In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

324 CODES
others' privacy-a willingness that may help others develop their subjectivity.
This is why the philosopher Theodor Lessing complains bitterly
about street Noise and automobiles, telephones and gramophones, factory
whistles and even church bells (Lessing 398ff.). [see Gramophones]
His colleague Martin Heidegger feels compelled to apologize for being
able to think and write in any place other than his cabin in the Black
Forest, which is surrounded by the Silence of nature: "It would be
appropriate for this letter to come from the cabin; it should be written
when the beech-logs are crackling on the fire and a thick cap of snow
lies on the roof. Instead, here I sit [in Marburg] working on the transitional
chapter" (Heidegger, 18-19). Seeking and maintaining Silence are
signs that one is concentrating to the fullest on a given task. This rule
applies as much to Lessing's and Heidegger's philosophical work as to
the transatlantic flight of Ramon Franco and his companions. [see Airplanes]
During the decisive leg of their voyage, the aviators do not talk
to one another. They forget the Noise of the engines, and for two hours
they are too far away from either the European or the American coast
to receive any radio signals: "AIda and Rada made frequent visits to the
smoking compartment, while Franco remained motionless, perhaps
thinking about the hours that lay ahead. None of us spoke, and the flight
seemed to go on in silence, since the Noise of the plane becomes imperceptible
after a few hours and you hear only variations in sound, such
as when an engine slows-a very disagreeable thing, and one that fortunately
we did not hear at all on this voyage. From ten till twelve, the
most complete silence reigned, even on the radio. AIda couldn't get
anything on any station" (Franco, 143). Although the pilots' Silence is
primarily a gesture of closure vis-a-vis their environment, it can also be
interpreted-and is certainly meant to be interpreted-by that environment
as a sign of complete intellectual and physical alertness. Even more
"eloquent" is the Silence with which the pilots "answer," out of modesty
and embarrassment, the overwhelming reception that greets them in the
streets of Buenos Aires: "The grandeur of the celebration in Argentina,
the huge reception, and the triumphant parade through the streets of the
capital made us tremble with emotion. The silence that overcame us was
more eloquent than anything we could have said with words" (246).
Silence tends to become eloquent, and words tend to become superfluous,
whenever the world is seen from a perspective of Authenticity-that