Moral Deafness

There are just some things that require comment.

I wear glasses, so I quite understand that some people are not able to see quite as well others. My hearing is relatively acute, but I know others whose hearing is somewhat impaired. And I know that my sense of smell is just not as well developed as others, because I totally miss odors that some find very objectionable. Why is it, then, that I have such a hard time with a range of people’s insensitivity to moral issues? Let me explain…

There are times that I hear things that others absolutely do not hear. There are frequencies that I hear with very good clarity that others simply miss. We test hearing acuity with audiograms (see this article, for example), and we can chart very well the sound level required for an individual to respond to each sound frequency. These produce interesting graphs called audiograms, such as the one below (for a normal hearing person). The graph essentially measures hearing acuity on one axis and frequency along the other axis. A normal person hears with about the same acuity across a broad range of frequencies.

This other graph (below), however, is for a person with sensorineural hearing loss. You will note that there is a dip in acuity in the higher frequencies – meaning that the person just cannot hear high pitched tones quite as well as lower frequency tones. Speech is made up of a lot of high frequency components (especially the consonants) – so this type of hearing loss often causes people to have difficulty understanding speech. They just hear mumbling or an unintelligible droning.


Since we understand hearing, the mechanics of the ear and nerve conduction of the auditory signals to the brain, we have no difficulty in understanding and diagnosing deficiencies in hearing. It is just a matter of fact. When someone doesn’t hear some sound that we hear, we (and they) just acknowledge that they don’t hear well and they rely on those that do hear. (Either that or they get a corrective device like a hearing aid as a remedy.) We could argue all day long whether a sound existed or not, but we have instruments to detect sound and instruments to detect hearing deficiencies. These are just facts, we deal with them.

We also now understand some of the causes of sensorineural hearing loss. Often this type of hearing loss is induced by exposure to loud noises, like explosions or gun fire. The constant banging of machinery in a factory will also, over time, cause hearing loss like this, as will blasting loud music into the ears. (This means that the iPod generation is probably headed for some hearing loss.)

But, when it comes to moral issues, I still have a very difficult time understanding some people’s inability to detect right from wrong. Sometimes we call it amorality or sometimes ”moral equivalence.” Some just don’t see the difference between two situations – when others of us clearly detect that there is. Some of us clearly feel, “Oh, that’s just not right.” Others see nothing wrong.

This is just the point that I wanted to make with regard to Israel and Hezbollah. Some, it seems are just morally deaf. They are unable to detect clear differences in moral position.

I have difficulty understanding this moral deafness. To those that can perceive the difference – there is without question a dimension of right vs. wrong, of decency vs. depravity, of good vs. evil. The existence of different points along this moral dimension is without doubt for those of us with the slightest bit of moral perception – but those with less (or no) moral acuity would have us believe that there is none because they see none. And they truly may perceive no differences. But simply because one claims that there is no difference because they cannot discriminate carries no weight – it is simply a person acknowledging their lack of perception.

I see this, and it troubles me. How can so many claim that differences of morality do not exist – particularly in the fight between Israel and Hezbollah? Is it the shouting of partisanship that deafens us? Is it some willful denial (the equivalence of closing one’s eyes)? I believe that it is a bit of both.

It is given to man to make moral distinctions and moral judgments. There is a light inside of us that directs us toward good if we will let it. By consciously snuffing out that light that leads to truth and goodness we embrace darkness and (shudder) all that that entails. I am indeed troubled by willful moral deafness and saddened by that resulting from the loss of one’s ability to feel.


The following clip is worth viewing.