Philosophical Works · Chapter
CXCIV explained
This chapter explains the mechanism of hearing, describing how two nerves within the ears are attached to three small bones that transmit vibrations from the tympanum to the mind, producing sensations of different sounds.
What happens
This chapter explains the mechanism of hearing, describing how two nerves within the ears are attached to three small bones that transmit vibrations from the tympanum to the mind, producing sensations of different sounds.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The narrator describes the physiological process of hearing.
Key passages
“there are two nerves within the ears, so attached to three small bones that are mutually sustaining, and the first of which rests on the small membrane that covers the cavity we call the tympanum of the ear, that all the diverse vibrations which the surrounding air communicates to this membrane are transmitted to the mind by these nerves, and these vibrations give rise, according to their diversity, to the sensations of the different sounds.”
Inside the ears, two nerves connect to three small bones that support each other; the first bone touches the membrane covering the eardrum. Vibrations from the air move this membrane, and the nerves carry those vibrations to the mind, where they become different sounds.
Descartes explains the physical basis of hearing as a mechanical transmission of vibrations to the mind.