mimic the features of the left hemisphere.
113 the alphabet versus the goDDess
Testament.SincetheScripturestresseslove,kindness,andforgiveness,itwould
followthattheperiodfollowingtheprintingpressshouldhavebeencharacterized
bythesethreetraits.Rather,theprintingpressspawnedtheProtestantReformation,
which stressed reforms that included reading Scriptures, destroying images, and
jettisoningMary.
The outbreak of ferce religious wars among kinsmen was unprecedented.
Neighbors burned neighbors at the stake. This sadistic carnage occurred in the
sameperiodthathistorianscalltheAgeofReason.Perhapsthesteepriseofliteracy
inEuropeansocietyreinforceditslefthemisphereattheexpenseofitsright.
While the literate countries were bestowing on posterity the works of Galileo,
Shakespeare,Newton,andBach,themensufferedapsychosissoextremetheybelieved
their women were so dangerous they must be murdered. The witch-hunts were the
mostvirulentinthosecountriesexperiencingthesteepestriseinliteracyrates.Russia
remainedlargelyilliteratethroughoutthisperiodandalsosufferednowitchhunts.
A colossal shift I call the Iconic Revolution began in the 19
th
century. The
inventionofphotographyandthediscoveryofelectromagnetismcombinedtobring
us flm, television, computers, graphic advertising and the Internet; all of which are
basedonimages.Theincreasingrelianceonrightbrainpatternrecognitioninstead
of left brain linear sequencing has moved culture toward equilibrium between the
twohemispheres,betweenmasculineandfeminine,betweenwordandimage.Since
theadventoftelevision,womenarereclaimingrightsthattheyformallyexercised.
Women are serving as priestesses once again and literate cultures saturated with
image information are once again embracing feminine values.The medium is the
message.Perhaps,thethugwhomuggedthegoddesswastheinventionofliteracy.
The printing press spawned the Protestant Reformation.