Word and Image

In ancient times, before alphabetic literacy, there existed many image-based cultures. These cultures were superceded by cultures that forbade the use of images and relied primarily on the written word. In the book. The Alphabet vs the Goddess, The Conflict Between Word and Image, Leonard Shlain describes how cultures of the Word aggressively suppressed our natural human tendencies to use the image.

The rise and fall of images, women’s rights, and the sacred feminine have moved

contrapuntally with the rise and fall of alphabetic literacy. 1 am convinced we are

entering a new Golden Age—one in which the right hemispheric values of tolerance,

caring, and respect for nature will begin to ameliorate the conditions that have pervaded

for the too-long period during which left-hemispheric values were dominant. Images of

any kind are the balm bringing about this worldwide healing. (P. 432)

The Alphabet vs the Goddess, 

The Conflict Between Word and Image,  

by Leonard Shlain