Imagery and the Alphabet Part 2 with Leonard Shlain

Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove

In the second part of a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove, Leonard Shlain discusses the introduction of the alphabet and its effects upon the human brain. In ancient times, human societies universally worshipped the image of a goddess. Sometime about 5,000 years ago a massive shift occurred in which the sex of the deity changed. He presents his hypothesis that this change is related to the introduction of the alphabet and its effects upon the human brain. He notes that in the west, witchhunts and other effects of male-dominant society occurred at a time of rising literacy. He also suggests that the rise of feminism in the twentieth century is correlated with increased use of imagery as a result of film and television.