Lives of the Voice

When it comes to understanding the ontology of individual existence—that is, the everyday behaviors that we all perform and hardly ever think about—the voice has a particularly complicated status. Together with writing, voice is the medium expressing ideas that, broadly speaking, we have previously formed in our minds. At the same time, voices trigger vague images and associations that do not have determinate forms. Writing in both a personal and philosophical register, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht explores the complexity of the voice as an understudied philosophical, social, and existential phenomenon. He starts out with a focus on its core intellectual problem as "the knot of the voice" —referring to the inseparable proximity between meanings, images, and the physical perceptions on which they depend. In conversation with Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Lyotard, Luhmann, and above all Roland Barthes, Gumbrecht addresses topics that range from the social functions of the voice to its status in different historical contexts, and to the ways in which the perception of voices animates imagination. Throughout, incisive analyses of moments such as Julius Caesar's purportedly high-pitched voice, the surprisingly fragile authority of God's voice in the Torah and in the Gospel, and Gumbrecht's own personal attachment to the voices of popular singers such as Edith Piaf, Elvis Presley, and Adele, create a portrait of the voice that is both philosophically challenging and entertaining to read.

»A highly personal, even truly intimate book. Longtime fans and admirers of Gumbrecht's work will appreciate the personal nature of his approach in this book, and new readers will discover the voice of an elder statesman in academia.« Niklaus Largier, University of California, Berkeley

»A spirited defense of how our closeness to each other is shown through the many lives of the voice, and the first book ever to give serious simultaneous consideration to Julius Caesar and Janis Joplin.« Miguel Tamen, University of Lisbon

»This inspiring book shows how voice creates a common space, a mood, an atmosphere. It defines our place in the world, makes history possible, expresses the power of imagination, and opens a way to transcendence.« Thomas Pavel, The University of Chicago

»Gumbrecht is one of our most astute observers of reality today. He reveals moments of existential density like no one else, inviting his readers to listen inward to the voices that redound to the call of art and existence.« Tone Roald, University of Copenhagen